About Us

published on September 01, 2003

by Bill Hinchberger

For contact information, click here.

What is BrazilMax?

Put simply in our slogan, we’re “The hip gringo’s guide to Brazil.”

BrazilMax is a travel website, but not any old travel website. We focus on what we call roots tourism – eco, cultural, historical, rural, adventure, mature and business. Our aim is to help travelers – both genuine and virtual – better understand Brazilian society and culture. We try to offer an eclectic and unpredictable mix of content that will both satisfy and stimulate curiosity. For those who actually get on a plane, we try to offer the kind of practical advice that will enrich the independent travel experience.

In an inaugural open letter to readers in July 2000, I described my original intentions this way: “This website is designed for gringos who - for whatever reason - have a special interest in Brazil. These might be Brazilianists at Berkeley, investors on Wall Street, capoeristas in Amsterdam, or expats like me who reside in the Brooklin neighborhood of São Paulo. The idea is to publish the best Brazil-related literary journalism, investigative reporting and literature out there.”

I continued: “On the scale from data to information to knowledge to wisdom, BrazilMax aspires - however pretentiously - to the latter. BrazilMax hopes to serve as a filter for high quality writing about Brazil.” Think of BrazilMax as a cross between an online travel guidebook and niche magazine featuring travel writing.

Surprising Growth

In the beginning, I had no idea what to expect. To my surprise, BrazilMax quickly became a point of reference for Brazil in English. It earned mentions in The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, the Brazilian trade magazine Bares & Restaurantes, the periodical tourist events guide São Paulo This Month, and other media venues. Then came honorable mentions in The Guardian of London, the SonntagsZeitung of Zurich and the Travel Channel website. Relying almost exclusively on word-of-mouth for promotion, we watched our readership grow steadily. In February 2004, BrazilMax received 79,843 unique viewers and totaled 756,142 document hits. On March 11, 2004 our three-month Alexa ranking was 78,060. Click here to see the current Alexa ranking.

What others have said about BrazilMax

Necessary reading for anyone with more than a passing interest in Brazilian culture, life and reality.”
Duvekot.com

For those who don't speak Portuguese, but want to know as much as possible about Brazil, rest assured: BrazilMax is at your aid... With interest in Brazil growing every day, the demand for good and reliable information sources is also growing. However, with much data either being only in Portuguese or mixed (at best) in terms of reliability, one good source stands out: BrazilMax.
Travel Latin America

BrazilMax has our attention.
Netsurfer Digest

I just got back from a four-month stay in Bahia as a writer and I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate your website BrazilMax. In fact I don't know how I would get along without it.”
Patricia Chao, novelist and author of Monkey King

The balance between usability, design and content is praiseworthy, and makes the visit a really positive experience.
Jorge Marmion, editor, Portal Sampa Online and director, Brazilian Institute for User Friendliness

Special Thanks

Back in July 2000, I asked a bunch of friends if I could bug them when I needed feedback about BrazilMax. Soon I corralled them into a formal Editorial Board. The board no longer exists formally, but I would like to thank the following members for their input and suggestions during the first three years of the project: Carlos A. Afonso, Assis Ângelo, Bosco Brasil, Alexander Busch, Carlos Castilho, Paulo Fridman, Helio Goldsztejn, Michael Grossmann, Flávio Guimarães, Mike Kepp, Peter Kingstone, Bob Nadkarni, Micha Peled, Oliviero Pluviano, Anne Pothsuma, Rebecca Reichmann, Nara Roesler, Washington Santana, Gilson Schwartz, Gay Seidman, Ricardo Soca, Maria Amalia Souza, Giancarlo Summa, Glenn Switkes, Braulio Tavares, and Cliff Welch.

I would also like to thank all of the writers, journalists, photographers, illustrators and other folks who have donated content to BrazilMax. I won’t even try to list them here, but you can find their credits alongside their contributions.

Affiliations, Web Development and Hosting

Travel Website Owners - an international network of independent content sites that are owned and edited by travel writers.

Globalvision New Media - an independent new media company specializing in information, entertainment and educational content.

Ciclo Design – our web developers.

Edge Web - our hosting service, specialized in Cold Fusion.

The Founder and Jack of All Trades

That’s me, Bill Hinchberger. I’m the creator, entrepreneur, publisher, editor and senior writer. My bad.

A native Californian, I’ve been working as a journalist in Brazil since 1986. A former correspondent in Brazil for the likes of The Financial Times, Business Week, Advertising Age and Variety, I now contribute to publications like ARTnews, Metropolis, National Wildlife and Science. I contributed to “The Brazil Reader” anthology (Duke University Press) and the Green Globe Yearbook 1993 (Oxford University Press). I’m past-president of the local correspondents club.

I am often interviewed by the Brazilian and international press, and I make regular appearances as a public speaker. I hold an M.A. in Latin American Studies and a B.A. in Political Science, both from the University of California, Berkeley. I’m past president of the São Paulo Foreign Press Club (1995-99) and a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) and the Brazilian Studies Association (BRASA).

I moved to Brazil in 1986. After four years in Rio de Janeiro, I came to São Paulo. I’ve spent extended periods of time in Salvador and Paraty, an old colonial town and tourist mecca down the coast from Rio de Janeiro. Paraty happens to be my wife’s hometown.

I’ve ridden through the streets of Salvador atop a “trio elétrico” (the sound trucks that Carnival bands use to roll through the streets), and I’ve danced in the winning Samba School of Rio’s Carnival parade. I’ve slugged through the Amazonian mud and crouched in canoes with native fishermen after the pirarucu, the world’s largest freshwater fish. I’ve chased down the last remaining speakers of dying Amazon languages. I’ve toured the mega-dam Itaipú with company officials and flown over nearby Iguaçu Falls in a military plane. I’ve ridden on horseback through the plains of Rio Grande do Sul. I’ve witnessed the São João mid-winter extravaganza in Caruaru and the post-Christmas Wise Men Festival in Minas Gerais. I’ve surfed the primo waves of Santa Catarina. I’ve hung out in the shantytowns of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador. I’ve flown over São Paulo in a helicopter courtesy of a bank executive. I’ve interviewed everyone from the late author Jorge Amado to President Lula. Not only that, but I practice the Brazilian martial art capoeira twice a week.

For more, see my personal website.

Keep Tabs on BrazilMax

If you want to receive notices of BrazilMax content updates, promotions and events, subscribe to our e-newsletter by sending us a message. You can leave the subject line and body of the message blank.