Brasilia, Brazil

Brasília: from Utopia to the Capital and Political Arena of Brazil


Since the days of the Marquis of Pombal, there has been talk of transferring the capital to the interior. Today, the chimera city continues to look surreal but dictates the rules of Brazilian development.

The dry season of the Central Plateau is usually inclement with Brasília and the meteorology fulfilled its intentions.

The air had been hot and rough for some days now, almost devoid of moisture, mixed with a light dust that hurt the most sensitive throats.

“Let's go guys, with determination but respect…” an experienced “policeman” alerts over the loudspeaker.

When Demonstrations Take Over the Plateau

Not even the unbearable heat of mid-afternoon had deterred a mega-demonstration of the Federal Highway Police from forming at the appointed time, next to the city's exuberant cathedral.

We see the procession extending along the main avenues. And to linger on purpose at Praça dos Três Poderes, in front of the National Congress building, next to the Palácio do Planalto, where it was crucial that their demands for a career plan and more vacancies were heard.

Police demonstration, Brasilia, Utopia, Brazil

Demonstration of the National Highway Police passes in front of the Planalto Palace.

Brazilians seek their way to Order and Progress. At the same time, another creative protest, this time by teachers, was taking place on the lawn adjacent to the National Congress.

To guard against more than a certain unavailability of politicians to receive them, those responsible had placed dozens of images of deputies on seats. And it was to that inanimate audience that they demanded a salary “floor”, a demand uttered by a representative of the class from a makeshift pulpit.

The costs of interiority in the capital and, in particular, of these expressions of democracy are high. Expenses with transport, food, infrastructure and others reach the order of 2, 3, 4 and even more millions of Reais.

Ministries, Brasilia, Utopia, Brazil

Sequence of buildings in Brasília at sunset.

Despite being tiny compared to what was spent on the construction of Brasilia and the economic potential of Brazil, these numbers affect the promoting organizations that often disclose them to the press as an additional complaint.

The Historical Confines of the Brasilia Project

It was nothing that worried the government of the Marquis de Pombal too much when it considered, for the first time, transferring the capital of the Portuguese Empire to the less explored domains of the colony.

At that time, Brazil's easiest riches – gold and diamonds, instead of the immense present oil – came from the coast to the interior and it suited the Crown to exert the most comprehensive control of the territory as possible.

Installation with favelas, Brasilia, Utopia, Brazil

A work of art installed in Brasília, illustrates a basic type of housing that ended up surrounding the Brazilian capital

The idea was debated and disputed by several factions. Highlighting the Inconfidentes Mineiros. This group of rebels had been conjuring, for some time, a separatist revolt against the pour and other forms of implacable taxes that took to the metropolis part (1500 kg of gold annually) of the wealth accumulated by the wealthy population of Minas Gerais.

Ironically, his chosen place for the capital of the new republic was called São João d'El Rei. The plan was betrayed by a colonel who, in exchange, saw the debt he owed to the Crown forgiven.

In the same year of the French Revolution, the Inconfidentes were condemned in Rio de Janeiro and imprisoned. As a preventive example of new revolts. Tiradentes, the lowest-ranking conjuror, was hanged and quartered.

The willingness to relocate the capital has persisted throughout history, before and after Brazilian independence.

Sailors, Brasilia, Utopia, Brazil

Group of sailors attend a military ceremony.

The Slow Start of the Capital in the Heart of Brazil

In 1891, this change was included in the republican constitution and, at the same time, an Exploratory Commission for the Central Plateau of Brazil was constituted.

Only much later, in 1960, would the desired new capital become a reality, made possible by the political determination of President Juscelino Kubitschek.

Juscelino Kubitshek II Monument ,Brasilia, Utopia, Brazil

Resident crosses the space of the Memorial to Juscelino Kubitschek

Urban planner Lúcio Costa and the architect Oscar Niemeyer received an almost white letter.

They created a city in such an unusual way that, when Russian astronaut Yuri Gagarin visited it, he insisted on declaring: “I have the impression that I am disembarking on a different planet…”.

