(Redirected from Rio de Janeiro (city))
'Rio de Janeiro' (
IPA:
Portuguese: , "River of January"
English ) is a major city in southeastern
Brazil and the capital of the state of
Rio de Janeiro. The city was once the capital of Brazil (1763–1960) and of the
Portuguese Empire (1808–1821). Commonly known as just 'Rio', the city is also nicknamed ''A Cidade Maravilhosa'' - "The Marvelous City".
It is famous for its spectacular natural setting, its
Carnival celebrations,
samba and other music, hotel-lined tourist beaches, such as
Copacabana and
Ipanema, paved with decorated black and cream swirl pattern mosaics, and also for its huge social disparities,
shanty towns,
violence and
drug traffic. Some of the most famous local landmarks in addition to the beaches include the giant statue of
Jesus, known as
Christ the Redeemer ('Cristo Redentor') atop
Corcovado mountain, which has recently been 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 also boasts the world's largest forest inside an urban area, called ''Floresta da Tijuca'', or '
Tijuca Forest'
[1].
Rio de Janeiro is located at 22 degrees, 54 minutes south
latitude, 43 degrees 14 minutes west
longitude (). The population of the City of Rio de Janeiro is about 6,136,652
[2], occupying an area of .
[3] The population of the larger
metropolitan area is estimated at 11-12 million. It was Brazil's capital until 1960, when
Brasília took its place. Residents of the city are known as
Cariocas. The city's current mayor (2006) is
Cesar Maia. The official song of Rio is "Cidade Maravilhosa" (translated as "Marvelous City").
History
Guanabara Bay was reached by Portuguese explorers in an expedition led by
Portuguese explorer
Gaspar de Lemos on
January 20,
1502; hence Rio de Janeiro, "January River". There is a legend that the mariners named the place thus because they thought the mouth of the bay was actually the mouth of a river, but no experienced sailor would make that mistake. At the time, river was the general word for any large body of water.
An unofficial European presence in the area began not long after. In 1519 when
Ferdinand Magellan resupplied his ships in the bay, French smugglers were already using the bay as a post for smuggling
brazilwood. When
French naval officer
Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon arrived in 1555 with a fleet of two ships and 600 soldiers and colonists, he founded the first permanent European settlement in the area. The colony was referred to as "
France Antarctique". The colonists consisted of mainly French
Huguenots and
Swiss Calvinists. Villegaignon left in 1557 after disputes with some of the colonists.
The city was founded on
March 1 1565, by Portuguese
knight Estácio de Sá, who called it ''São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro 20'' (St Sebastian of the January 20th River), in honour of
Saint Sebastian (day of death traditionally on January 20). For centuries, the settlement was commonly called São Sebastião – or even 'Saint Sebastian' – instead of the currently popular second half of its name. The city was founded as a base from which to invade the French settlement. They succeeded in 1567 and the French were expelled. Later, ''São Sebastião'' was frequently attacked by
pirates and
privateers, especially by then enemies of Portugal, such as the
Netherlands and
France.
The exact place of Rio's foundation is at the foot of
Pão-de-Açúcar (Sugarloaf Mountain). Later, the whole city was moved within a palisade on top of a hill, imitating the medieval European defence strategy of fortified
castles – the place has since then been called ''Morro do Castelo'' (Castle Hill). Thus, the city developed from the current centre (Downtown, see below) southwards and then westwards (with large parts built over reclaimed land); an urban movement which continues today.
Rio de Janeiro in 1900
In the late 16th century the Portuguese crown began treating the village as a strategic location for the
Atlantic transit of ships between Brazil, the African colonies and Europe. Fortresses were built and an alliance was formed with nearby native tribes to defend the settlement against invaders – Rio's neighbour,
Niterói, for instance, was founded by Araribóia, a Tamoio Indian chief, for defensive purposes.
Sugar cane was the first industry in the area. First native, and later African,
slaves were used for manual labor. Eventually the industry dwindled as higher quality sugar cane from northern Brazil became more available.
