There is a commercial running on televisions in north-eastern Brazil that makes an observation about the weather. "The heat here is tremendous," sing Aviões do Forró, one of the region's most popular bands. "Your sweat turns into steam."

A slight exaggeration perhaps, and one that suffers a little in translation, but the point is indisputable. The next line, to anyone sweltering in a north-eastern evening, seems also to make perfect sense: "So bring me a Brahma Fresh."