Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro is known around the world. But cities throughout Brazil stage their own often very different version. Here women in Salvador are decked out in traditional African costumes. Photo: Agencia Brasil

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Carnaval-goers in the northeast city are renowned for their stamina. Officially Carnaval ends on Wednesday. Unofficially, the party could last for the rest of this month! Photo: Agencia Brasil

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The thunderous sound of drums can be heard everywhere. Here one of the smaller bands on display goes through their paces. Photo: Agencia Brasil

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Tourists and locals mingle in the parade in Olinda. Photo: Agencia Brasil

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Large doll-like figures are a feature of Carnaval in Olinda in Brazil's northeast. Photo: Agencia Brasil.

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In the capital city Brasilia, singer Paulo Hora stands before revellers, some of whom have based their costumes around a long-running political bribery scandal. Photo: Agencia Brasil

Culture, Life, Pictures Brasilia, Carnaval, Olinda, Salvador

Brazil’s World Cup carnaval can start early this week, with a game against Chile in Salvador, after the country’s national team sealed a place in next year’s finals competition with a 3-1 away victory against Argentina in Rosario on Saturday night.

In a plodding match, punctuated by two excellent goals, Brazil turned in a workmanlike performance against a misfiring Argentina side, whose coach Diego Maradona wore a worried frown for most of the match.

Argentina looked the more dangerous in the first few minutes, but once Luisão was left in oceans of space to nod in a downward header on 23 minutes, Brazil hardly looked troubled.

Seven minutes later, Argentine goalkeeper Anjúdar could only parry a shot to the feet of Luis Fabiano, who made no mistake.

After the interval, the game appeared to be petering out in Brazil’s favour, until on 65 minutes, Dátatolo unleashed a left-foot exocet into the top right hand corner from nigh-on 30 yards, leaving the normally very solid Brazilian keeper Júlio César with no chance.

Argentina’s response briefly lifted the atmoshere to boiling point, but this was extinguished two minutes later when Kaká threaded the ball through the Argentine defence to Luis Fabiano, who, as he fell away to the right, chipped the ball diagonally over the rapidly advancing Anjúdar into an empty net.

The finish was reminiscent of Michael Owen’s ‘wonder goal’ for England in the 1998 World Cup second round, also against Argentina.

In a league of ten-teams from which four qualify and a fifth faces a play-off, the result leaves fourth-placed Argentina on 22 points, sweating on their qualification with Ecuador and Colombia breathing down their necks 2 points behind.

Tricky away matches follow against third-placed Paraguay (27pts) and Uruguay (18pts) in seventh spot, who could still snatch a place in South Africa next year by winning their last three games.

Brazilian media were quick to celebrate the victory against their team’s fiercist rival. “Good to win, even better to win in Argentina,” said one TV presenter. “As a player Maradona was god, as a coach he’s mortal,” cried the Folha de São Paulo newspaper.

Business, Culture, News, Sport Football, World Cup

A film about a Polish refugee suspected of being a Nazi fugitive by Brazilian immigration authorities at the end of World War II aims to shed light on a recent period of Brazilian history little known to most people in the country today.

‘Tempos de Paz’ [Peacetime], which opens on Friday, starring Tony Ramos and Dan Stulbach focuses on the encounter between a customs official and former-torturer for President Getulio Vargas’ secret police.

Clauswitz [Stulbach], a former Polish actor who experienced at first hand the full horrors that the war inflicted on his country and people arrives in Brazil in search of a new life but finds himself accused of being a Nazi war criminal by customs official Segismundo [Ramos].

Based on a successful theatre production, the film looks at some of the most important moments in modern Brazilian history, including the Vargas regime and a new influx of immigrants that helped build Brazil into the country it is now.

Vargas, who ordered the detention of political prisoners in the run-up to the Second World War, but was later elected to the Brazilian presidency is said to have hedged his bets in waiting to see which side would likely come out on top before siding with the allies, before eventually sending troops to fight in Italy.

In the film, Segismundo, who fears revenge from former detainees now has the final say on who is allowed to stay in Brazil and has been given the task of preventing Nazis from entering the country as the Getúlio Vargas dictatorship tries to smooth over relations with the United States.

Shot in Rio de Janeiro over ten days at the end of last year, ‘Tempos de Paz’ is directed by Daniel Filho, co-producer of the critically acclaimed and Oscar nominated ‘City of God’, the no-holds-barred portrayal of shantytown life in Rio de Janeiro.

“What interests me particularly is the massive displacement of populations for political reasons something that isn’t specific to the Second World War,” said scriptwriter Bosco Brasil, who adapted his play for the big screen.

Culture, News cinema, dictatorship, Getúlio Vargas, Immigration, theatre