Ipanema beach
Until early in the 18th century, the city was threatened or invaded by several – mostly French –
pirates and
buccaneers, such as
Jean-François Duclerc and
René Duguay-Trouin. After 1720, when the Portuguese found
gold and
diamonds in the neighbouring
captaincy of
Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro became a much more useful port for exporting wealth than
Salvador,
Bahia, which is much farther to the north. In 1763, the colonial administration in Portuguese America was moved to Rio. The city remained primarily a colonial capital until 1808, when the Portuguese royal family and most of the associated
Lisbon nobles, fleeing from
Napoleon's invasion of Portugal, moved to Rio de Janeiro. The kingdom's capital was transferred to the city, which, thus, became the only European capital outside of Europe. As there was no physical space or urban structure to accommodate hundreds of noblemen who arrived suddenly, many inhabitants were simply evicted from their homes.
When
Prince Pedro I proclaimed the independence of Brazil in 1822, he decided to keep Rio de Janeiro as the capital of his new empire, but, by then, the city region was gradually losing importance – economic and political – to
São Paulo.
Rio continued as the capital of Brazil after 1889, when the
monarchy was replaced by a
republic.
View of Ipanema from the Corcovado. The Cagarras Islands are visible on the background
Until the early years of the 20th century the city was largely limited to the neighbourhood now known as the historic Downtown business district (see below), on the mouth of Guanabara Bay. The city's centre of gravity began to shift south and west to the so-called Zona Sul (South Zone) in the early part of the 20th century, when the first tunnel was built under the mountains located between
Botafogo and the neighbourhood now known as
Copacabana. That beach's natural beauty, combined with the fame of the
Copacabana Palace Hotel, ''the'' luxury hotel of the Americas in the 1930s, helped Rio to gain the reputation it still holds today as a beachy party town (though, this reputation has been somewhat tarnished in recent years by
favela violence resulting from the
narcotics trade). Plans for moving the nation's capital city to the territorial centre had been occasionally discussed, and when
Juscelino Kubitschek was elected president in 1955, it was partially on the strength of promises to build a new capital. Though many thought that it was just
campaign rhetoric, Kubitschek managed to have
Brasília built, at great cost, by 1960. On
April 21 that year the capital of Brazil was officially moved from Rio de Janeiro to Brasília.
Between 1960 and 1975 Rio was a citystate (such as
Vienna (
Austria),
Hamburg (
Germany), or
Washington, D.C. (
United States)) under the name
State of Guanabara (after the bay it borders). However, for administrative and political reasons, a presidential decree known as ''A Fusão'' ("The Fusion") removed the city's federative status and merged it with the
state of Rio de Janeiro in 1975. Even today, some
''Cariocas'' advocate the return of municipal autonomy.
City districts
The city is commonly divided into the historic downtown (Centro); the tourist-friendly South Zone, with world-famous beaches; the industrial North Zone; and the West Zone, with the newer
Barra da Tijuca district.
Downtown
() Centro (or Downtown in American English) is the historic centre of the city, as well as its financial centre. Sites of interest include the
Paço Imperial, built during colonial times to serve as a residence for the Portuguese governors of Brazil; many historic churches, such as the
Candelária Church, the
colonial Cathedral and the modern-style
Rio de Janeiro Cathedral. Around the
Cinelândia square there are several landmarks of the ''
Belle Epoque'' of Rio, such as the
Municipal Theatre and the
National Library building. Among its several museums, the
Museu Nacional de Belas Artes (National Museum of Fine Arts) and the
Museu Histórico Nacional (National Historical Museum) are the most important. Other important historical attractions in central Rio include its
Passeio Público, an 18th century public garden, as well as the imposing arches of the ''
Arcos da Lapa'', a Roman-style
aqueduct built around 1750. A ''bondinho'' (
tram) leaves from a city centre station, crosses the aqueduct (converted to a tram viaduct in 1896) and rambles through the hilly streets of the
Santa Teresa neighbourhood nearby.
