Two friends of mine had bought tickets to go to Brazil this spring to participate in
Carnaval. They didn't know you needed a Visa before getting to the airport (I guess you can get visas at some airports?), and they had to drive from Las Vegas to Las Angeles to the Brazilian Consulate to get a visa. Despite them being first in line at two in the morning, they were told that it would be at least 10 days before anything would go through (probably because so many people were trying to get to Brazil for Carnaval). Unfortunately they planned their flight too close to the date of Carnaval and were not able to go.
I hope you get your passports and visas in time.