It's the same feeling we get as we walk along its wide avenues, between shapes created as a 60's vision of what a city in the distant future would be like.

A city that turned out to be the only one built in the XNUMXth century to achieve UNESCO World Heritage status.

Museum of the Republic, Brasilia, Utopia, Brazil

A passerby passes in front of the Museum of the Republic, another sui generis work by Niemeyer.

On the Margin of Urbanism and Architecture, the Humanized Life of Brasilia

Despite its appearance of an organic museum, Brasília quickly took on a contrasting life.

The Federal District welcomed migrants from all regions of Brazil and even from abroad in a much less harmonious way than expected.

In the proximity of the Monumental Axis, the different housing “wings” and the eccentric functional sectors of the city (amusements, culture, commerce, hotels, medical-hospital etc.), the population benefited from the jobs created by the state and those linked to them. It prospered.

Ministry of Environment, Brasilia, Utopia, Brazil

Employee walks next to the Ministry of Environment and Culture building.

At the same time, the municipalities of Goiás on the periphery welcomed thousands of extra newcomers who were looking for alternatives to the poverty of the areas they had abandoned.

Brasília is on the way to the 3 million inhabitants. In social terms, it is considered the 4th most unbalanced city in Brazil and until recently, the 16th of the world.

The crime numbers come, as expected, to match.

Installation with favelas, Brasilia, Utopia, Brazil

A work of art installed in Brasília, illustrates a basic type of housing that ended up surrounding the Brazilian capital

Little or nothing affects the elitist cream of politicians who maintain their luxurious domicile in the capital, but fly whenever they can to the great historic metropolises of the coast – read São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro – where, politics on the sidelines, continues to unfold the “true” Brazilian life.

For the middle class, and even more for the poor, Brasília is the city to deal with.

Installation with favelas, Brasilia, Utopia, Brazil

A work of art installed in Brasília, illustrates a basic type of housing that ended up surrounding the Brazilian capital

Driver Seu Zé and Brazil's So Wealthy Reality

A full-time taxi driver, Mr. Zé is more upset with the plague of demonstrations than with the “birds” (that's what he calls them), the speed cameras that the authorities have hidden in several trees on the avenue. Whenever you can, accelerate.

“These guys are still going to ruin the end of the day for me. I have to take my son to training on time, you know how the famous Brazilian paitrocínio is…” As there's no politician in the family, we try to get by with football, right? ”

Both the complaint and the ambition are old, but Seu Zé admits: “at least in international news, Brazil has only been showing for some time. You know … it has one of the fastest growing economies in the world and is predicted to become one of the top five within the next few decades…”

Itamaraty Palace Staircase, Brasilia, Utopia, Brazil

Employee heads towards the exit of the Itamaraty Palace.

The driver also ends up accepting that the hyper-modern, almost luxurious van in which he works can be considered a result of this new prosperity. However, at the time of the last revision of this text, April 2020, Jair Bolsonaro's Brazil was experiencing a period of social and economic crisis aggravated by the Covid 19 pandemic.

Inside the taxi, we lost track of time. Meanwhile the crowd of protesters had demobilized. When we least expect it, the sun starts to set. Paint an orange sky wall that appears to close off the city to the west.

There is another one of the famous exuberant sunsets in Brasília. A rival twilight follows.

The following morning, several new demonstrations were planned and, who knows, one or another scandal of the ones that give more meaning to the nation's newspapers.

One of the buildings of the architect Oscar Niemeyer that make up Praça dos Três Poderes.

Deputies and senators will occupy their seats in the chamber of the National Congress.

As it has done since the 70s, through its decisions, for better and for worse, Brasília would decide the future of Brazil.

Antenna de Brasilia marks the center of a gaudy twilight that takes over the capital.