Downtown remains the heart of the city's business community. Some of the largest companies in Brazil have their head offices here, including
Petrobras and
Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (the two largest Brazilian corporations).
South Zone
() The South Zone of Rio de Janeiro is composed of several districts, amongst which are São Conrado,
Leblon,
Ipanema,
Arpoador,
Copacabana and
Leme, which compose Rio's famous
Atlantic beach coastline. Other districts in the South Zone are Glória,
Flamengo,
Botafogo and
Urca, which border
Guanabara Bay and
Santa Teresa,
Cosme Velho,
Laranjeiras,
Humaitá,
Lagoa,
Jardim Botânico and
Gávea.
The neighbourhood of Copacabana beach hosts one of the world's most spectacular
New Year's Eve parties ("Reveillon"), as more than two million revellers crowd onto the sands to watch the
fireworks display. As of 2001, the fireworks have been launched from boats, to improve the safety of the event.
To the north of Leme, and at the entrance to Guanabara Bay, is the district of
Urca and the
Sugarloaf Mountain ('Pão de Açúcar'), whose name describes the famous mountain rising out of the sea.
The summit can be reached via a two-stage
cable car trip from Praia Vermelha, with the intermediate stop on Morro da Urca. It offers views second only to Corcovado mountain.
The Copacabana Palace at Avenida Atlântica (the Atlantic avenue) view of the famous
Copacabana beach.
One of the highest hills in the city is the 842 metres (2,762
ft) high
Pedra da Gávea (
Crow's nest Rock) near the
botanical gardens. On the top of its summit is a huge rock formation (some, such as
Erich von Däniken in his 1973 book, "In Search of Ancient Gods", claim it to be a sculpture) resembling a sphinx-like, bearded head that is visible for many kilometers around.
Hang gliding is a popular activity on the nearby Pedra Bonita (Beautiful Rock). After a short flight, gliders land on the Praia do Pepino beach in São Conrado.
Since 1961, the
Tijuca Forest ("Floresta da Tijuca"), the largest city-surrounded urban forest and the second largest urban forest in the world, has been a
National Park. The largest urban forest in the world is the Floresta da Pedra Branca (White Rock Forest), which is also located in the city of Rio de Janeiro
[4]. The Catholic University in Rio (
Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro or PUC-Rio) is located at the edge of the forest, in the Gávea district. The 1984 film ''
Blame it on Rio'' was filmed nearby, with the rental house used by the story's characters sitting at the edge of the forest on a mountain overlooking the famous beaches.
North Zone
The North Zone of Rio is home to the
Maracanã stadium, once the world's highest capacity
football (soccer) venue, able to hold nearly 180,000 people, as it did the
World Cup final of 1950. In modern times its capacity has been reduced to conform with modern safety regulations and the stadium has introduced seating for all fans. Currently undergoing renovation, it only has the capacity for 95,000 fans; it will eventually hold around 120,000 people. Maracanã was site for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and football competition of the 2007
Pan-American Games.
Besides the Maracanã, the North Zone of Rio also holds other tourist and historical attractions, such as 'Manguinhos', the home of
Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, a centenarian
biomedical research institution with a main building fashioned like a
Moorish palace, and the beautiful
Quinta da Boa Vista, the park where the historical old Imperial Palace is located. Nowadays, the palace hosts the
National Museum, specialising in Natural History, Archaeology and Ethnology.
The
International Airport of Rio de Janeiro (Galeão – Antônio Carlos Jobim International Airport, named after the famous Brazilian musician
"Tom" Jobim), the main campus of the
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro at the Fundão Island, and the Governador Island are also located in the Northern part of Rio. Some of the main neighbourhoods of Rio's north zone are
Tijuca -- which shares the
Tijuca Rainforest with the South Zone --, Grajaú, Vila Isabel, Méier,
São Cristovão and Olaria among others.
