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Rio
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About Rio de janeiro
Ipanema BeachRio de Janeiro (meaning River of January in Portuguese)
is the name of both a state and a city in southeastern Brazil.
The city is famous for the hotel-lined tourist beaches Copacabana
and Ipanema, for the giant statue of Jesus Christ the Redeemer
("Cristo Redentor") on the Corcovado mountain, and
for its yearly Carnival celebration. The current mayor is
Cesar Maia.
The population of Rio de Janeiro is about 6,150,000 (as of
2004), occupying an area of 1256 km² (485 sq. miles).
The larger metropolitan area population is estimated at 10-13
million.
History
The bay where Rio de Janeiro is located (Guanabara) was discovered
by Europeans on January 1, 1502, by a Portuguese explorer
Gaspar de Lemos; he named it "Rio" because he thought
it was a river mouth rather than a bay.
The city of Saint Sebastian of Rio de Janeiro was founded
on March 1, 1565 in honour to King Sebastian.
Rio de Janeiro was Brazil's capital from 1764 to 1960, when
the government was transferred to Brasília, but remains
the second biggest city in the country, after São Paulo.
Between 1808 and 1821, during the Napoleonic invasion on Metropolitan
Portugal, the city became the capital of Portugal and its
extensive empire.
1888 German map of Rio de Janeiro
Districts
The city is commonly divided into the historic downtown (Centro),
the more touristic South Zone, with world-famous beaches,
the industrial North Zone, the West Zone, and the newer Barra
da Tijuca region.
Centro
Centro is the historic downtown of the city. Sites of interest
include both the historic Church of the Candelaria and the
modern-style cathedral, the Municipal Theater, and several
museums. Centro remains the heart of the city's business community.
The "Bondinho", a trolley car, leaves from a downtown
station, crosses a former Roman-style aqueduct, and rambles
through the hilly streets of the Santa Teresa neighborhood
nearby.
South Zone
The neighborhood of Copacabana beach boasts one of the world's
most spectacular New Year's Eve parties, as more than two
million revellers crowd onto the sands to watch the firework
display. As of 2001, the fireworks have been launched from
boats, to further guarantee the safety of the event.
At the end of Copacabana lies the Sugarloaf Mountain ("Pão
de Açúcar"), whose name characterises the
famous hump rising out of the sea. The top can be reached
via cable car, and offers views second only to Corcovado mountain.
The tallest mountain in the city, however, at 842m, is the
Pedra da Gávea (Topsail Rock) in São Conrado.
Hang gliding is a popular activity on a nearby peak - after
a short flight, they land on the Praia do Pepino beach.
A night view of the Botafogo inlet with the moon shining
above the Sugar Loaf, by João T.R. de Freitas.
A view of Ipanema from Corcovado
North Zone
The North Zone of Rio is home to the Maracanã stadium,
still the world's highest capacity football venue, able to
hold nearly 200,000 people (however, the biggest stadium of
any type is located in Prague (Czech Republic) but it is not
suitable for football). In modern times, the capacity has
been reduced to conform with modern safety regulations, and
the introduction of seating for all fans. Currently undergoing
renovation, it will eventually hold around 120,000. Maracanã
will be the site for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and
soccer competition of the 2007 Pan American Games.
West Zone
The West Zone is the metropolitan region which is most distant
from the Center of Rio de Janeiro. It includes Barra da Tijuca,
Jacarepaguá, Campo Grande, Santa Cruz and Bangu. Barra
da Tijuca remains an area of accelerated growth, attracting
mainly the richer sector of the population, whereas 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. Beyond the neighbourhoods
of Barra da Tijuca and Jacarepagua, another district which
has exhibited good economic growth is that of Campo Grande.
Some modalities of sports of the Pan-American Games of 2007
will be held in the Miécimo da Silva Sports Center,
nicknamed the "Algodão" Gymnasium, and others
in the Ítalo del Cima Stadium, in Campo Grande.
Barra da Tijuca
To the west of the older zones is Barra da Tijuca, a flat
expanse of formerly undeveloped coastal land, which is currently
experiencing a wave of new construction. High rise apartments
and sprawling shopping malls give the area a far more Americanized
feel than the crowded city center (Centro). This has attracted
businesses to move to the area to take advantage of this.
The large 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.
Botafogo harbour, with the moon above the Sugar Loaf mountain
Favelas
Rio is a city of contrasts, and though much of the city clearly
ranks alongside the world's most modern metropoles, a significant
percentage of the city's 13 million inhabitants do still live
in areas of poorer quality housing. The worst of these poorer
areas are the slums known as favelas, often crowded onto the
hillsides where sturdy buildings are difficult to build, and
accidents, mainly from heavy rainfall, are frequent. Favelas,
as is the case for the ghettos of New York or Chicago, are
often troubled by drug related crime and gang warfare.
Carnival
The carnival Escolas de Samba parades in the sambodrome ("sambódromo").
A picture of the north zone of Rio de Janeiro taken from NASA's
Landsat 7
Football
Rio de Janeiro is host to four traditional Brazilian football
clubs: Flamengo, Botafogo, Fluminense and Vasco. The famous
Estádio do Maracanã is also located in Rio de
Janeiro.
Miscellaneous
The city hosted the 2007 Pan American Games from July 13-29,
2007. Copacabana beach was the site of the triathlon and beach
volleyball with yachting competitions held in Guanabara Bay.
The city is building a new stadium near the Maracanã,
to hold 45,000 people. It will be named after Brazilian ex-FIFA
president João Havelange. Rio de Janeiro was also a
candidate for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
In one episode of The Simpsons, the family went to Rio. The
episode angered several tourist officials and they threatened
to sue the producers of the show.
This article is licensed
under the GNU
Free Documentation License. It uses material from the
Wikipedia article
"rio'.
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