Original subtitles

LATIN GUITAR THEME, BREAKING WAVES

We end our Brazilian journey

by exploring the coastlines of three states:

Parana, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul.

BEAT OF DRUMS

In Superagui National Park,

Tise safeguards the cara-roxa parrot.

In Joinville, Ango raises sugarcane and produces melado.

On the island of Santa Catarina,

Jaime cooks and serves oysters he raised himself.

Near Florianopolis,

illegally trafficked animals find a refuge

in Cristiane's shelter.

In Porto Alegre, Vitor sings of the Brazil of the cowboys.

Maurivan grows soya and rice

and exports them as far away as China.

Finally, in Brazil's far south,

Hamilton makes art from the bones of beached whales.

Our first stop in Brazil's South is the State of Parana,

and the magnificent Superagui National Park

in Paranagua Bay.

LIVELY STRINGS MUSIC

Made up largely of islands and mangroves,

and fed by several rivers,

the Superagui National Park extends across almost 35,000 hectares.

Its diverse ecosystems are home to myriad species.

As well as preserving the coastal shrubbery

known as restinga,

the park protects 4700 square kilometres

of old-growth Atlantic forest.

In the midst of the park, on the Superagui River,

there is a string of islands, including Pinheirinho and Pinheiro.

Their forest is a natural habitat for many native species,

which explains why the park is so highly protected.

CALLS OF MANY BIRDS

Tise works as a biologist for a Brazilian NGO,

the Society for Wildlife Research and Environmental Education.

She coordinates a program

for the protection of an emblematic species,

the blue-cheeked Amazon parrot, or cara-roxa.

In her mission, Tise is supported by two rangers, Alescar and Antonio.

These former poachers

are now the first to defend the various species of parrot

that live on the Superagui islands.

Thanks to the rising environmental awareness of the local people,

poaching has decreased considerably

and the number of parrots has increased.

Now Tise would like the locals

to become more involved in the life of the park.

PARROT CALLS

The next leg of our journey takes us from Paranagua Bay

to Babitonga Bay and the city of Joinville.

CRIES OF GULLS

A paradise for birds,

Paranagua is one of the largest bays in Southern Brazil.

LYRICAL PIANO MUSIC

At the entrance of the bay,

the three small islands of Ilha das Palmas

are a haven of peace,

protected as part of the Ilha do Mel nature reserve.

TROPICAL BIRD CALLS, PIANO CONTINUES

Nearby, on the Ilha do Mel itself,

the Fort of Our Lady of Joy keeps watch over the bay entrance.

Completed in 1769,

it defended the colonial port of Paranagua,

which lay well inside the bay.

MUSIC CONTINUES

A hundred kilometres south of the Ilha do Mel,

at the far end of Babitonga Bay,

we come to the largest city in the State of Santa Catarina...

Joinville.

SLOW VIOLIN MUSIC

At first sight, Joinville looks like any other city in Brazil.

But in its details, it is more European.

At times, it can seem like you're in Germany.

Although it was named in honour of Francois of Orleans,

Prince of Joinville,

who married the daughter of the King of Portugal in 1843,

the city was mainly settled by immigrants from Hamburg,

as well as Switzerland and Norway.

The rural district of Estrada Bonita,

north of Joinville,

was also settled by Germans.

This is the family farm of Ango Kersten

and his wife, Dona Ivanir.

Ango has strong German roots.

Ango is up early every morning to tend his sugarcane plantation,

which he inherited from his father.

TRACTOR ENGINE

The little farm specialises in the production and transformation

of sugarcane juice, with ecotourism on the side.

It is a life of labour.

While Ango cuts the cane, his wife crushes it to extract the juice.

They use it to produce a family and regional specialty:

melado, or sugar-cane marmalade.

As well as running the farm,

the Kerstens have a museum of items from the rural past.

WHIMSICAL ACCORDION MUSIC

ROOSTER CROWS

LIVELY MUSIC

MUSIC GIVES WAY TO BIRDSONG

On our next leg, we go from Joinville,

via Sao Francisco do Sul,

to Florianopolis, the capital of Santa Catarina.