West Zone
The West Zone is the region furthest from the centre of Rio de Janeiro. It includes
Barra da Tijuca,
Jacarepaguá,
Recreio dos Bandeirantes, Vargem Grande, Vargem Pequena,
Realengo, Padre Miguel, Bangu, Campo Grande, Jardim Sulacap, and Santa Cruz. Neighbouring districts within the West Zone reveal stark differences between social classes. The area has industrial zones, but some agricultural areas still remain in its wide area.
Westwards from the older zones is Barra da Tijuca, a flat expanse of formerly undeveloped coastal land, which is currently experiencing a wave of new construction. It remains an area of accelerated growth, attracting some of the richer sectors of the population as well as luxury companies. High rise flats and sprawling
shopping centres give the area a far more American feel than the crowded city centre. The urban planning of the area, made in the late 1960s, resembles that of United States
suburbs, though mixing zones of single-family houses with residential skyscrapers. The beaches of Barra da Tijuca are also popular with the city's residents. Barra da Tijuca is the home of Pan-American Village for the 2007
Pan American Games.
Beyond the neighbourhoods of Barra da Tijuca and Jacarepaguá, another district that has exhibited economic growth is Campo Grande. Some sports competitions in the
Pan-American Games of 2007 will be held in the Miécimo da Silva Sports Centre, nicknamed the 'Algodão' (Cotton) Gymnasium, and others in the
Ítalo del Cima Stadium, in Campo Grande.
Climate
Rio has a
Sub-Tropical climate. The average monthly temperatures are shown below, though it is not unusual to reach 40°C in the Summer in inland areas of the city, but in the main tourist areas (south zone, where the beaches are located), the temperature is moderated by the cool seabreezes from the ocean, even during the warmest months. The average mimimum temperature is 18°C, and the average maximum temperature is 27°C. The average yearly precipitation is 1173 mm.
Social conditions
Rio is a city of contrast: there are enormous disparities between rich and poor. Although the city clearly ranks among the world's major metropolises, a significant proportion of the city's 6.5 million inhabitants lives in utmost
poverty. The worst of the poorer areas are the
slums and
shanty towns known as '
favelas'; often crowded onto the hillsides, where sturdy buildings are difficult to build, and accidents, mainly from heavy rainfall, are frequent, killing hundreds of people.
A unique aspect of Rio's favelas is their very close proximity to the city's wealthiest districts. Upper-class neighbourhoods such as
Ipanema and
Copacabana are squeezed in between the beach and the hills, the latter of which are covered with poor neighbourhoods. Bad public education, a poor health system combined with the saturation of the penitentiary system contribute to the overall poverty and social injustice of the ''favelas''. But then North Zone, the poorest area of Rio that tourists rarely see, gathers the vast majority of Rio's famished and impoverished masses. This social contrast creates a clash between rich and poor, making the South Zone (the wealthy neighborhoods where tourists stay) a very dangerous place where security and violence issues abound.
Violence
Rio is one of the most violent cities in the world.
[5] [6] As of 2007 the homicide rate of the greater metropolitan area stands at nearly 80 victims per week, with the majority of victims falling to
homicide,
assault, stray bullets or
narcoterrorism.
[7] [8]. The numbers are comparable with war conflict zones like
Baghdad and
Kabul [9] [10]. The "War" involves
drug-traffic warfare with police fighting against outlaws.
Culture
Ethnic groups
Most of Rio de Janeiro's population is of
Portuguese descent, with a large number of people of
African descent, and
mulattos of mixed Portuguese and African descent. Other important ethnic groups are present in the city, such as
Germans,
Italians,
Spaniards,
Arabs,
Jews,
Asians (mostly
Koreans and
Japanese) and mixed
Amerindians.
The population is composed of people of
White European descent (52.5%), of
mixed-race descent (35.6%), of
Black African descent (11.4%), of
Asian or
Amerindian descent (0.4%).
