I got this nice insert in my newspaper this week. It shows the new 2 and 5 reais bills. As you all probably know, currency here is the Brazilian real and the plural is "reais".
Brazilian bills are some of the prettiest on the planets. Yeah, the dude on the front is more or less like any other dude or dudette (apologies to Queen Elizabeth) on any other currency. Ah, and I just got corrected (see Comments below) that it is a lady not a dude. Still...it looks like a dude. But on the back, you have the best beasties around: the hummingbird ($1), the sea turtle ($2), the heron ($5), parrot ($10), golden lion tamarin monkey ($20), jaguar ($50) and grouper ($100). Why the jaguar didn't get the $100, I'll never know. Grouper? Seriously?
Anyway, the colors are also gorgeous--blues, pink, maroon, green, it's great stuff. Puts the US dollar to shame. When I first got the new $100 reais bill last year, it was so beautiful I was sure that it was fake. So I quickly spent it. I guess this is why they send out these informational inserts in the newspaper.
Currency in Brazil has had quite a checkered history. It's not a subject for a Sunday but some time I'll talk about the currencies that Brazil has seen: cruzeiro, cruzado, new cruzeiro, new cruzado...And all wrapped up with a history of inflation and banking fandango. Yes, I am going to go with "fandango." Happy Sunday!
