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Rio: Beyond Beaches and BikinisBy Joyce Dalton
With 60-plus museums devoted to topics ranging from electricity to gunpowder to Carmen Miranda, more than 70 historic churches, samba schools, a world-famous jewelry store offering a self-guided look at artisans turning rough gemstones into glittering gems, and a forest touted as the world’s largest urban park, Rio has enough options to occupy the most culturally conscious tourist for weeks. I can thank three days of rain for this discovery. It was my first visit to Rio and naturally, my tourist sights were centered on an ascent of Corcovado, visions of Sugarloaf, and strolls along Copacabana. Instead, I spent my time in museums and churches and was richer for the experience. Erected in the late 19th century and featuring a domed rotunda, the Banco de Brasil Cultural Center is situated in the heart of the city. After a century as a financial institution, the imposing structure was renovated and now houses exhibition salons, a library, two theaters, a cinema, a restaurant, an excellent bookstore and a museum housing various collections including coins, historical displays and art. Paco Imperial was built in 1743 as the capitol for governing viceroys, appointed by the Portuguese court. After independence, it served as the imperial palace for two Brazilian emperors. Today, it’s a museum focusing on both the country’s history and contemporary art.
Also legendary are Brazil’s multiple gemstones. And no place offers a better introduction than H. Stern’s flagship showroom in Rio. After picking up an audio pack, available in 20 languages, visitors make a self-guided tour, passing more than 30 exhibits and observing workmen busily cutting, polishing and setting precious stones. All the while, the cassette furnishes interesting explanations and jewelry trivia. For example, the narrator emphasizes that the human mind has no memory for color, so stones’ color grading can only be determined by comparing many stones side by side. Following the tour, visitors pass into a jewel museum filled with crystals, polished stones and an incredible array of designer pieces, such as a platinum flower composed of some 500 diamonds with a cluster of rubies in the center and a hidden mechanism which causes the diamond petals to continuously open and close. Of course, there’s a salesroom, as well. H. Stern has 175 stores worldwide in 15 countries, including one in virtually every upscale hotel in Brazil. According to a spokesperson, 99% of the company’s precious stones were mined in Brazil. Those who can’t get enough of the glittery might also visit Amsterdam Sauer’s jewelry museum featuring a replica of a mine (visitors learn that miners must descend almost 1,000 feet for emeralds), and another impressive display of various gems. A few exhibits are in the Guinness Book of Records, for one reason or another. As every good tourist knows, religious structures typically heighten architectural awareness and provide insights into a country’s culture. A sampling of Rio’s churches does just that.
Situated atop a hill, the Gloria church was the site of several royal marriages and baptisms. In addition to ceiling paintings and wood engravings, the décor utilizes tiles painted in Biblical scenes. A museum of religious art stands behind the church. Located in the midst of the bustling business district, the Candelaria church once dwarfed its surroundings. The site’s first church was built to fulfill a vow made by a shipwrecked captain. A white neoclassic dome, built of Portuguese limestone, is perhaps, its must notable characteristic. The sculpted bronze doors were exhibited at the 1889 world’s fair in Paris. Architecturally unique, the pyramid-shaped Metropolitan Cathedral soars 315 feet. The massive interior, which can accommodate 20,000, is brightened by stained glass windows, which divide the walls at the four cardinal points. Nearby, a Roman-style aqueduct now serves as a streetcar bridge.
Another great stroll is through the Tijuca Forest, said to be the world’s largest urban park. Within its boundaries, 60 miles of narrow roads lead past waterfalls, a belvedere, a chapel, pavilions, restaurants, and numerous viewpoints, including the spot where Brazil’s last emperor took his court for picnics. Tijuca is near Corcovado, the 2,329-foot mountain topped by the famed Christ the Redeemer statue, which tempts tourists from numerous posters and travel brochures. A cogwheel train carries visitors up the mountain. No nature lover should miss the 340-acre Botanical Garden with 5,000 species of plants and trees, including some 900 varieties of palms. The imposing Avenue of Royal Palms stretches 800 yards. A pretty greenhouse features orchids (Brazil boasts more than 2,300 species) and a small museum presents changing art exhibits. Additionally, a research program studies the park’s medicinal plants..
Rio is one of those rare places where reality is as scenically and culturally splendid as our fondest expectations. Web sites: www.rioconventionbureau.com.br Images by Joyce Dalton |
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Every
great city claims a unique identity. But sometimes, that signature image
becomes too renowned for its own good. Take Rio, for example. This city of
10 million, beautifully squeezed between mountains and sea, has a tough time
getting beyond its poster perfect impact of beaches, bikinis, and gorgeous
natural setting. An enviable image problem, for sure, but Rio boasts an
impressive array of cultural attractions that merit visitors’ attention, as
well.