[11]
Music
The official song of Rio de Janeiro is "''
Cidade Maravilhosa''", which means "marvelous city". The song is considered the "civic anthem" of Rio, and is always the favourite song during Rio's
Carnival in February.
Rio was eternalized in the super smash hit song "
Garota de Ipanema" (The Girl from Ipanema) composed by
Antonio Carlos Jobim and recognized worldwide and recorded by
Astrud Gilberto and
João Gilberto,
Frank Sinatra, and
Ella Fitzgerald. This is also the main key song of the
Bossa Nova, a musical genre that was born in Rio. A genre unique to Rio and Brazil as a whole is
Funk Carioca, a youth phenomenon originated in violent
Funk Balls in the poorer areas of greater Rio.
[12] After reaching all social classes and other Brazilian cities, the Brazilian Funk began attracting attention outside Brazil.
Carnaval
Carnival in Rio.
Considered one of the best carnivals of the world
The
carnaval is an annual celebration in Brazil held 40 days before Easter and marks the beginning of Lent.
Rio de Janeiro has many Carnaval choices, including the famous ''
Escolas de Samba'' (Samba schools) parades in the
sambódromo exhibition centre and the popular 'blocos de carnaval', which parade in almost every corner of the city. The most famous ones are the following:
★ ''Cordão do Bola Preta'': Parades in the centre of the city. It is one of the most traditional carnavals. In 2006, it gathered 200,000 people in one day.
★ ''Suvaco do Cristo'': Band that parades in the Botanic Garden, directly below the Redeemer statue's arm. The name, in English, translates as 'Christ's armpit', and was chosen for that reason.
★ ''Carmelitas'': Band that was supposedly created by nuns, but in fact it is just a theme chosen by the band. It parades in the hills of Santa Teresa, which have very nice views.
★ ''Simpatia é Quase Amor'': One of the most popular parades in Ipanema. Translates as 'Friendliness is almost love'.
★ ''Banda de Ipanema'': The most traditional in Ipanema. It attracts a wide range of revellers, including families and a wide spectrum of the gay population (notably spectacular drag queens).
Cultural events in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro is among the biggest cities in South America, but the city is more widely renowned for the various cultural celebrations that are held there every year. The most popular of these is the
Carnaval, held two weeks before the traditional Christian fasting of Lent.
People from all over Brazil and from all parts of the world come to Rio to take part and witness the extravaganza. The Carnival brings a lot of people, good food, colour and of course the
Samba dance. The celebration of Carnival ends on "
Mardi Gras" Tuesday.
Apart from the Carnival, New Year is also a big deal in Rio and is also one of the other major festivals. It's celebrated with several concerts and
firework displays all around Rio, the largest one being in Copacabana beach. People wear white clothes, and some of them make offerings to a
Candomblé deity called ''
Iemanjá''.
Rio also has one of the world's most talked-about nightlife. Rio has a lot of nightclubs where the rich enjoy themselves and party the night away. Clubs like Baronneti, Nuth and Catwalk are some of the country's best known and frequented by celebrities such as
Ronaldo,
Calvin Klein,
Mick Jagger and
Naomi Campbell.
Sports
More notable sports events in Rio include the
MotoGP Brazilian Grand Prix and the World
Beach volleyball finals.
Jacarepaguá was the place of
Formula One Brazilian Grand Prix into 1978-1990 and the
Champ Car event into 1996-1999.
WCT/WQS Surf championships were contested on the beaches from 1985-2001. The city has built a new
stadium near the
Maracanã, to hold 45,000 people. It was named after Brazilian ex-
FIFA president
João Havelange.
Rio de Janeiro was an applicant city for the
2012 Summer Olympics but failed to make the shortlist of official candidate cities.
Copacabana beach would have been the site of the
triathlon and
beach volleyball, while
yachting competitions would have been held in Guanabara Bay. On September 2006, it was announced that Rio would bid for
2016 Summer Olympics. Depending on quantity and quality of bids that the IOC will receive from other NOCs, the IOC will probably announce a shortlist of official candidate cities (Rio was cut at this stage for the 2012 Games) in early 2008, and conduct voting for the host city in 2009.
