Thoughts.com Blogs - Rio de Janeiro (2)

View Blog

Rio de Janeiro (2)

State University of Rio de Janeiro, in Maracanã, are also located in the Northern part of Rio.

This region is also home to most of the Samba Schools of Rio de Janeiro such as Mangueira, Salgueiro, Império Serrano, Unidos da Tijuca, among others. Some of the main neighbourhoods of Rio's North Zone are Tijuca – which shares the Tijuca Rainforest with the South Zone – Grajaú, Vila Isabel, Méier, São Cristovão Madureira and Olaria among others.

[edit]West Zone

Barra da Tijuca buildings.

The West Zone (in portuguese: "Zona Oeste") is the region furthest from the centre of Rio de Janeiro. It includes Barra da Tijuca, Jacarepaguá, Recreio dos Bandeirantes, Vargem Grande, Vargem Pequena, Realengo, Padre Miguel, Bangu, Campo Grande, Jardim Sulacap, Paciência and Santa Cruz. 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.

Westwards from the older zones is Barra da Tijuca, a flat expanse of formerly undeveloped coastal land, which is currently experiencing a wave of new construction. It remains an area of accelerated growth, attracting some of the richer sectors of the population as well as luxury companies. High rise flats and sprawling shopping centres give the area a far more American feel than the crowded city centre. The urban planning of the area, made in the late 1960s, resembles that of United States suburbs, though mixing zones of single-family houses with residential skyscrapers. The 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.

Beyond the neighbourhoods of Barra da Tijuca and Jacarepaguá, another district that has exhibited economic growth is Campo Grande. Some sports competitions in the Pan-American Games of 2007 were held in the Miécimo da Silva Sports Centre, nicknamed the 'Algodão' (Cotton) Gymnasium, and others in the Ítalo del Cima Stadium, in Campo Grande.

Christ the Redeemer (Portuguese: O Cristo Redentor), is a statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[1] The statue stands 38 metres (120 ft) tall weighs 700 short tons (635 tonnes), and is located at the peak of the 700 metres (2,300 ft) Corcovadomountain in the Tijuca Forest National Park overlooking the city. It is the tallest of its kind in the world. It is made of reinforced concrete and soapstone.[1][2][3]

A symbol of Christianity, the statue has become an icon of Rio and Brazil.[4]

The idea for erecting a large statue atop Corcovado had been around since mid 1850s, when Catholic priest Pedro Maria Boss requested financing from Princess Isabel to build a large religious monument. Princess Isabel did not think much of the idea, which was completely dismissed in 1889, when Brazil became a Republic, with laws mandating the separation of church and state.[5]

The second proposal for a large landmark statue on the mountain was made in 1921 by the Catholic Circle of Rio.[6] The group organised an event called Semana do Monumento ("Monument Week") to attract donations and collect signatures to support the building of the statue. The donations came mostly from Brazilian Catholics.[1] The designs considered for the "Statue of the Christ" included a representation of the Christian cross, a statue of Jesus with a globe in his hands, and a pedestal symbolizing the world.[7] The statue of Christ the Redeemer with open arms was chosen.

Christ the Redeemer withCorcovado in background.

Local engineer Heitor da Silva Costa designed the statue; it was sculpted by Paul Landowski, a French monument sculptor of Polish origin.[8][1] A group of engineers and technicians studied Landowski's submissions and the decision was made to build the structure out of reinforced concrete (designed byAlbert Caquot) instead of steel, more suitable for the cross-shaped statue.[5] The outer layers are soapstone, chosen for its enduring qualities and ease of use.[2] Construction took nine years, from 1922 to 1931. The monument was opened on October 12, 1931.[2][3] The cost of the monument was $250,000. The statue was meant to be lit by a battery of floodlights triggered remotely by shortwave radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi, stationed 5,700 miles (9,200 km) away in the Bay of Naples, but poor weather affected the signal and the statue had to be lit by workers in Rio.[5]

The statue was struck by lightning during a violent electrical storm on Sunday, February 10, 2008. The storm caused havoc in Rio, felling trees in several neighbourhoods, but the statue was left unscathed.[9][10]

In October 2006, on the statue's 75th anniversary, Archbishop of Rio Cardinal Eusebio Oscar Scheid consecrated a chapel (named for the patron saint of Brazil - Nossa Senhora Aparecida) under the statue. This allows Catholics to hold baptisms and weddings there.[3]

As of 7 July 2007, Christ the Redeemer was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in a list compiled by the Swiss-based The New Open World Corporation.[11] In Brazil there was a campaign Vote no Cristo (Vote for the Christ) which had the support of private companies.[12] Additionally, leading corporate sponsors including Banco Bradesco and Rede Globo spent "millions" of dollars in the effort to have the statue voted into the top seven.[13]