Luiza Martins, Brazil
Rio is a marvelous city in Brazil and famous for Copacabana and Ipanema beaches, Christ the Redeemer statue, Corcovado and the Sugarloaf Mountain. People there have a way of life totally different from the rest of Brazil. They call it “jeitinho brasileiro” and are very proud of that. This way of life makes Cariocas – people who are born in Rio – always think they are right.
In Rio it is summer all year long so lower degrees are rarely seen by them. As a result of this, they are always wearing flip flops and the only concern they have is if the weather is going to be good and if they can go to the beach. Because of that, Cariocas are always happy, with a smile on their faces.
“Carioca. Yes, 20 degrees is winter”
The beaches in Rio are authentic and attract a lot of tourists all year. Copacabana Beach is the most famous one and is located in South Zone of the city. This beach is known for the 4km of sand. There are still other famous beaches, like Arpoador, where the surfers like to go due to the perfect waves, and Ipanema, where usually many families are seem. Cariocas loves being at the beach while eating a biscoito globo and drinking a cold tea called matte. It’s part of Carioca’s life.
Although the weather is not good you have a lot of other options. We have Parque Lage and Jardim Botanico (Botanical Garden) where you can find a lot of places to have a picnic with beautiful trees around you. We still have the museums with a lot of exhibitions, one of them is the Museum of Modern Arts. And don’t think that are the only things to see, there are churches, islands, and other places to visit.
Rio is a city which never sleeps, people are on the street all day and all night. They really like parties, so if you want to go to a good one, Lapa is the best place to visit while you are in the city. Around this neighborhood you can find many bars to drink and chill with friends. The architecture there is amazing and even if you go at night you can see it.
There isn’t a city that is perfect and without problems. So, on the other hand, Rio has a lot of problems, and one of them is the inequality. The corruption is the worst thing there. Because of that, there are a lot of people living in good conditions and a good life, and others are living in extreme poverty at the same time. They call those places with extreme poverty “favela”, and the largest one is Rocinha, located between São Conrado and Gávea, in South Zone. Rocinha’s population was estimated between 150,000 and 300,000 inhabitants during the 2000s.
People in Brazil, especially in Rio, are obsessed with football. It’s a tradition on Sunday to stay at home with the family and watch the games drinking a beer. Fla and Flu is a classic game. They are rivals and it is a beautiful game to see. The two cheering audiences are always singing for the players and it is kind of a pretty concert. But the best option is to go to Maracanã to see the game inside of the heart of football.
Rio is the city which was chosen to host the Olympic Games. It was a huge and beautiful ceremony and the entire world was talking about it. Now they are getting ready to host the Paralympic Games and do an enormous event again.
Finally, we can talk about music. There is a very particular kind of music, the Bossa Nova, which is derived from the Samba but they put more emphasis on melody than the percussion. One of the most famous songs is “Garota de Ipanema” and it was written by Tom Jobim.
Now you know a little bit more about Rio, and we expect that you want to go there to visit all those places shown here. You have to know that people in Rio are always ready to receive tourists and happy to help them.
Olha que coisa mais linda Look, what a beautiful thing
Mais cheia de graça So graceful
É ela, a menina She is the girl
Que vem e que passa That comes and goes by
Num doce balanço a caminho do mar In her sweet swing heading to the sea
Moça do corpo dourado Girl of the golden brown tan
Do sol de Ipanema From the Ipanema sun
O seu balançado Her swing
É mais que um poema Is more than a poem
É a coisa mais linda She is the most beautiful thing
Que eu já vi passer That I’ve ever seen going by
Tom Jobim
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