Sports are a very popular pastime in Rio de Janeiro. The most popular is ''futebol'' (
soccer). Rio de Janeiro is home to five traditional Brazilian football clubs:
America,
Botafogo,
Flamengo,
Fluminense and
Vasco.
Other popular sports are
beach football, beach
american football,
beach volleyball,
surfing,
kitesurfing,
hang gliding,
motor racing,
jiu-jitsu, recreational
sailing, beach
rugby and competitive
rowing. The Brazilian dance/sport/
martial art capoeira is also popular. Another sport that is highly popular on the beaches of Rio is called "frescobol" (,
matkot), a type of beach tennis.
Rio de Janeiro is also a paradise for
rock climbers, with hundreds of routes all over the town, ranging from easy boulders to highly technical big wall climbs, all inside the city. The most famous, Rio's granite mountain, the
Sugar Loaf (
Pão de Açúcar), is an example, with routes from the easy 3rd grade (American 5.4, French 3) to the extremely difficult 9th grade (5.13/8b), up to 280 metres.
Hang gliding in Rio de Janeiro started in the mid 1970s and quickly proved to be perfectly suited for this town, because of its geography: steep mountains encounter the
Atlantic Ocean, which provide excellent take-off locations and great landing zones on the
beach. Starting with amateur flights, this activity soon turned into a profitable industry of tandem hang gliding with some very experienced pilots at a cost for a ride around US$100. In the Summer, between December and March, booking in advance is recommended.
Fishing is a very popular activity in Brazil. In Rio de Janeiro, one can expect to catch a plethora of famous
Brazilian copperfish, known as ''peixe de cobre''. Many markets sell ''peixes de cobre'' and these fish are quite popular for traditional meals.
Transportation
In Rio de Janeiro,
buses are the main means of
mass transportation. There are nearly 440 municipal bus lines serving over four million passengers each day, in addition to intercity lines. Although cheap and frequent, Rio's transportation policy has been moving towards trains and subway in order to reduce traffic jams and increase capacity.
Rio de Janeiro has two
subway lines (''
Metro Rio'') and several
commuter rail lines. Future plans include building a third subway line to
Niterói and
São Gonçalo, including an underwater tunnel beneath
Guanabara Bay to supplement the
ferry service currently there.
In Brazil, most interstate transportation is done by road. A large
terminal for long-distance buses is in the Santo Cristo neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro. There are also two port facilities for cargo and passenger ships (Rio de Janeiro and
Sepetiba port).
Airports
The City of Rio de Janeiro has five airports.
★
Galeão - Antônio Carlos Jobim International Airport: used for all the international flights and some long-haul domestic flights;
★
Santos Dumont Regional Airport: Rio de Janeiro's first airport, and formerly the International Airport. It is considered one of the best set airports in whole world because of its location between Sugar Loaf, Corcovado, the Aterro do Flamengo, and Guanabara Bay. Today it is used by the São Paulo – Rio de Janeiro Air Shuttle Service and some flights inside the Rio de Janeiro state, especially to oil-producing cities in the north.
★ Aeroporto de Jacarepaguá: In the Barra da Tijuca district. It is currently used by Aeroclube do Brasil (Brasil Flying Club) with small aircraft but is planned to be used for the Rio de Janeiro - São Paulo Air Shuttle Service since it is just inside Barra, the city's fastest-growing district.
★ Campo dos Afonsos: Military airport, where the Brazilian Air Force presents its aerobatic shows. It also holds the MUSAL (Museu Aero-Espacial), one of the largest aviation museums in Latin America.
★ Santa Cruz Air Base: Military airport.
Lists
Parks and squares
★
Flamengo Park - Large park in the Flamengo neighbourhood, beside
Guanabara Bay.
★
Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden – Magnificent park founded in the early 19th century.
