Gourmet products
Cachaça and caipirinha kit. Perhaps it's the first thing you discover in Brazil: cachaça and caïpirinha. Caipirinha, a traditional cocktail, is made with cachaça (Brazilian sugarcane alcohol), lime, sugar and crushed ice. You can take home a preparation kit: glass, mortar and bottle. White, amber, aged in exotic wood barrels, cachaça comes in well over 50 shades. The Magnifica brand's cachaça "soleira", "Germana", "Weber Haus" and "Leblon cachaça signature Merlet", selected by the Lyautey high school carto club, are all available to connoisseurs.
Maté and bombilla. For fans of "Argentine tea", consumed in large quantities in southern Brazil, a packet of mate(erva maté or "chimarrao" in Portuguese, its calabash and bombilla (metal straw) can be an excellent souvenir as well as a functional one. Mate is a first-rate antioxidant. The taste is a little bitter... but you get used to it.
Fashion and clothing
Havaianas. The famous chinelas (flip-flops) have become almost synonymous with Rio de Janeiro. You'll find them in every market in Brazil. Some Rio stores are dedicated to them, with a wide range of models at all price points, but often much cheaper than in France. A sure bet for gifts.
Bikini. Another element inseparable from Rio's beaches: the famous bikini. Street vendors sell them directly on Rio's beaches (they even have a terminal for payment by credit card). Otherwise, the emblematic store is "Boum Boum" in Ipanema, on avenue Visconde de Iparajà. They're a little trickier to give as gifts, but you can give them to yourself.
Pareo. Pareos or cangas are useful for going to the beach or as gifts. Here again, in Rio, Paraty, Salvador... and on all the beaches of Brazil, it won't be difficult to find one. It's not certain that they're all made in Brazil, but who cares about the bottle? Colorful favelas , Sugarloaf, Corcovado's Christ the Redeemer, Amazonian wildlife, Brazilian landscapes - some pareos are kitsch, others are superb.
Soccer shirts and merchandising. Of course, soccer shirts from the major Brazilian clubs or the Seleção are essential souvenirs or gifts, as Brazil symbolizes the art of the round ball. In addition to the Auriverde jersey, the best-selling jerseys are those of Flamengo and Fluminense, Rio's two most emblematic clubs, and those of São Paulo Football Club (SPFC), Palmeiras and Corinthians, Socrates' club. There are also numerous merchandising products, including balls, mugs, pens, bobs, beach towels and flip-flops....
Crafts and souvenirs
Soapstone. Slightly heavier, objects made from soapstone (a rock that's easy to cut and polish) are also typical Minas Gerais souvenirs. Dishes, trivets, figurines and candlesticks will decorate your home or those of those you give them to. In Ouro Preto, this is the main product of the permanent market in front of the beautiful church of St. Francis of Assisi.
Souvenir of Bichinho. For those who have visited the small colonial town of Tiradentes in Minas Gerais, the little district of Bichinho has made a name for itself with its very kitsch handicrafts, from bondieuseries to Callipyge Venus à la Dubout. Well worth the detour.
Native crafts. Of course, you'll want to buy beautiful native handicrafts in stores that guarantee authentic provenance and pay the "producers" - the native communities - a fair wage. Handicraft stores can be found in Paraty, at the Museu do Índio in Rio, at the FUNAI store in Cuiabà, among others. Masks, earrings, traditional weapons, wood carvings..
Sand bottles from the Nordeste. Brazil is probably not the only country in the world to offer these little bottles of colored sand. However, you'll find these typical little cuties in craft stores or on the beaches of the Nordeste in particular. Why not give in to temptation? They're much prettier than snow globes.
Handmade pottery. Traditional Brazilian pottery makes an excellent souvenir, although it can be bulky and fragile... You can take home gourd dolls from Salvador, or clay pots from Marajo, Marajoara or Ceará. Small santons from the North-East can also be a welcome addition to your bookshelves.
Hammock. The hammock(rede in Portuguese) is another great value to bring back in your luggage. Simple or sophisticated, plain or multicolored, for one person or two, the possibilities are almost endless. Hammocks are less expensive in Nordeste stores. In touristy areas, however, you'll have to negotiate hard.
Small paintings of naive art. Brazil is "the other country of naive art". In many towns in the Nordeste, you'll see artists painting small pictures depicting street scenes, festivals, landscapes or work in the fields. Some of them are very close to naive art, and their sincerity is touching.
Souvenirs. Well, when you run out of time or money, you can fall back on small souvenirs such as a Sugar Loaf pen with a soccer, magnets (some are superb), little favela houses, botanical garden key-rings... There's no shortage of ideas, and a pen is always useful.
Musical instruments
Cavaquinho. This is a small, four-string plucked guitar originating from Portugal, and very much in evidence in samba bands.
Berimbau. Not necessarily easy to transport if you've chosen to bring back a real berimbau. This African instrument is reminiscent of Salvador de Bahia and capoeira. Three models are available: bass, medium and treble. For capoeira fans, there are dedicated stores in every major Brazilian city.
Cuica. Cuicas are traditional instruments of Brazilian folklore. They are at the heart of samba music. Like the berimbau, they are of Bantu origin. Cuicas are friction drums consisting of a cylindrical barrel 20 centimetres in diameter and 30 centimetres high, with a rod inside, which when rubbed gives the sound so characteristic of Brazilian music.
