A social event might start at midnight, and go on until the wee hours of the morning even during the work week. For one thing, there's the coffee. In any interaction with Brazilians their sense of time becomes apparent. They live in the present, and don't take schedules very seriously. They'll get to the airport early to allow for farewells and contingencies.
Contingencies are a way of life.
Brazil has a whole class of professionals or despachantes who can dar um jeito or find a solution for others who lack the time or know-how. The jeito often provides a way of cutting through the bureaucracy. When the mayor of Curitiba decided to turn the main thoroughfare of the city into a pedestrian mall, he knew if the process dragged out over several weeks, objections would arise. So he called on all civil servants to work over a single weekend, erecting barricades and planters. By Monday morning the pedestrian mall was finished, and traffic was diverted to other streets.