visitors invited to a brazilian's house for dinner do not need to show up exactly at the assigned time for dinner - the culture and lifestyle of rio de janeiro is laid back, and this is reflected in the punctuality of party guests - it is not unusual for guests to arrive about one hour late, and many locals use the hour after the assigned time as a general guideline for when to actually arrive at someone's home.

visitors who are hosting their own dinner party, must not think their guests have cancelled on them if no one turns up on time - this is a normal attribute of hosting dinner parties.

perhaps as an indication of general carioca's tendency in enjoying life in general and the moment at hand,  meals can last a very long time, and in case of a business lunch or dinner, formal topics are not discussed until the host does so.