The 10 years Average Ranking graph of Brazil is a thing of beauty - it is so smooth!! But one might wonder, what exactly happened between 2010 and 2011....this seems to be the year that Brazil has gone through a dramatic transformation - from a good aquascaping nation in 2010 and before, they become an absolute powerhouse from 2011 onward until today! Brazil is not only good, they are very consistent as well, over the last 8 years, their average ranking is consistently below 40 until last year where they have a slight drop out of 50. But still, they amazed the world by consistently providing top27 and top7 scapers on a yearly basis!
When we talk about aquascaping in Brazil, we can't avoid mentioning the ""Brazilian style". There is no other country in the world that has created a style of aquascaping that they can call their own, except Brazil. The ""Brazilian" style" has become so dominant and popular until it is now become a recognized "category" in the aquascaping language - like NA, Iwagumi, Dutch, Diorama, Forest etc...Brazilian style has become a category of its own. So what is Brazilian style? Take a look at attached outstanding tank photos from Brazil in recent years, you will immediately feel the Brazilian vibes!
In general, Brazilian layouts are predominantly rock scapes, perhaps 90% are layouts with rocks. Colourful stem plants and meticulously created sand foreground/path with beautiful details are also often found in their layouts. Large area of water surface reflection is another trademark in the Brazilian layouts. Combining all this unique factors, their tanks are always beautifully wild and dynamic with their own identity.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Is consistency a strength? Definitely. The ability to maintain an average ranking of below 50 in the last 8 years demonstrates how strong a team Brazil is! Their 5th scapers also never drop out of the top100 individual ranking in the past 8 years, and 6 out of that 8 years, their 5th scapers are in the top50!! This is another sign that Brazil is super strong as an aquascaping nation. One of their leading local aquascaping club in Brazil, Aquabase Layout Team, is another reason why Brazil is where they are today. A lot of coachings and workshops have been organized to groom the Brazilian scapers and one can also feel the togetherness within this team!
As for the weakness of Brazil as an aquascaping nation...it is hard to see any obvious one. Perhaps....if we really want to be critical and pick on the smallest "flaw", we might say that the Brazilian layouts are quite "predictable", due to the Brazilian style of aquascaping which is rooted deep in their veins, all layouts coming out from Brazil has a certain similarity. But as they know how to do their thing so expertly, this may not be an weakness after all.
Author: IAPLC Nations Challenge
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