Passo do Lontra, Miranda, Brazil

The Flooded Brazil of Passo do Lontra

We are on the western edge of Mato Grosso do Sul but bush, on these sides, is something else. In an extension of almost 200.000 km2, the Brazil it appears partially submerged, by rivers, streams, lakes and other waters dispersed in vast alluvial plains. Not even the panting heat of the dry season drains the life and biodiversity of Pantanal places and farms like the one that welcomed us on the banks of the Miranda River.
manaus, Brazil

The Jumps and Starts of the former World Rubber Capital

From 1879 to 1912, only the Amazon River basin generated the latex that, from one moment to another, the world needed and, out of nowhere, Manaus became one of the most advanced cities on the face of the Earth. But an English explorer took the tree to Southeast Asia and ruined pioneer production. Manaus once again proved its elasticity. It is the largest city in the Amazon and the seventh in Brazil.
Curitiba, Brazil

The High-Quality Life of Curitiba

It is not only the altitude of almost 1000 meters at which the city is located. Cosmopolitan and multicultural, the capital of Paraná has a quality of life and human development rating that make it a unique case in Brazil.
Sheets of Bahia, Brazil

The Swampy Freedom of Quilombo do Remanso

Runaway slaves have survived for centuries around a wetland in Chapada Diamantina. Today, the quilombo of Remanso is a symbol of their union and resistance, but also of the exclusion to which they were voted.
Perth, Australia

the lonely city

More 2000km away from a worthy counterpart, Perth is considered the most remote city on the face of the Earth. Despite being isolated between the Indian Ocean and the vast Outback, few people complain.
Goiás Velho, Brazil

A Gold Rush Legacy

Two centuries after the heyday of prospecting, lost in time and in the vastness of the Central Plateau, Goiás esteems its admirable colonial architecture, the surprising wealth that remains to be discovered there.
Singapore

The Island of Success and Monotony

Accustomed to planning and winning, Singapore seduces and recruits ambitious people from all over the world. At the same time, it seems to bore to death some of its most creative inhabitants.
Itaipu Binational Hydroelectric Power Plant, Brazil

Itaipu Binational Hydroelectric Power Plant: Watt Fever

In 1974, thousands of Brazilians and Paraguayans flocked to the construction zone of the then largest dam in the world. 30 years after completion, Itaipu generates 90% of Paraguay's energy and 20% of Brazil's.
Rhinoceros, PN Kaziranga, Assam, India
Safari
PN Kaziranga, India

The Indian Monoceros Stronghold

Situated in the state of Assam, south of the great Brahmaputra river, PN Kaziranga occupies a vast area of ​​alluvial swamp. Two-thirds of the rhinocerus unicornis around the world, there are around 100 tigers, 1200 elephants and many other animals. Pressured by human proximity and the inevitable poaching, this precious park has not been able to protect itself from the hyperbolic floods of the monsoons and from some controversies.
Muktinath to Kagbeni, Annapurna Circuit, Nepal, Kagbeni
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit 14th - Muktinath to Kagbeni, Nepal

On the Other Side of the Pass

After the demanding crossing of Thorong La, we recover in the cozy village of Muktinath. The next morning we proceed back to lower altitudes. On the way to the ancient kingdom of Upper Mustang and the village of Kagbeni that serves as its gateway.
Luderitz, Namibia
Architecture & Design
Lüderitz, Namibia

Wilkommen in Africa

Chancellor Bismarck has always disdained overseas possessions. Against his will and all odds, in the middle of the Race for Africa, merchant Adolf Lüderitz forced Germany to take over an inhospitable corner of the continent. The homonymous city prospered and preserves one of the most eccentric heritages of the Germanic empire.
Era Susi towed by dog, Oulanka, Finland
Adventure
PN Oulanka, Finland

A Slightly Lonesome Wolf

Jukka “Era-Susi” Nordman has created one of the largest packs of sled dogs in the world. He became one of Finland's most iconic characters but remains faithful to his nickname: Wilderness Wolf.
orthodox procession
Ceremonies and Festivities
Suzdal, Russia

Centuries of Devotion to a Devoted Monk

Euthymius was a fourteenth-century Russian ascetic who gave himself body and soul to God. His faith inspired Suzdal's religiosity. The city's believers worship him as the saint he has become.
Mother Armenia Statue, Yerevan, Armenia
Cities
Yerevan, Armenia

