Cruising for a Carnival Trivia Quiz

Answer: Pele

Pele was the son of a soccer player, who helped him get his first job playing professionally at age 16 in 1956 for Santos. The following year he was the top scorer in the league. In 1958 Pele played for the national team in the World Cup and was the youngest player to ever score a hat trick in the World Cup, which Brazil won that year. An injury during the 1962 World Cup took him out of action then and in 1966 was targeted by the Bulgarian and Portuguese teams with hard fouls against him.

In 1970 Brazil, with Pele on the team, won the World Cup again.

He played for the New York Cosmos in the ill-fated NASL league, but did draw more attention to the sport in North America and helped the Cosmos win a title in 1977. Since his retirement from playing Pele has become an Ambassador for soccer and a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.

Answer: Cristo Redentor

Cristo Redentor or Christ the Redeemer is the world famous statue overlooking Rio, arms outstretched in a sign of peace. It was built between 1922 and 1931. It suffers from damage caused by the elements so needs regular restoration. There is a chapel in the base that can be used for weddings and baptisms.

Answer: The Girl from Ipanema

There's nothing like a little bossa nova to get you warmed up for party mode! In 1964 "The Girl from Ipanema", sung by Astrud Gilberto, became an international hit. In case you were wondering, the song is based on a real person - Helo Pinheiro.

Answer: Royce Gracie

Royce Gracie may very well have been the first big name in the sport of MMA fighting, which has since grown immensely since the first UFC event, which he won. He had some legendary battles with Ken Shamrock, one of which was ended in a draw after a half hour of fighting and six minute extra session, though he might be best known winning a 16 minute match against Dan Severn, who had Royce pinned under him for most of the match, but Royce eventually slipped out and got Severn in a submission hold, leaving all watching wondering how he was able to do that. Royce and Ken were the first inductees to the UFC Hall of Fame in 2003.

Answer: Ronaldinho de Assis Moreira

Commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúchoor, Ronaldinho is a Brazilian soccer player who was considered one of the best soccer players in the world. In 2000, Ronaldinho participated in Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, with the Brazil Under-23 team; he won the 2002 World Cup with Brazil.

Answer: Natalia Guimaraes & Natalia Anderle

Natalia Anderle was Miss Brazil 2008 and represented Brazil at the 2008 Miss Universe Pageant, but she did not place at the event.

Natalia Guimaraes was Miss Brazil 2007 and finished as the first runner up at the Miss Universe Pageant. To become Miss Brazil Natalia had to give up her status as the 2006 Top Model of the World, which she won at an international pageant. She has made many television appearances since winning the title and was host for a segment on the "Hoje em Dia" program.

Answer: Andreas Pavel

In 1972 Andreas Pavel invented what he called the stereobelt. He then went about trying to get investors and patenting his invention in various countries. In 1979 the Sony Corporation came out with Walkman and only afterwards began talks with Pavel regarding paying him royalty fees. By 1986 the talks hadn't gone far and Sony was giving little in terms of royalty rights to Pavel and more importantly not acknowledging him as the inventor of the machine. Though there were more legal proceedings, it wasn't until 2003 that a final sealed settlement was reached for financial purposes and stating that Pavel was the inventor of the Walkman. Before the settlement, which included a clause to have no more lawsuits brought against Sony, the founder of Sony, the then deceased Akio Morita, was listed as the inventor of the Walkman.

Manuel de Abreu's invention related to tuberculosis screening, Alberto Santos-Dumont made his contributions to aviation, and Hercules Florence was a pioneer in photography.

Answer: Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis

Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis grew up the son of a bi-racial house painter, whose father was a freed slave and a Portuguese woman. After his mother died when he was young, his father remarried a bi-racial woman. His early life was rough, apart from than visits to his wealthy grandmother. Machado worked his way up through the literary business and then society, after having little formal education.

A visit to a health resort following health problems in 1879 gave him a new perspective on life and on his writing.

Answer: Candido Portinari

Portinari had Italian parents, was born near the Brodowski section of Sao Paulo and studied at the Escola National de Belas Artes and was an avowed Communist. He ran for office in Brazil but fled from an Anti-Communist government which was in power at the time.

His work "Guerra e Paz", which translates to "War and Peace" is in the United Nations Building. His works are not only artistic but, as he often painted what he saw, it tells stories of his life and some of the history of where he was at the time.

Answer: Xuxa

Xuxa was a nickname given to her by her brother and it stuck. She started in entertainment at age 16 as a model. In 1980 she dated another famous Brazilian, Pele, and during her relationship with him she posed for what is now a highly sought issue of the Brazilian edition of Playboy.

She has starred in many movies which contain her name in the title, some of which are ranked high on some "worst ever" lists, but this has not stopped her from becoming the richest woman in Brazil, with assets more than 1 Billion U.S. dollars.