Rio de Janeiro

by Castro, Ruy

• ISBN13: 9781582341903
• ISBN10: 1582341907
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-08-07
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA

Summary

Ruy Castro delves into the past and present of Rio, where even in periods of comparative calm there has always been a palpable excitement in the air - the feeling of a city on fire. In this spellbinding fifth entry in Bloomsbury's The Writer and the City series, Rio de Janeiro's vibrant history unfolds. While stiff-collared poets flirted with prim young ladies in coffeehouses during the belle eacute;poque, revolts were being plotted that almost destroyed the city. We learn how the iconic wave-patterned mosaics of Copacabana pavements were baptized with blood, and how more than a hundred years before the girl from Ipanema passed by, the girls from Ouvidor Street adopted French chic - and never really gave it up. From what is arguably the most breathtakingly beautiful city in the world, the people of Rio - the Cariocas - tell their stories: of cannibals charming European intellectuals; of elegant slaves and their shabby masters; of how a casual chat between two people drinking coffee on Avenida Rio Branco could affect world coffee markets; of an awe-inspiring beach life; of favelas, drugs, police, carnival, football, and music. With his own Carioca good humor and great storytelling gifts, Ruy Castro brings the reader thrillingly close to the flames. Ruy Castrois a writer and journalist whose books include two classics about bossa nova, a biography of the soccer star Garrincha, and an encyclopedia of Ipanema. He has also edited a compendium of 1,600 poisonous bons mots calledBad Humorand written two novels for children. His bookBossa Nova: The Story of the Brazilian Music That Seduced the Worldwas published in the U.S. in 2000. Ruy Castro delves into the past and present of Rio, where even in periods of comparative calm there has always been a palpable excitement in the air--the feeling of a city on fire. In this spellbinding fifth entry in Bloomsbury's The Writer and the City series, Rio de Janeiro's vibrant history unfolds. While stiff-collared poets flirted with prim young ladies in coffeehouses during the Belle Epoque, revolts were being plotted that almost destroyed the city. We learn how the iconic wave-patterned mosaics of Copacabana pavements were baptized with blood, and how more than a hundred years before the girl from Ipanema passed by, the girls from Ouvidor Street adopted French chic--and never really gave it up. From what is arguably the most breathtakingly beautiful city in the world, the people of Rio--the Cariocas--tell their stories: of cannibals charming European intellectuals; of elegant slaves and their shabby masters; of how a casual chat between two people drinking coffee on Avenida Rio Branco could affect world coffee markets; of an awe-inspiring beach life; of favelas, drugs, police, carnival, football, and music. With his own Carioca good humor and great storytelling gifts, Ruy Castro brings the reader close to the flames. "Often resembling 'heaven and hell at the same time,' Rio de Janeiro has served as a haven for pirates, fugitives, and rebels, and until 1888 it was one of the world's largest slave markets. But despite its checkered past and troubled present, Rio refuses to take itself seriously. When Portuguese explorer Amerigo Vespucci first arrived in 1502, he discovered natives who 'spent all their time singing and dancing in the sun, everybody naked, cheerfully fornicating in the woods'--that is, when they weren't eating each other. Today, Rio celebrates Carnival as its cultural centerpiece, and its inhabitants fill Copacabana's sex- and samba-fueled nightclubs, even while the thriving local drug trade routinely erupts in car chases and police shoot-outs. The beach, meanwhile, serves as a pseudo-town square: the places to meet friends, get gossip, and talk business. A worthy entry in Bloomsbury's Writer and the City series, this small, compact book teems with

Author Biography

Ruy Castro is a writer and journalist whose books include two classics about bossa
nova, a biography of the soccer star Garrincha, and an encyclopedia of Ipanema. He has also edited a compendium of 1,600 poisonous bons mots called Bad Humor and written two novels for children. His book Bossa Nova: The Story of the Brazilian Music That Seduced the World was published in the U.S. in 2000.