In the bay between Joinville and the ocean is a large island:

Sao Francisco do Sul.

Its port is one of the most important in Brazil,

especially its container terminal.

The old town of Sao Francisco has an impressive colonial heritage,

like the Church of our Mother, built in the late 18th century.

The vast expanse of Babitonga Bay

is highly prized for everything from shipping, to water sports,

professional fishing, and oyster farming.

On the northern tip of the island,

and dominating the entrance to the bay, is the Marshal Luz Fort,

built in 1909.

130 kilometres down the coast is another pearl...

the island of Santa Catarina,

known for its two beautiful lakes, one of them 13 kilometres long.

The state capital, Florianopolis, is also on the island.

FAST-PACED MODERN MUSIC

It is a prosperous modern city of about half a million people.

Its suburbs extend across the water to the mainland,

to which it is linked by two bridges.

Known for its high tech and high standard of living,

the city is hailed as the future of Brazil.

MARINE BIRD CALLS

A few kilometres south of bustling Florianopolis

is the picturesque village of Freguesia do Ribeirao.

GENTLE GUITAR MUSIC

Since the introduction of oyster-farming in the 1990s,

it has become an important industry

along the coast of Santa Catarina Island.

Jaime, who owns a seafood restaurant,

invested in the new industry.

To stock his restaurant,

Jaime decided to become his own supplier,

putting the emphasis on quality.

SIZZLING

LIVELY LATIN DRUMMING

In the island's northeast is Lake Conceicao,

not very wide, but 13 kilometres long.

Between the lake and the Atlantic Ocean

there is a national park,

the home of an animal sanctuary called CETAS.

There is one in every state of Brazil.

At the moment, it has some Magellanic penguins,

native to Chile,

but it can take care of all sorts of species.

Cristiane is president of R3 Animal, an NGO that manages the CETAS.

SQUAWKS, TROPICAL BIRD CALLS

MILITARY DRUMMING AND WHISTLING

The aim of the Centre

is to look after the animals it takes in

and, whenever possible, return them to the wild.

Many are marine animals, and unfortunately

they have ended up in the Centre largely because of human activity.

The Magellanic penguins come from Patagonia

between March and September

to follow the schools of fish off Brazil's southern coast.

Although they are supervised

by Brazil's environmental protection institute,

the CETAS centres cannot rely only on public funding.

We now head for Brazil's southernmost state,

Rio Grande do Sul, and its capital, Porto Alegre.

Sprawling beside the Guaiba River,

Porto Alegre is the largest city in the three states

that make up southern Brazil.

By population, its metropolitan area is Brazil's fourth-largest,

with almost 4½ million people.

FAST-PACED MODERN MUSIC

Yet Porto Alegre also has a lot of green open space,

and it boasts an urban policy tailored to well-being.

Like everyone else in Rio Grande do Sul,

the people of Porto Alegre often call themselves gauchos,

after the cowboys of the South American pampas.

But in a built-up area like this,

how can you still belong to a cowboy culture?

In the central market,

a city landmark since it opened in 1869,

the popular singer Vitor Ramil discusses the gaucho identity.

The gaucho certainly lives on in the various stalls and shops

that sell traditional gaucho products.

SLOW LATIN GUITAR

On the roof-terrace of the Gasometro,

an old power station converted into an arts centre,

Vitor and his band improvise a performance.

SINGING IN PORTUGUESE

Next, we explore the vast Lagoa dos Patos

and the fields along its shore near Camaqua.

LIVELY LATIN MUSIC

After Venezuela's Lake Maracaibo,

the Lagoa dos Patos, or "lagoon of ducks",

is the largest body of water in South America.

A vast stretch of fresh water covering 10,000 square kilometres,

it is separated from the ocean only by a lengthy peninsula.

LATIN MUSIC CONTINUES

Rio Grande do Sul is one of Brazil's leading agricultural states.

Ranches and crop fields go right up to the coastline.

Small family farms make the state Brazil's third-highest producer

of garlic and onions.

Rio Grande do Sul is known for two crops in particular:

rice and soyabeans.

