Rio de Janeiro is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America. The city was the capital of Brazil for nearly two centuries, from 1763 to 1822 during the Portuguese colonial era, and from 1822 to 1960 as an independent nation. It is also the former capital of the Portuguese Empire (1808–1821). Commonly known as just Rio, the city is also nicknamed A Cidade Maravilhosa or “The Marvelous City.”
Rio de Janeiro is famous for its natural settings, its carnival celebrations, samba, Bossa Nova and hotel-lined tourist beaches, such as Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon, along with its slums. Some of the most famous landmarks in addition to the beaches include the giant statue of Christ, known as Christ the Redeemer (‘Cristo Redentor’) atop Corcovado mountain, named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World; Sugarloaf mountain (Pão de Açúcar) with its cable car; the Sambódromo, a giant permanent parade stand used during Carnival and Maracanã stadium, one of the world’s largest football stadiums. Rio de Janeiro will host the 2016 Summer Olympics, and will be the first South American city to host the event and the second in Latin America 48 years after Mexico City hosted in 1968.
The city also boasts the largest and second largest urban forests in the world: Floresta da Tijuca, or “Tijuca Forest.” and (almost connected to the first) the forest in Parque Estadual da Pedra Branca, or White Stone State Park. The Galeão-Antônio Carlos Jobim International Airport, commonly known simply as Galeão connects Rio de Janeiro with many Brazilian cities and also operates several international flights.
Despite its charm and beauty, Rio is reputed to be one of the most violent cities in the world. Much of the violent crime is concentrated in the shantytowns but it also spills into middle and upper-class neighborhoods.
1. Christ the Redeemer is a statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; considered the largest art deco statue in the world. The statue stands 130 ft tall, including its 31 ft pedestal, and 98 ft wide. It weighs 635 tons, and is located at the peak of the 2,300 ft Corcovado mountain in the Tijuca Forest National Park overlooking the city. It is one of the tallest of its kind in the world. The statue of Cristo de la Concordia in Cochabamba, Bolivia, is slightly taller, standing at 132.7 ft tall with its 20.5 ft pedestal and 112.2 ft wide. A symbol of Catholicism, the statue has become an icon of Rio and Brazil. The statue of Christ the Redeemer is a very important symbol of Brazil’s Catholicism. It is made of reinforced concrete and soapstone.
2. Sugarloaf Mountain is a peak situated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at the mouth of Guanabara Bay on a peninsula that sticks out into the Atlantic Ocean. Rising 1,299 ft above the harbor, its name is said to refer to its resemblance to the traditional shape of concentrated refined loaf sugar. However, it is believed by some that the name actually derives from Pau-nh-acuqua (“high hill”) in the Tupi-Guarani language, as used by the indigenous Tamoios.
The mountain is only one of several monolithic morros of granite and quartz that rise straight from the water’s edge around Rio de Janeiro. A glass-paneled cable car (in popular Portuguese, bondinho – more properly called teleférico), capable of holding 75 passengers, runs along a 1400-meter route between the peaks of Pão de Açúcar and Cara de Cão every 20 minutes. The original cable car line was built in 1912 and rebuilt around 1972/1973 in its current form. The cable car goes from the base, not the peak of the Babilônia mountain, to the Urca mountain and then to the Pão de Açúcar mountain.
3. Carnival - Starting out as a festival before the somber mood of Lent, Carnival in Rio de Janeiro is considered one of the greatest shows on Earth. The first festivals of Rio date back to 1723.
The carnival parade is filled with people and floats from various samba schools. A samba school can either be an actual school or just a collaboration of local neighbors that want to attend carnival. Samba schools include: Mocidade Independente, Imperio Serrano, Academicos do Salgueiro, Unidos da Tijuca, and Beija-Flor de Nilopolis.
The purpose of carnival is for samba schools to compete with fellow rival schools; this competition is the climax of the whole carnival festival. Each school chooses a theme to try and portray in their entry. The samba schools work to build the best floats and costumes to represent their themes, and to include the best music they can from their band called the bateria. There are many parts to each school’s entry including the six to eight floats and thousands of participants.
There is a special order that every school has to follow with their parade entries. Each school begins with the “comissão de frente”, which is the first wing. The “comissão de frente” is made up of ten to fifteen people only, and they are the ones who introduce the school and set the mood. These people have choreographic dances in fancy costumes that usually tell a short story. Following the “comissão de frente” is the first float of the samba school, called “abre-alas”.
Some of the important roles include the porta-bandeira and mestre-sala. The porta-bandeira is a very important lady who is in charge of the samba school flag, including making sure to not allow the flag to roll. She is accompanied by the mestre-sala, who is supposed to draw everyone’s attention to “his queen”, the porta-bandeira. Floatees, who are also important, are the people who populate the floats, also known as destaques. The floatees have the most luxurious and expensive costumes that can be extremely heavy. Along with all the floatees is one main floatee that is located at the top of each float. The main destaque dances and sings for the entire time that the float is on the runway.
One other aspect that is mandatory is the presence of the ala das baianas. This is a wing of the samba school entry that includes at least 100 females only. These women along with many other people do not ride on the floats as many others do, instead they are passistas, the people who belong to the samba school that do the marching alongside and between the floats.
4. Copacabana is a borough located in the southern zone of the city Rio de Janeiro, known for its 4 km beach which is one of the most famous in the world. The district was originally called Sacopenapã until the mid-18th century. It was renamed after the construction of a chapel holding a replica of the Virgen de Copacabana, the patron saint of Bolivia. It was incorporated into the city on July 6, 1892. Copacabana begins at Princesa Isabel Avenue and ends at Posto Seis (lifeguard watchtower Six). Beyond Copacabana, there are two small beaches, one inside Fort Copacabana and other, right after it: Diabo Beach. Arpoador beach, where surfers use to go after its perfect waves, comes in the sequence, followed by the famous borough of Ipanema.
5. Ipanema is adjacent to Copacabana beach, but it is distinct from its neighbor. It is relatively easy to navigate because the streets are aligned in a grid. Private infrastructure has created world-class restaurants, shops, and cafes. Ipanema is one of the most expensive places to live in Rio. At the forefront of the beach culture are the many surfers and sun worshippers who socialize daily at the beach. Every Sunday, the roadway closest to the beach is closed to motor vehicles and local residents and tourists use the opportunity to ride bikes, roller skate, skateboard, and walk along the ocean. Ipanema has played its own role in Rio’s culture since its beginning. It has universities, art galleries, theaters and cafes. Ipanema holds its own street parade during Carnival festivities, separate from Rio de Janeiro’s. Banda de Ipanema attracts up to 15,000 people to the streets of Ipanema for Carnival.