★
Quinta da Boa Vista - Site of the palace used by the emperors of Brazil.
★ Zoological Garden of Rio de Janeiro - Located in the Quinta da Boa Vista.
★
Passeio Público - 18th century public garden in central Rio.
★
Arpoador Park
★
Parque Lage – Contains areas of woodland, gardens, aquaria and a children's playground. The School of Visual Art occupies a luxurious early 20th century building faced with Italian marble and tiles. The buildings are protected as national monuments.
Famous Cariocas
The Sugar Loaf.
''Cariocas'', as residents of Rio de Janeiro are called in Brazil, have made extensive contributions to Brazil's history, culture, music, literature, education, science, technology etc. – particularly when Rio de Janeiro was the federal capital and a great hub of Brazilian growth and innovation in all these areas. Some important Cariocas, who were born in Rio, are:
★ Adolfo Lutz, physician and scientist
★ Adriano, footballer
★ Pimentel Alex, famous realtor
★ Bruno Barreto, film director
★ Carlos Nemer, architect and civil engineer
★ Carlos Chagas Filho, physician and scientist
★ Carlos Lacerda, politician, governor of Rio
★ Carolina Solberg, beach volleyball player
★ Cartola, composer and singer
★ Cazuza, composer, poet and singer
★ Chico Buarque, composer, singer and writer
★ Bruno Campos, actor
★ Fernanda Montenegro, actress
★ Fernando Henrique Cardoso, sociologist, twice president of Brazil
★ Heitor Villa-Lobos, classic composer and regent
★ Ismael Silva, composer and singer
★ Isabel Clark, snowboarder
★ Ivan Lins, musician, composer and singer
★ Jaguar, cartoonist
★ Jô Soares, television entertainer and writer
★ Jorge Ben Jor, singer and composer
★ Machado de Assis, writer
★ Madame Satã, famous outlaw
★ Marisa Monte, singer and composer |
★ Millôr Fernandes, cartoonist and playwright
★ Milton Nascimento, singer and composer
★ Nelson Cavaquinho, composer and singer
★ Nelson Piquet, racecar driver
★ Noel Rosa, composer and singer
★ Oscar Niemeyer, architect
★ Paulinho da Viola, composer, musician and singer
★ Paulo Coelho, writer
★ Emperor D. Pedro II
★ Pixinguinha, one of the fathers of ''Chorinho'' music
★ Baden Powell, composer and musician (guitar)
★ Ricardo Arona, MMA fighter
★ Royce Gracie, jiu-jitsu/MMA fighter
★ Romário, footballer
★ Ronaldo, footballer, most goals scored in World Cups (15)
★ Sérgio Vieira de Mello, diplomat
★ Silvio Santos, owner of the SBT television station
★ Tim Maia, composer and singer
★ Tom Jobim, composer and musician, one of the creators of Bossa Nova
★ Vinícius de Moraes, writer, poet, musician and diplomat
★ Walter Salles, film director
★ Zico, football manager and former footballer |
Education
Main articles: List of Rio de Janeiro schools, colleges, universities and research centers
Miscellaneous
In 1992 the city hosted the UNCED
Earth Summit on
sustainable development.
Rio has also been used as a backdrop for many films, such as ''
Notorious'' (1946), ''
Black Orpheus'' (1959), ''
L'Homme de Rio'' (1964), ''
007 Moonraker'' (1979), ''
Blame It on Rio'' (1984), ''
Wild Orchid'' (1990), ''
Bossa Nova'' (2000), ''The Girl from Rio'' (2002), ''
City of God'' (2002) and ''
Doom 2'' (2006). The film ''
The Brazilian Job'', a sequel for ''
The Italian Job'' (2004) as well as the sequel to ''
Hulk'' (2003), ''
The Incredible Hulk'' are being filmed in the city.
In ''
The Simpsons'' episode "
Blame it on Lisa", the family visited Rio de Janeiro, only to encounter a myriad of ludicrously exaggerated problems. The episode infuriated Brazilian tourist officials who threatened to sue the producers of the show.
