Street Art of Rio
- jill
- Jun 13, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 20, 2022
7 June 2022
Up and out...took forever to figure out the Mais card situation, but finally got it under control and took the metro and VLT tram to my tour. You swipe the card getting onto the VLT, then an officer comes and checks it to make sure you swiped it. Made it to the meeting point--Praca Maua, a square in front of Museum of Art Rio.
Met my guide Nicolly pretty quickly...I was only there about 5 minutes. She was VERY nice. We walked around Praca Maua and she told me it used to be dark and unsafe and under a bridge, but they completely revamped it for the Olympics and created these two museums as well. The Museum of Tomorrow is not a regular museum with art and exhibits...rather it supposes what life will be like in the next 15 or so years--so it is constantly updated.
We walked down Olympic Boulevard which runs parallel to the water of Guanabara Bay. Lots of murals here thanks to the Olympics which were here in 2016, including a huge one by Kobra which features a face for each of the continents with other continents in between. Several were by women, which is cool.
We then walked to the Cais do Valongo which was the original port of Rio, but has been filled in with dirt and now has buildings. They recently uncovered the original port area which was the entry point for slaves in the 1800s. The original port building is there as well--she thinks they are turning it into some kind of museum. You can see the original favela (favela is a plant) called Providencia ahead of us.
We headed to a shop called Centro de Cultura which sells products made by African members of the community to help make money for them--apparently they are still looked down upon, particularly their religion. We had a drink here and petted a cat for a bit.
Next up, Pedra do Sal--the famous samba party spot a couple nights a week. It is also the center of the Little Africa area. Nicolly told me stories about Zumbi--their Harriet Tubman who helped thousands of slaves escape. No one actually knows what he looked like. When they captured him they cut his head off to prove he was human and not supernatural. Also a mural of Tia Ciata, a woman who helped start the samba movement. In the late 1800s, she sold food in the streets to make money, but one day helped the governor, who had foot trouble, heal his feet and he promised her anything she wanted.
She asked for a job for her husband and that her house would always belong to her--and several street musicians (which was illegal at the time) would hang out there and learn their craft and that's how samba started.
Nicolly said goodbye and recommended a sandwich shop across the street for lunch. Had a veggie wrap and used the wifi, then headed back to the VLT to the Carioca metro station. I finally found the Lapa Arches--originally aqueducts built in the 1800s. The Santa Teresa tram goes up the top into the neighborhood. Also passed the Petrobras building built to resemble oil rigs.
Got back on the metro to head to Ipanema. First found the Bar da Garota de Ipanema (Girl from Ipanema Bar) where they wrote the song. Finally had a Brahma (their national beer) and headed to the beach. Love the sidewalks at the beaches!
Got some groceries and headed back to the Airbnb for a break. Tried to go to the Sao Bento Monastery, but couldn't figure out how to get in! Had pizza at the restaurant in my building, they brought it out in a glass container--the waiter literally served me each slice.
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