Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil - Yayoi Kusama

The exhibition by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama at Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil in downtown Rio is a huge success. "Obsessão Infinita" - infinite obsession - is a chance to dive into the universe of a very special artist. In Yayoi Kusama's world everything is covered with polka-dots, and so the exhibition has thousands of them. The exhibition is very colorful, with paintings, sculptures, film and light and people seem to identify strongly with what they experience.

 

The fact that pictures are allowed in parts of the exhibition seems to be part of the success, in the times of selfies, everyone, even the blogger here, wants to take pictures in the middle of the polka-dots!

 

 

 

The exhibition will be on until January 20, 2014 - don't miss it! As for Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, a beautiful and impressive building from 1906 that used to host Banco do Brasil,it was turned into a cultural center in 1989. CCBB is a must for all art lovers in Rio, there is always something going on!

Parque Eduardo Guinle

These are times that try (wo)men's souls in Rio. Global heating and the city's Mayor, are bringing troubles to all, who or what is the most responsible is difficult to say...the fact is that it is not easy to get out and about these days.This week pouring rain brought chaos and tragedy, and the Mayor urged "cariocas" not to leave their homes!

Therefore this post is dedicated to a park that is walking distance from my home; Parque Eduardo Guinle. Originally the park was the garden of the Guinle family's palace, built in the 1920's. Today the palace is the oficial residence of The Governor of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Palácio Laranjeiras, and the park is therefore safe and guarded. I set out to visit on a very, very hot and humid afternoon, but it was worth the walk, the park is calm, green and has plenty of shade. I was happy to see children playing, people having a picnic in the grass and  others sitting on the benches or feeding the birds in the pond.

At the entrance I was greeted by two winged lions and by the beautiful gates:

Inside the park the pond full of birds is the natural center:

 

The park is actually a small valley, there are small waterfalls and tiny brooks leading down to the pond.

 

Around the park there is a group of apartment buildings designed by the architect Lucio Costa, the same architect that designed many buildings in Brasília. The buildings were built in 1948-1954 and are all marked by the use of "cobogós", bricks that let the air pass through them and keep the buildings cool. The cobogós were invented by three Brazilian engineers and were widely used in modern Brazilian architecture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Praça XV de Novembro - The historical center of Rio

Downtown Rio is a maddening mixture of old and new. It is incredibly rich in historical sites, buildings, churches and monuments, it used to be the political and administrative capital of Brazil and still preserves many institutions and buildings, it is also the business center of Rio de Janeiro with enormous modern skyscrapers, and during the week the traffic is crazy and the crowds in the streets seem neverending. Still I love it! There is always so much going on culture wise, and always new or old details to discover.

Praça XV, the former Largo do Carmo, is the very gateway, this was the harbor where it all began. It still is where the ferries from Niteroi, Ilha do Governador and Paquetá come in, but landfill and road construction has removed the square itself from the sea. This can be seen easily at the Chafariz de Mestre Valentim, it used to be right where the boats anchored and had steps so that people could get up and down, nowadays the steps lead strangely nowhere.

Considered a masterpiece, the fountain was constructed between 1779 and 1789 by Valentim da Fonseca e Silva or Mestre Valentim, the son of a Portuguese noble and an African slave, one of the great artists of colonial Brazil. The small pyramid shaped tower and the area around was restored in 1990.

Close by, on the same Praça XV, is the Paço Imperial or The Imperial Palace. It was built in 1743 to be the Palace of the Governor, later it became the residence of the Viceroy, but when King João VI arrived fleeing from Portugal in 1808 it became the Royal Pallace. In 1822 Brazil became an independent nation as The Empire of Brazil and the palace was renamed once more to The Imperial Palace.It was restored in 1980 and is now a cultural center with a bookstore, a restaurant and art exhibitions.

And after seeing the wonderful exhibition of the Brazilian artist Beatriz Milhazes - Meu Bem - that was where my walk ended yesterday.

Back in Rio

After several months I am finally back in Rio.
So much has happened while I was gone, so much is still going on.

If people are still talking about the Arab Spring the Brazilian Awakening deserves just as much attention. My impression is that the Brazilians finally woke up after a long, long time hibernating. They came out on the streets, a bit like bear cubs come out in the sunshine for the very first time - a bit lost, a bit scared, but soon overcome by the feeling of freedom and space. On the international news other happenings have taken over the scene, but in Brazil the demonstrations continue.

In Rio the teachers of the public schools have been on strike for over two months now, and they are out on the streets almost daily. They are joined by people from different classes and groups, and they are in the news constantly. The teachers going on strike is nothing new in Brazil, what is new is the support they are getting and the exposure they have in the media..