In the Camaqua district,

they are often planted in rotation on the edge of the lagoon.

That's what Maurivan does on his farm.

It's the region's largest soyabean producer.

Both he and his fellow farmer Jose Carlos love the land

but also welcome techniques to make it more productive.

TWITTER OF MANY BIRDS

VEHICLE SOUNDS HORN

Like the great majority of soyabean producers in Brazil,

Maurivan uses genetically modified seeds

developed by Monsanto.

Brazil is the world's second- biggest user of these seeds,

behind the United States.

Although Europe in particular remains hesitant

about the effect of genetic modification

on the environment and human health,

in Brazil its use is widely accepted.

BIRDSONG

In the wide open spaces typical of the gaucho,

the processing plant strikes a note of modernity.

Maurivan not only produces rice and soya,

he also transforms them into foodstuffs

sold throughout the world.

BIRD CALLS

For the gauchos of this area are said to be far-sighted.

GENTLE GUITAR, COW LOWING

A beauty tarnished by the effect of intensive agriculture

on the soil and rivers, even if the effect is often invisible.

At the southern end of the lagoon,

the city of Rio Grande stands on a peninsula

overlooking the channel between the lagoon and the ocean,

a prime position that has made it

one of the main ports in South America.

To ensure a smooth passage for ships making their way

between the ocean and the lagoon,

two huge breakwaters, the Molhes da Barra,

were built at the channel entrance between 1911 and 1919.

Hailed as among the greatest maritime works in the world,

they required over 4½ million tonnes of rock.

After breaches appeared during the 1980s,

the breakwaters were reinforced with tetrapod concrete blocks.

BARKING OF SEA LIONS

These make a perfect habitat for the hundred sea lions

that have settled there in a semi-permanent colony.

But the breakwaters aren't only a home for sea lions.

BARKING OF SEA LIONS

The old railway

which once transported the rocks to build the breakwater

now carries vagonetes, wheeled platforms with sails.

Tourists can ride on one for four kilometres

along the western breakwater.

Just behind this breakwater we come to the Praia do Cassino,

said to be the longest beach in the world.

It runs uninterrupted for 235 kilometres,

all the way to the border.

LIVELY MUSIC

WAVES BREAKING

The final destination in our Brazilian journey:

Barra do Chui, at the end of the Praia do Cassino,

on the border with Uruguay.

QUIRKY PIANO

Running beside the Praia do Cassino

is an extensive coastal plain of prime grazing land.

In the nineteenth century, under the latifundia system,

it was the basis of huge private estates worked by slaves.

But this landscape of scrub and pasture,

interspersed with wetlands, is not exempt from change.

Some of the sandy coastal terrain has been transformed

by recent plantations of conifers.

Between sea and lagoon, beach and plain,

the coast of Rio Grande do Sul

is a place of shifting boundaries between land and water

where man seems out of place.

DISTANT WAVES BREAKING

This beach near Barra do Chui may seem featureless,

but sometimes it has sad stories to tell.

WHALE CALL

Whale skeletons are not uncommon here.

Frank whales or humpback whales are stranded fairly often.

GULL CRIES

It is not only whales that come here to die.

The ocean is not tender with its children.

But the deaths may also result from some human action,

something that troubles Hamilton, a local artist.

Hamilton is a sculptor.

By chance at first, and then out of conviction and a sense of duty,

he came to specialise in the recovery and re-use

of materials thrown up by the sea.

Hamilton's studio, a veritable museum of wood and bones,

contains some silent witnesses to a larger story.

Paulo, an agronomist friend,

has come to examine the tree-trunk.

Hamilton has an educational foundation

called Ballaena Australis, "Southern Whale".

His art works and his teaching have established him

as an ecological artist.

TANGO, PIANO WITH ORCHESTRA

TANGO, PIANO WITH ORCHESTRA

TANGO MUSIC BLENDS WITH WAVES

TANGO, PIANO WITH ORCHESTRA

We close this episode,

and our 8000-kilometre journey along the coastline,

with the faces we have met in the South of Brazil.