Rio de Janeiro
Area: 1,260 km²
Local time: Monday 1:48 pm
Weather: 26°C, Wind S at 24 km/h, 74% Humidity
Rio de Janeiro
In its prime at over 400 years old, Rio de Janeiro is the host city of the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Brazil’s current intellectual and cultural hub is working to deliver the greatest sports festival in the world in 27 days of competitions.
Rio de Janeiro is located in the state of the same name in a southeastern strip of Brazil’s Atlantic coast. The most visited south hemisphere metropolis has frontiers with three other states of the Federation: Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais and São Paulo.
Rio is widely known for its breathtaking landscapes and its people’s unique joie de vivre. A combination of lakes, ocean and lush mountains marks the natural exuberance and typical colours of the Marvellous City. The friendliness of the cariocas (or “people born in Rio”) can be witnessed in the streets, in bars and at the beach, where the sunset is a rare experience worth enjoying with an open heart by visitors and locals alike.
History
Walking in the streets of Rio feels like going back in the history of Brazil. The old buildings of the city centre and its surroundings hoard the memory of Brazil’s greatest moments.
In January 1502, the second exploratory expedition of the Portuguese, led by a captain by the name of Gaspar Lemos, reached Guanabara Bay. It is legend that he caught sight of what he thought that was a river, so he eventually named it Rio de Janeiro (“River of January”).
But it was not until 1565 that Estácio de Sá founded the municipality which he named São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro, in honour of the then King of Portugal, Dom Sebastião.
At the time of the Empire, the region’s economy expanded its port business potential and the cycles of sugarcane, gold and coffee through slave labour and in 1763 Rio de Janeiro became the capital of the Brazilian Empire.
There was a military coup in 1889 that made Brazil into a republic under Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca, who ousted the emperor and took over the country. With the Proclamation of the Republic in 1889, the capital of the Empire became the federal capital of Brazil.
In the early 20th. C, the first broad streets and imposing buildings, most of which of French fin-de-siècle style, were built. In 1920, the first Brazilian university - URJ, Universidade Rio de Janeiro was founded in Rio. After that period, several higher education institutes and centres for Rio de Janeiro culture and history studies were created. They aimed to preserve the memory of the state and build an identity for the people of Rio de Janeiro state, which had been economically and politically weak since the end of the Second Empire.
Rio remained the capital of the Republic until Brasília was inaugurated in 1960.
After the 1964’s military coup, Brazil was plunged into nearly twenty years of military regime. Most the artists that represent Brazilian culture in the fields of literature, music and the arts worldwide were born at that time. Many of them are still remembered as Brazilian icons, such as Tom Jobim, Oscar Niemeyer, Chico Buarque and many other.
The military regime ended in the early 80s, when Brazil experienced a hyperinflation scenario. At that time, with the country’s political opening, a governor was elected for the state of Rio de Janeiro and was eventually responsible for the construction of Sambódromo and the Public Education Integrated Centres (CIEPs).
In 1985, the National Congress passed some of the measures that eliminated the last traces of Brazilian dictatorship and in 1988, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Brazil was enacted. Up to that time, Brazil had been fighting inflation, which could only be controlled with the launch of Plano Real (“Real Plan”) in 1994.
With a stable economy, Rio de Janeiro has increasingly enjoyed its vocation for tourist destination and has become a great cultural and tourist hub in Brazil.
Happy hour at Largo do Teles
Happy hour (after-work drinks) around the Arco do Teles is a fine way to experience carioca culture in the historic centre of the city, as well as being a Rio de Janeiro tradition. The arch itself is on the northwestern side of Praça XV de Novembro and leads through the charming cobbled street known as Travessa do Comércio to Rua Ouvidor and Rua Mercado. You'll find a vibrant atmosphere amongst the tables of cafés, bars and restaurants that fill these narrow streets, particularly towards the end of the working week, as cariocas relax with a glass of beer and traditional finger foods. The area offers many historical, cultural and gastronomic highlights.
Outdoor Sports
Rio de Janeiro's natural beauty and astonishing views invite residents and visitors to take part in outdoor exercise throughout the city. Frescobol, first played on Copacabana beach during the 1950s, and now considered a traditional pastime, is a popular activity for cariocas on sunny days, both in summer and winter.
The carioca beachfronts are excellent for a sunset bike ride, while the beaches themselves are perfect for a game of volleyball or footvolley. The latter has some characteristics of football – the player may touch the ball with any part of the body except the arms, forearms and hands, as well as those of volleyball – the match is divided into sets, and each team may only touch the ball three times.
There are activities which are even more original, such as slackline, in which players walk across a nylon tightrope fixed between two anchor points. It is common to see people practising slackline on nylon roping fastened between coconut trees on Rio's beaches. Another example is wakeboarding on Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, with its stunning views of Christ the Redeemer, the mountains of Tijuca forest, and Pedra da Gávea.
Arpoador beach sunset
Known for its rocks abutting the ocean, Arpoador beach is about 500 metres long, and is located between Fort Copacabana and Ipanema Beach. It offers one of the most breathtaking views of Rio: the sunset behind Dois Irmãos hill, framed by the Ipanema and Leblon beaches. This amazing moment is part of the carioca daily routine. Between October and February, when the city observes summer time, you often see locals leaving work in the evening and going straight to the beach simply to admire this natural spectacle.
Historic buildings, churches and cultural spaces
A great deal of Brazilian history is still alive in Rio de Janeiro. Beautiful buildings from the 19th and 20th centuries house museums, churches and cultural centres that are part of the city’s history and Brazilian culture. Several artistic spaces cater for temporary exhibitions, cinema festivals and music, theatre and dance presentations.
The Museum of Modern Art, for example, is a milestone in Brazilian architecture. The work of architect Affonso Eduardo Reidy and a landscaping project of Roberto Burle Marx resulted in one of Rio’s most renowned cultural spaces. Inaugurated in 1958 and reopened in 1990, the museum hosts major national and international exhibitions.
Among churches and spaces for religious practice, the Catedral Metropolitana, inaugurated in 1979, stands out for the grandiosity and modernity of the cone-shaped architectural design. The cathedral is 75 metres high and has an external diameter of 106 metres, with standing capacity for 20,000 people. Outside the cathedral, visitors are dazzled by the colourful church windows.
Another of Rio de Janeiro historic sites is the Ilha Fiscal. The location, which was a customs clearance office until 1913, became famous for hosting the last ball of the Brazilian empire in November 1889, held in the island’s palace. The neo-gothic palace is open for visits and may be accessed via schooners which leave the Espaço Cultural da Marinha, in Rio’s central district.
An unmissable site for lovers of contemporary art, the building that served as the headquarters and branch agency of the Banco do Brasil until 1989 has been renovated to host one of the city’s most popular cultural and artistic spaces. Located on Avenida Presidente Vargas, near the famous Candelária church, the Centro Cultural do Banco do Brasil (CCBB) includes a library, cinema, theatre, bookstore, shop, tearoom and restaurant, in addition to spaces for temporary exhibitions.
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