Originally
the home of a coffee baron, the Museum of the Republic’s construction
bankrupted the builder. Considering the opulent décor and furnishings, this
is hardly surprising. Materials were imported from Portugal, France and
Germany and no whim was ignored. Several presidents either lived or governed
in this place and one, Getulio Vargas, committed suicide here. Vargas’
shirt, bullet hole and all, is on display as is a photo in which the leader
and Franklin Delano Roosevelt appear to be sharing a good joke. Visitors can
enjoy lunch on the veranda, once a winter garden. 
For
a light, but informative, view of Brazilian rural life, visit the Casa do
Pontal Folk-Art Museum, an hour’s drive from Copacabana toward Prainha,
along a mostly coastal road. Thousands of ceramic and wooden figures portray
daily life in all its comic and serious aspects. Work, play, religion,
youth, family, old age, festivals, legends, along with an erotic section are
all there. At times, dozens of figures are grouped together to present a
grand scene, as a circus or Carnival. Many are animated. A French immigrant
spent several decades accumulating this private collection and a sign at the
entry declares it is an “homage to the country that received me and helped
me to realize a dream that I want to pass on to visitors.” 
Those
old enough to remember the “Brazilian bombshell” will want to visit the
Carmen Miranda museum. The darling of American clubs and movie screens in
the 1930s and ‘40s, the vivacious actress/singer captivated audiences with
her elaborate costumes, jewelry (big and gaudy), impossibly high-heeled
shoes and legendary fruit-and-flower-adorned turbans. Photos, costumes and
lots of her accessories are on display here, viewed to a background of her
most famous songs. 
For
most, Sao Bento should head the list. This church and adjoining Benedictine
monastery date to the early 17th century and took 100 years to
construct. While the exterior is rather austere, the interior overwhelms
with gilded swirls and angels and cherubs sculpted in native woods. There’s
Carrara marble, Portuguese tiles, silver chandeliers, and wonderfully
carved, colored and gilded wood. In earlier days, priests sang from four
small balconies lining a side chapel and today, Sunday Mass is accompanied
by Gregorian chants. 
With
a little help from a local travel agency or your hotel’s concierge, it may
be possible to visit a samba school rehearsal. Guaranteed to have the
stuffiest visitor smiling and swaying, these practice sessions for Rio’s
famed Carnival take place in neighborhoods throughout the city. While most
participants are garbed in jeans or shorts, a few likely will be decked out
in the sequins and ruffles for which the event is noted. Once the drummers
start their repetitive beat, the atmosphere becomes charged as hour after
hour, more than 100 ordinary folk, kids to grandparents, transform
themselves into strutting performers as they samba around the practice
space. Flag carriers furl their school’s banner, wrap themselves in it, and
offer it up for kissing. The evening is exhausting, infectious and just
plain fun. 
For
a change of scene, head for the mountains and spend a day in Petropolis, 40
miles from Rio. Conceived by Emperor Pedro II, Petropolis became a royal
retreat in the mid-19th century. A lovely town for strolling, it
claims a number of worthwhile sites, even if the weather proves
uncooperative. At the top of the list is the summer palace, now a museum.
Sliding across the floor in the palace’s supply of felt slippers, visitors
pass through room after room, viewing furnishings, feathered robes, jewels
and the royal crown. Other Petropolis sites include the Crystal Palace, a
glass and iron structure where Princess Isabel presented freedom
certificates to slaves in 1888, and the St. Peter of Alcantara Cathedral,
containing marble tombs of martyrs and royalty. 
Fortunately,
my subsequent trips to Rio were filled with sunny days, so of course, I
sampled its famed outdoor attractions. A fine day is made all the brighter
by meandering along a few of the city’s 23 beaches, which run almost
continuously for a 45-mile stretch. Locals consider their beaches examples
of true democracy, as all are public and in a “dental floss” bikini, no one
can tell rich from poor. Hardly a tourist breathes who hasn’t heard of
Copacabana and Ipanema. Each presents a good introduction to Rio’s beach
society where young and old alike relish the sheer joy of being alive in
such beautiful surroundings. 
After
gazing at Sugar Loaf day after day, few visitors would leave without making
the ascent, via two cable cars, of Rio’s most famous landmark. The ride is
fun and the view, superb.