Featured/recreated in the video games
Driver 2, for the
PlayStation and
Forza Motorsport, for the
Xbox. Stage of the for
PlayStation 2. It is also a level in the video game
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 for the
Nintendo 64,
Nintendo GameCube,
Game Boy Color,
Game Boy Advance,
PlayStation,
PlayStation 2,
Xbox, and
PC as well as one of it's later sequels,
Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam for the
PlayStation 2,
Wii and
Nintendo DS.
The popular
Half-life game
mod,
Counter-strike featured a level (cs_rio) that pictured a favela in Rio de Janeiro.
[13]
The Harbour of Rio de Janeiro was declared one of the
Seven Wonders of the Natural World by
CNN.
Rio de Janeiro was also mentioned in both versions of ''
The Producers'' as being the place the Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom would escape to after their sure-fire-flop musical. In the 2005 version, they sing a song about Rio entitled "You'll Find Your Happiness in Rio".
In the popular
Ender's Shadow series, Rio de Janeiro is the location of
Peter Wiggin's Hegemon Headquarters.
In the series
Lupin III, Rio is visited on many occasions. One time for a robbery of the Maracana Stadium, where they stuffed the ticket money inside the famous Christ the Redeemer statue and nearly escaped.
In the game ''
World of Warcraft'' there is a place in Stranglethorn Vale called Janerio's Point, with a statue of a goblin in the same pose as the Redeeming Christ statue.
Gallery
References
1. Floresta da Tijua
2. Estimativas para 1º de Julho de 2006
3. Área Territorial Oficial
4. Poluição afeta Pedra Branca
5. http://www.riobodycount.com.br/
6. http://rss.news.yahoo.com/imgrss/events/wl/041807riodrugsguns
7. http://oglobo.globo.com/pais/mat/2007/01/01/287254604.asp
8. http://noticias.terra.com.br/ultimas/0,,EI316,00.html
9. http://noticias.terra.com.br/brasil/interna/0,,OI1595166-EI316,00.html
10. http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/04/17/brazil.rio.violence.ap/index.html
11. Síntese de Indicadores Sociais 2006, , , , IBGE, 2006,
12. In The Fight Clubs of Rio]
13. Counter-strike screen shot
See also
★
List of mayors of Rio de Janeiro
Sister cities
Rio de Janeiro's
sister cities are:
★ Barcelona, Spain
★ Buenos Aires, Argentina
★ Cape Town, South Africa
★ Durban, South Africa
★ Istanbul, Turkey
★ Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
★ Kobe, Japan
★ Lisbon, Portugal
★ Montreal, Canada |
★ Niterói, Brazil
★ Nova Friburgo, Brazil
★ Paris, France
★ Petrópolis, Brazil
★ São José do Vale do Rio Preto, Brazil
★ Seoul, South Korea
★ Sydney, Australia
★ Teresópolis, Brazil
★ Warsaw, Poland |
External links
Official
★
Official homepage (some pages available in )
★
Rio De Janeiro Webcams
★
Riotur
Education
★
CGMAX - Computer Graphics University at Rio de Janeiro
★
UVA-Rio - Veiga de Almeida University of Rio de Janeiro
★
PUC-Rio - the Pontifical University of Rio de Janeiro
★
UFRJ Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
★
UFRRJ Rural Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
★
UERJ - University of Rio de Janeiro State
★
UNIRIO - Federal University of Rio de Janeiro State
★
UCAM - Universidade Candido Mendes
★
Escola Americana do Rio de Janeiro - (American School of Rio de Janeiro)
★
Universidade Estácio de Sá - (Estacio de Sa University)
Photos
★
Images of Rio— Hundreds of images from the 1920s to the present
★
visual impressions of "a cidade maravilhosa"
★
'Corcovado' Immersive Virtual Tour
Tourism
★
★
Maplink - Rio de Janeiro Street Guide and Maps
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