A little history...

Just about 1 million native indians lived in Brazil before the first Portuguese explorers. Five million Africans arrived before the abolition of slavery in 1888. Mix those with Asian, Italians, Germans, Lebanese, etc...All arriving by the 1930's. This eclectic mix has created a cuisine marked by profound differences. The national cuisine of Brazil is more a collection of unique regional ones.

The regions are divided into five. North ( Acre, Amazonas, Amapá, Pará, Rondonia, Roraima, and Tocantins) Northeast (Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Maranhao, Paraiba, Pernambuco, Piaui, Rio Grande do Norte, and Sergipe) Central-West (Federal District of Brasilia plus Goias, Mato Grosso, and Mato Grosso do Sul) Southeast (Espirito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, and Sao Paulo) South (Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, and Santa Catarina)