You chuckle, but a glance at the women on the beach will show you that they aren’t wearing much. In fact there are times what they do have has a tendency to slip out of the tanga, but not often. We can go back in history a bit and see that to cover the area the infamous jockstrap was invented in 1874 by a company called Sharp and Smith, a Chicago sporting’s good store.
In Rio, the tanga has been around quite a few years now and can really only be worn by females who have a body for them. It’s the Latin American shape that is simply amazing and not hidden or leaving anything to the imagination when the tanga is worn.
But Rio isn’t the only place you’ll find tangas in Brazil; they are everywhere in the country. You can see them on practically every beach along the coast and many on the inland beaches. The fact that Rio has action (beach goers) at almost every daylight hour means you’re more likely to see a girl with a tanga on than any other place on the planet.
The Brazilian tanga got the name from the Portuguese pronunciation of the English word “thong.” Yes, that’s about how it comes out in Portuguese – “tanga.” You can’t blame them, they don’t have any words the “th” in them – so the sounds is a hard “t.” And the rest is history.
The Brazilian swimsuit industry is one of the hottest on earth. Sales skyrocketed in recent years mainly due to the Internet. Tangas are easy to ship and sizes are fairly easy to guesstimate.
It doesn’t take long to see how a tiny piece of cloth could become a fashion accessory. But what baffles many is the price of the “bikini” in relationship to the amount of actual material that goes into it.
panema Beach is probably your best bet to see Brazil tangas bright and or early in the day. Girls stroll, strutting their stuff along with their counterparts, the guys, who wander the beach in sungas – tiny briefs that don’t cover much.
So if you could ever get tired of girl-watching, there are sports. But we know that won’t happen. Brazilians make a huge effort to stay in shape and to look their very best on the golden sands of Copacabana and Ipanema.
Some of the other beaches in Brazil to spot Tangas are the fine beaches around Ubatuba in the State of Sao Paulo. These are beaches right off the main highway but divided by a mountain range. What makes this area special, sort of like Rio, is that you have these massive mountains cascading right down into the Atlantic ocean.
I always like to imagine what it must have been like to have discovered these areas. Breathtaking even today and as grand as ever, Brazilians and foreigners alike flock to these areas to spend much needed relief from the hustle and bustle of city life in close by Sao Paulo and Rio.
To get here, fly into Sao Paulo (Guarulhos airport GRU) and at your hotel ask about a trip to Ubatuba. It will be well worth your time.
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