A Capital between East and West

Heiress of the Soviet civilization, aligned with the great Russia, Armenia allows itself to be seduced by the most democratic and sophisticated ways of Western Europe. In recent times, the two worlds have collided in the streets of your capital. From popular and political dispute, Yerevan will dictate the new course of the nation.
young saleswoman, nation, bread, uzbekistan
Meal
Fergana Valley, Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan, The Nation That Does Not Lack Bread

Few countries employ cereals like Uzbekistan. In this republic of Central Asia, bread plays a vital and social role. The Uzbeks produce it and consume it with devotion and in abundance.
Culture
Competitions

Man: an Ever Tested Species

It's in our genes. For the pleasure of participating, for titles, honor or money, competitions give meaning to the world. Some are more eccentric than others.
Swimming, Western Australia, Aussie Style, Sun rising in the eyes
Sport
Busselton, Australia

2000 meters in Aussie Style

In 1853, Busselton was equipped with one of the longest pontoons in the world. World. When the structure collapsed, the residents decided to turn the problem around. Since 1996 they have been doing it every year. Swimming.
The Toy Train story
Traveling
Siliguri a Darjeeling, India

The Himalayan Toy Train Still Running

Neither the steep slope of some stretches nor the modernity stop it. From Siliguri, in the tropical foothills of the great Asian mountain range, the Darjeeling, with its peaks in sight, the most famous of the Indian Toy Trains has ensured for 117 years, day after day, an arduous dream journey. Traveling through the area, we climb aboard and let ourselves be enchanted.
Native Americans Parade, Pow Pow, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
Ethnic
Albuquerque, USA

When the Drums Sound, the Indians Resist

With more than 500 tribes present, the pow wow "Gathering of the Nations" celebrates the sacred remnants of Native American cultures. But it also reveals the damage inflicted by colonizing civilization.
ice tunnel, black gold route, Valdez, Alaska, USA
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Got2Globe Portfolio

Sensations vs Impressions

Candia, Tooth of Buddha, Ceylon, lake
History
Kandy, Sri Lanka

The Dental Root of Sinhalese Buddhism

Located in the mountainous heart of Sri Lanka, at the end of the XNUMXth century, Kandy became the capital of the last kingdom of old Ceylon and resisted successive colonial conquest attempts. The city also preserved and exhibited a sacred tooth of the Buddha and, thus, became Ceylon's Buddhist center.
Street Scene, Guadeloupe, Caribbean, Butterfly Effect, French Antilles
Islands
Guadalupe, French Antilles

Guadeloupe: a Delicious Caribbean, in a Counter Butterfly-Effect

Guadeloupe is shaped like a moth. A trip around this Antille is enough to understand why the population is governed by the motto Pas Ni Problem and raises the minimum of waves, despite the many setbacks.
Passengers on the frozen surface of the Gulf of Bothnia, at the base of the "Sampo" icebreaker, Finland
Winter White
Kemi, Finland

It's No "Love Boat". Breaks the Ice since 1961

Built to maintain waterways through the most extreme arctic winter, the icebreaker Sampo” fulfilled its mission between Finland and Sweden for 30 years. In 1988, he reformed and dedicated himself to shorter trips that allow passengers to float in a newly opened channel in the Gulf of Bothnia, in clothes that, more than special, seem spacey.
Lake Manyara, National Park, Ernest Hemingway, Giraffes
Literature
Lake Manyara NP, Tanzania

Hemingway's Favorite Africa

Situated on the western edge of the Rift Valley, Lake Manyara National Park is one of the smallest but charming and richest in Europe. wild life of Tanzania. In 1933, between hunting and literary discussions, Ernest Hemingway dedicated a month of his troubled life to him. He narrated those adventurous safari days in “The Green Hills of Africa".
Miniature houses, Chã das Caldeiras, Fogo Volcano, Cape Verde
Nature
Chã das Caldeiras, Fogo Island Cape Verde