This blog dedicated to "all things beautiful in Rio" welcomes the movement and supports it, of course! What makes Rio so special are the people, to see thousands fill the streets peacefully and gracefully, but forcefully making their voices heard asking for health and education and an end to corruption and violence, can only be called beautiful. The Government's response has so far been disappointing, they still seem at a total loss on how to deal with the situation, and unfortunately the police are now increasing arrests and repression.

My hope is that all the energy created by the Awakening will not be lost. I dream of a better Brazil, a Brazil awake and present, a beautiful Brazil - for all.

Jardim Botanico

The Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden was created by the, at the time, prince regent Dom João de Bragança in 1808, it was opened for the public to visit in 1822.

It is a park and a research center, extremely well kept and with about 6500 different species of plants from Brazil and the rest of the world. There are lakes, waterfalls and greenhouses, special gardens like the rose garden, the Japanese garden, the medicinal herbs garden, the sensorial garden. There are monkeys, squirrels, turtles and many, many birds. A true oasis in the megacity of Rio de Janeiro.

There are also a few restaurants, my friend and I opted for having lunch at one of them before going for a long walk in the Botanical Garden. We chose "La Bicyclette", a charming bakery and had a wonderful sandwich and salad.

And then we were ready to go. Starting by the visitors center we got a map and set off into the green.

The sensorial garden, where plants can be touched and smelled and there are signs in braille was our first stop.

We went on, opting to find our way by chance. But eventually endend up at the Fountain of the Muses:

From there we made an effort to find the lake with the famous "Vitoria Regia". One of the stars of the Garden, this water lily from the Amazon river has beautiful leaves and flowers, and we were lucky enough to see one.

Close to the lake is the Comoro Frei Leandro - where they say the Friar Leandro, the first director of the park, liked to sit and check on the work in the garden.

We continued our walk, visited the Japanese Garden, were delighted by the squirrels, and surprised by how much noise the toucans made! And as we walked we commented on how privileged we are to have such a place, and how the Botanical Garden of Rio de Janeiro is well tended and wild at the same time.

Brasília - thoughts and impressions

Today's post is not about Rio! simply because this weekend I went to Brasília, and I would like to share some impressions with you. Brasília is the capital of Brazil, planned and built to be so. The capital was formally moved from Rio de Janeiro to Brasília on April 22, 1960.  Of course Rio de Janeiro and its inhabitants never really recovered from the blow, the cariocas still consider their city to be the real capital of Brazil...

It is for me one of the strangest places on earth. No longer in the middle of nowhere, simply because new cities have grown up around the carefully planned administrative and political centre of Brazil.

Still when you are there it is a bit like walking around in an enourmous open-air museum. The difference is that people live and work there. But the first thing that always hits me about Brasília is how big the sky is. Since it is in the highlands and very flat you have a view to the sky 180 degrees around you.

The first morning I was there I woke up to see hot air balloons - there was a race going on, quite a view from my window!

From my window I could also see the almost completed Estadio Nacional Mané Garrincha - prepared for the World Cup in 2014 and scheduled to be opened on April 21 - but there has been a delay...the new date has been set for May 18, 2013.

From the other side of my hotel I got a view of the Monumental Axis - the avenue that concentrates the main government buildings.

I set out to walk down to the Cathedral of Brasília, one of my favorite places. I soon found that the distance was bigger than imagined, all the buildings are so big in Brasília that they seem closer than they really are. A friend of mine who lives there explained that it is part of the idea, Brasília was conceived to give the idea of power, and so the open spaces and the enourmous buildings make people feel small. Well, I certainly felt small!
As I got closer to the Cathedral there was a statue of a biker that I really liked:

I was now close to Museu da Republica - designed by Oscar Niemeyer and opened in 2006. The construction is for me a typical example of Brasília.

The museum has an excellent art colection and was built according to modern, international standards. But the building gives me an idea of something you would expect to see on another planet...

I walked on to the Cathedral:

The Cathedral was also designed by Oscar Niemeyer. The four evangelists greet you at the entrance, but the biggest surprise is to discover that most of the Cathedral is actually under the ground. The light is fantastic, and I just love the three angels that float under the ceiling.

I sat for a while and reflected on Brasília, how the Brazilians of all people could build such a place. Brazilians love to be together, to talk, to sing, to dance and to play soccer...Brasília was designed without natural meeting places, no corners, no restautants or bars in between the buildings - only in specially designated spaces. It is not a friendly city, but it is beautiful, it is incredible, and Brazilian!

The next day I went with friends to see the Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge. Opened in 2002 it crosses the Paranoa Lake, and is of course not only a bridge - it is a monument.