Brasília Local Customs

People don't use their horns in Brasilia. We are proud to be a silent city. You only horn in a very special case, to avoid an accident, not to tell people that you exist. In case you are in a traffic jam, don't horn, it's useless and you'll only get people irritated. If you need to advise the car in front of you about something, just flash your lights.

Being horned is quite an offense and a reason for shame in Brasilia : )

Brasilia was constructed between 1956 and 1960, during the government of President Juscelino Kubitschek. It was inaugurated, as Brazil's new capital, in April 21, 1960. Its master plan ('Plano Piloto') was conceived by Lucio Costa, and its major buildings were designed by Oscar Niemeyer.
Planned for only 500,000 inhabitants, Brasilia has seen its population grow much more than expected. Several satellite towns have been created over the years to house the extra inhabitants. Brasilia's total population (including the satellite cities) is now over 2,000,000 inhabitants.

Clubs in Brazil mean huge recreational parks with swimming pools and sports facilities that can occupy as much as a few blocks! I love those places though and you'll get signs indicating their presence throughout the the whole edges of the North and South Wings. If you noticed the town is deserted on a weekend, it's because everyone has headed down to a club for that deserved end-of-week bbq and sunbathing!

Brasilia is in the middle of the country and not much of a tourist spot so not many people speak English or any other language outside of Portuguese. I would highly recommend learning some key phrases and bringing along a good phrase book. Actually, this probably is a good idea for most of Brazil including the big cities. Without knowing the language you're forced to draw picture to get your point across. As you can see in the picture I have provided here I did not follow my own advice and was forced to rely on my Dictionary skills to get my point across. I did finally get my shirts pressed which was much better than ironing them myself (my original plan)