A "French" Clan at the Mercy of Fogo

In 1870, a Count born in Grenoble on his way to Brazilian exile, made a stopover in Cape Verde where native beauties tied him to the island of Fogo. Two of his children settled in the middle of the volcano's crater and continued to raise offspring there. Not even the destruction caused by the recent eruptions deters the prolific Montrond from the “county” they founded in Chã das Caldeiras.    
Sheki, Autumn in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Autumn Homes
Autumn
Sheki, Azerbaijan

autumn in the caucasus

Lost among the snowy mountains that separate Europe from Asia, Sheki is one of Azerbaijan's most iconic towns. Its largely silky history includes periods of great harshness. When we visited it, autumn pastels added color to a peculiar post-Soviet and Muslim life.
Fluvial coming and going
Natural Parks
Iriomote, Japan

The Small Tropical Japanese Amazon of Iriomote

Impenetrable rainforests and mangroves fill Iriomote under a pressure cooker climate. Here, foreign visitors are as rare as the yamaneko, an elusive endemic lynx.
Pilgrims at the top, Mount Sinai, Egypt
UNESCO World Heritage
Mount Sinai, Egypt

Strength in the Legs, Faith in God

Moses received the Ten Commandments on the summit of Mount Sinai and revealed them to the people of Israel. Today, hundreds of pilgrims climb, every night, the 4000 steps of that painful but mystical ascent.
Visitors to Ernest Hemingway's Home, Key West, Florida, United States
Characters
Key West, United States

Hemingway's Caribbean Playground

Effusive as ever, Ernest Hemingway called Key West "the best place I've ever been...". In the tropical depths of the contiguous US, he found evasion and crazy, drunken fun. And the inspiration to write with intensity to match.
Mangrove between Ibo and Quirimba Island-Mozambique
Beaches
Ibo Island a Quirimba IslandMozambique

Ibo to Quirimba with the Tide

For centuries, the natives have traveled in and out of the mangrove between the island of Ibo and Quirimba, in the time that the overwhelming return trip from the Indian Ocean grants them. Discovering the region, intrigued by the eccentricity of the route, we follow its amphibious steps.
Aurora lights up the Pisang Valley, Nepal.
Religion
Annapurna Circuit: 3rd- Upper Banana, Nepal

An Unexpected Snowy Aurora

At the first glimmers of light, the sight of the white mantle that had covered the village during the night dazzles us. With one of the toughest walks on the Annapurna Circuit ahead of us, we postponed the match as much as possible. Annoyed, we left Upper Pisang towards Escort when the last snow faded.
Train Kuranda train, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
On Rails
Cairns-Kuranda, Australia

Train to the Middle of the Jungle

Built out of Cairns to save miners isolated in the rainforest from starvation by flooding, the Kuranda Railway eventually became the livelihood of hundreds of alternative Aussies.
Society
Margilan, Uzbekistan

An Uzbekistan's Breadwinner

In one of the many bakeries in Margilan, worn out by the intense heat of the tandyr oven, the baker Maruf'Jon works half-baked like the distinctive traditional breads sold throughout Uzbekistan
Ditching, Alaska Fashion Life, Talkeetna
Daily life
Talkeetna, Alaska

Talkeetna's Alaska-Style Life

Once a mere mining outpost, Talkeetna rejuvenated in 1950 to serve Mt. McKinley climbers. The town is by far the most alternative and most captivating town between Anchorage and Fairbanks.
Hippopotamus in Anôr Lagoon, Orango Island, Bijagós, Guinea Bissau
Wildlife
Kéré Island to Orango, Bijagós, Guinea Bissau

In Search of the Lacustrine-Marine and Sacred Bijagós Hippos

They are the most lethal mammals in Africa and, in the Bijagós archipelago, preserved and venerated. Due to our particular admiration, we joined an expedition in their quest. Departing from the island of Kéré and ending up inland from Orango.
Napali Coast and Waimea Canyon, Kauai, Hawaii Wrinkles
Scenic Flights
napali coast, Hawaii

Hawaii's Dazzling Wrinkles

Kauai is the greenest and rainiest island in the Hawaiian archipelago. It is also the oldest. As we explore its Napalo Coast by land, sea and air, we are amazed to see how the passage of millennia has only favored it.
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