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Seeing Bread Smile with Moema Machado

For more stories from Brazil, follow (@instagrambrasil on Instagram. For more photos and videos of Moema’s bread-making, follow (@moema.machado) on Instagram

(This interview was conducted in Portuguese)

The ingredients in baker Moema Machado’s (@moema.machado) recipes may be simple, but the end products are full of emotion. “When the bread goes into the oven, it suddenly jumps out at me and gives a big smile,” says the 35-year-old from Goiás, Brazil. “This is how I see it, without exaggeration.” Moema’s creative process begins long before she touches the dough. She loves to dive into research, learning the history of different types of breads or the cultivation of grains. “In reality, you hardly need anything. It’s just flour, water and time. Then, everything emerges,” says Moema. “I love understanding the processes and respecting the bread’s own time, as each batch represents a challenge and a learning experience.”

photography, instagram, food, bread, natural, baking, smb, brazil, latin america, moema machado, instagrambrasil,

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Capturing Beauty in the Banal with Street Photographer Gustavo Pereira Gomes

Discover more stories from Brazil on @instagrambrasil.

Street photographer Gustavo Pereira Gomes (@gustavominas) never gets bored. “Wherever I go, I keep an eye on the details,” says the 34-year-old from Minas Gerais, Brazil, who manages to find beauty in the banal. Whether in the small municipality of Cássia where he was born or in a metropolis like São Paulo, he wanders for inspiration. “I go out walking early in the morning or in the late afternoon, when the light is good, without any definite course in mind,” he says. “But I always have a camera with me.”

Through Gustavo’s lens, chance gains the contours of modern poetry through light, shadow and color. It is rare he returns without strong images: a silhouette reflected in a stained-glass window, a driver sleeping at the wheel, a passionate kiss, the hustle and bustle of a bus station — his windows into the passage of time.

photography, street photography, gustavo gomes, brazil, minas gerais, instagrambrasil, instagram,

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Photographing Nostalgia with Francine de Mattos

To see more of Francine’s photographs, check out @fotografeumaideia on Instagram. Follow @instagrambrasil to discover more stories from the region.

(This interview was conducted in Portuguese.)

You nearly smell the earth and woods in Francine de Mattos’ (@fotografeumaideia) photos. A resident of Salete, a small town of 7,000 people in Santa Catarina, Brazil, she shares snapshots of the region’s scenery. “When I am not taking pictures for work, I go for a ride on my motorcycle. On these trips, I rediscover the place where I live,” the 25-year-old photographer says. “I love to hear a good story from someone who has lived for a long time.” Francine fell for photography 10 years ago while still in high school. “My motivation is nostalgia. I lost my maternal grandmother before I got a camera, and so I do not have a picture of her that I took. It is this absence that makes me want to photograph everything and everyone.”

photography, motorcycle, countryside, nostalgia, Santa Catarina, Brazil, userfeature, Francine de Mattos, instagrambrasil, instagram,

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Share a Surfboard With This Rio de Janeiro Couple

To see more of Gabriella and Eduardo’s surf sessions, follow @gabiduda.surfduplo on Instagram. Check out @instagrambrasil to discover more stories from the region.

(This interview was conducted in Portuguese.)

“Sharing your surfboard with another person is magical,” explains Gabriella Cardoso (@gabiduda.surfduplo). “You have to be in complete harmony.” She and her boyfriend, designer Eduardo Lima, tandem surf — a Hawaiian sport where two surfers balance on the same board while performing tricks and stunts.

“We need to have perfect movements to help one another,” Gabriella says. “It’s a really fun sport that brings us even closer together.” The Rio de Janeiro couple have attracted a following during their training sessions on the Macumba and Barra da Tijuca beaches. “We want to gain new fans and, maybe one day, host a competition,” says Gabriella.

photography, surf, tandem, riodejaneiro, brazil, instagrambrasil, instagram,

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Living Rock ‘n’ Roll with Thiago Pethit

For more from Thiago’s life, follow @thiagopethit. To discover more stories from Brazil, follow @instagrambrasil.

