In 2009, Brazil legalized street art – all the artist needs is permission from the property owner. Each artist has their own language, but street art in Rio appears to be particularly influenced by its seaside surroundings, as opposed to street art in São Paulo, which draws more inspiration from its urban cityscape. Street art is called “grafite” (pronounced grah-fee-tchee) in Rio – what we call graffiti in terms of tagging and lettering buildings in the US is referred to as “pichação” (pronounced pee-shah-sow).

A Brazilian man, Octavio de Moraes, developed footvolley on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach in 1965. Footvolley combines the technical skills of soccer and volleyball—both of which beachgoers commonly play at Copacabana. The sport provides an affordable, accessible outlet for athletes.