the brazilian spin-the-bottle is kin to the american truth-or-dare, where instead of indicating who in the circle must kiss, the bottles final resting point obligates the two people indicated to respond to a question truthfully or complete a challenge provided by the group.

like children the world over, young people in rio de janeiro do not choose their circumstances or the families they are born into. however, through a shared culture of play, they develop a common identity that swaddles them in the cloth of collective memory and transmits from generation to generation the stories, games and traditions that define their culture.