(This interview was conducted in Portuguese.)

“When I’m onstage I can do whatever I want, be whoever I want to be and totally set myself free,” says musician Thiago Pethit (@thiagopethit). “I feel more comfortable onstage than at home.” Most of this confidence comes from prior training as an actor. A movie buff infatuated with design, the 29-year-old São Paulo native has been on tour in Brazil promoting his third album, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Sugar Darling.” Thiago praises the diversity and freedom of life in São Paulo and misses some of the customs unique to his native city. “I’ve spent more time in airports and on concert stages than in my own bed, but I love it when it’s time to come home and drink a typical São Paulo coffee at a street corner café.”

photography, music, sao paulo, Thiago Pethit, instagrambrasil, instagram,

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Giving Back with Style: Insecta Shoes Turns Trash Into Fancy Footwear

To learn more about Barbara and her eco-friendly footwear company, follow @insectashoes on Instagram.

“I was pretty much always an entrepreneur. I wanted to give back to our planet, help people and work with a purpose,” explains Barbara Mattivy, the 31-year-old co-founder of Insecta Shoes (@insectashoes), a Brazilian small business that produces vegan eco-friendly footwear made out of vintage clothing and recycled plastic bottles. “I finally figured out I could combine my passions for fashion and the internet and still do good for the world.” Barbara’s advice to budding entrepreneurs is to follow your heart: “You’re one step ahead if you already know what your passion is. I see a lot of people nowadays wanting something different, but not sure of what it is. For those who already know, take advantage of this gift and think of ways to monetize it — usually it’s not that hard.” #LivingMyPassion

photography, insecta shoes, recycle, shoes, fashion, SMB, living my passion, vegan, Barbara Mattivy, instagram, instagrambrasil,

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Catching São Paulo’s Sunsets: Gabriela Saueia’s @depoisdasseis

To experience São Paulo’s vibrant sky, follow @depoisdasseis on Instagram.

(This interview was conducted in Portuguese.)

Three years and over 1,000 photographs later, Brazilian journalist Gabriela Saueia is not bored of sunsets. For her project “Depois das Seis” (@depoisdasseis), Gabriela captures the sunset every day in her hometown of São Paulo. “There will never be two photographs which are exactly the same, nor will we ever see the same sky or sunset,” she says. “My favorite photographs are those taken after a rainy or cloudy day. This reminds me that nothing is permanent and everything can change in an instant.”

photography, Sunsets, Brazil, São Paulo, depoisdasseis, Gabriela Saueia, instagram, instagrambrasil,

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Learning to Love Everything You Are with Body-Positivity Activist @mayaraefe

“#MyStory is a series that spotlights inspiring women in the Instagram community. Join the conversation by sharing your own story. To see more of Mayara’s photos, follow @mayaraefe on Instagram.

(This interview was conducted in Portuguese.)

“#MyStory is about loving yourself, your heritage and your body. It’s about survival and having the freedom to be who you are.” —Mayara Efe (@mayaraefe), a body-positivity activist and plus-sized model from São Paulo, Brazil.

“For years, I suffered from depression. As a black, curvy and gay woman, I didn’t fit into any of society’s boxes. I tried to fit in. I tried to lose weight, and every month I tried to straighten my hair. Then, when I still didn’t feel like my life had any great possibilities, I tried suicide. During my recovery from depression, I discovered feminism and realized that I could do anything, regardless of my skin color or weight. I started to post photos that my grandmother would take of me. People began sharing these images, saying I was photogenic and recommending me for modeling jobs. This is how I became a plus-sized model.

I don’t want other girls or women to have to go through the same thing I did in order to learn to love themselves. I learned the hard way that the only way to be happy is to hold your head up high and have the maximum amount of love and respect for yourself.”

photography, MyStory, plus-size, Brazil, São Paulo, feminism, Mayara Efe, instagrambrasil, instagram,