Google Maps no Brasil

As I was browsing the internet..as I do rather frequently now..I came upon this article discussing some recent controversy amongst the google mapping project that was just completed in Brasil. It allows for street views throughout much of the country. Apparently in the process, they captured some unpleasant scenes with victims on the street which surfaced some of the realities the country faces with poverty, drugs, and violence. Here the article I read:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1318426/Google-Street-View-captures-bodies-street-Brazil.html

In response there was a blog set up that allows for people to post the weird images they found whether it be disturbing or a computer glitch. Check it out. Pretty interesting.

Street Viu

Once reading about this...I naturally wanted to check out some areas I visited rather frequently when I was living in Rio. It ended up being a little addicting and was really cool to walk down the streets I traveled down on a daily basis. Brought back a lot of memories...I was trying really hard to try to pin point certain people that I knew were regulars on certain streets and areas of the city..whether they were homeless or someone working a stand..

I had luck with one. The picture below is in Humaitá which is a small neighborhood between Jardim Botanico and Botafogo. There is a man that sits on this block selling old magazines, records, and books. He is there everyday..as long as the weather is decent and I walked that block a lot on my way to the Lagoa.


This picture above was another area I had hoped to capture more closely but unfortunately, being that it wasn't a street, it was rather difficult. On the corner of this block off of Rua Voluntarios sits some little stands where people make food and sell snacks. I was a frequent visit on my way to commuting to other points in the city. The first stand was run by a mother and daughter and I would way sandwiches from them almost daily so I became a familiar face.

This next picture below is the corner block where my cousin Lu lived. I would travel to her place a lot and often spend lunch and dinner with her mother and father. It is in an area of the city called Tijuca which tourists typically don't venture unless to visit places like the soccer stadium Maracanã.


The image above is the street entrance to my cousin Katie's studio. She and I developed a lot of work in the months I spent with her. She is a marquetry artist and taught me several different techniques about the craft when I lived with her. This past year, when I was preparing and making a piece for a gallery owned by the artist Joao Machado. It was located in Ipanema and was called PEÇAUNICA Katie let me use her studio as a space to work in and create the piece. Lots of memories. She was my studio buddy and will continue to be.



One of my favorite places to visit throughout the city was located in Centro or the downtown business district of the city. It had this interesting juxtaposition of the serious, business world of Cariocas in Rio but was placed on these historical streets with colorful, historical architecture. My favorite down there is actually Arco de Teles but it isn't on a main street, so you can't navigate through it from google maps.


The image above and directly below are taken outside of Rocinha, one of the largest favelas in Rio. It passed it on a daily basis being that my cousin Katie lived in Barra and Paulinho and Nalita lived in Botafogo. I lived at both of their houses, depending on what my plan were for the day or week. The picture above is the main entrance I took to go to when I was volunteering and briefly helping out with Instituto Dois Irmãos - Two Brothers Foundation. The image below shows what those that pass by on their commute see on a regular basis. Rocinha is unavoidable and over towers the mountain side between the tunnels cars pass through on their way throughout the city.


This last image is the street my friends Brunna and Adam lived on in Lapa. For many Lapa is kind of known as party central in Rio. The streets are flooded with people and tons of clubs are open with live music and dance floors. Brunna and Adam lived a little off the main street and I would visit them frequently on our way out for the evening.

That's all for now..I'll post more as I think about..

Saara

So I recently started re-reading this book called Rio de Janeiro: Carnival under Fire by Ruy Castro. I read the book about two years ago right before I left for my first trip to visit the Cidade Maravilhosa. At the time, my knowledge of the city let alone the country, was rather bleak. Now that I have spent a fair amount of time there and feel like I really know much of the highlights people talk about, it has been interesting to be able to recognize a lot of the topics Castro discusses about Brazilian culture as well as the many different communities found throughout the city.

One in particular that was briefly discussed is an area located in Centro called the Saara (Sahara). I visited on several occasions with Luciana as well as on my own, during my many walks through the city. It consists of over 1,500 little businesses and served as the first home for a large number of Syrian, Lebanese, Jewish, Greek, Turk, Spanish, Portuguese and Argentine migrants coming to Brazil by the end of 19th and early 20th centuries. Rio’s largest variety of merchants can be found here, from clothing to toys, sports equipment, artificial flowers and costume accessories, among many others. It is a fantastic popular Carioca market and often overlooked by tourists, which helps keep prices reasonable. You are more likely to see a local shopping here as well, which creates an authentic atmosphere.

My personal experience was pleasantly hectic. I went to shop and purchase my "costumes" for carnival in true Carioca style. During the weeks leading up to the big festivities it is a mad house down there because everything is so cheap. It was rather crowded and people were frantically searching for the best finds for the week of never ending drinks and dancing. On a regular day, the atmosphere is a little different but still pretty busy and fast paced. I think I enjoy the area so much because of the visual overload you experience while walking by all the different shops as well as the sound of the announcers standing at the ever edge of their space, shouting deals left and right. I found it rather impressive that their were live announcers rather than only recordings. Made it more entertaining and fun.

Besides the voices of people, there was a song that I specifically heard playing a lot around the Saara but even just Centro. It was a clip from a song by an artist named Edward Maya. It was probably 5 seconds if that, of this accordion. It is probably one of the only things that accurately can depict the environment in centro for me and it became sort of comical because I would be somewhere walking..or eating lunch with a friend and all of a sudden I would hear this little clip from that song. I was told apparently, that a lot of the newsstands on different corners sell music and so several of them have this song or album for sale. So with this being said, I invited you to check out some different photos I found of the Saara but ask that you play the first u tube clip while looking at the images. If gives you the full experience!










A couple of other clips worth checking out...in portuguese!





Official website

Also, I wanted to start mentioning a few galleries found in the heart of centro and close to the Saara that are definitely worth checking out. One being called A Gentil Carioca. I found the space to be rather intriguing and one of the better places to check out more of the emerging yet underground art scene in Rio. I was also happy to have discovered that is was co-owned by one of my favorite arists, Ernesto Neto which I plan to talk about on my next post!! I finally was able to see his work in person at the Ihotim Art Center near Belo Horizonte which was quite an experience. He seems to have a lot of personality when it comes to talking about his work. :)

New thing in Rio- photos and exploring...

Since my time here is passing by rather quickly, my plan for the next few weeks is to really focus on capturing and seeing as much as I can around the city. New experiences and revisting a few places as well. In particular, I am hoping to spend a few days in Sao Paulo and possibly a week or more in Volta Redonda. I think I finally had an IN to visit the factory..meaning..I can really see what the steel mill is like. I am very excited.

This past weekend I went on a photo excursion with some people from the Couch Surfing community. People from all over came and we went around the city visiting some great sites around the city and some new areas I had never been. It was really nice and something I would enjoy doing every weekend here. We are planning another trip this coming weekend..as long as the rain stays away. Lately it has been pretty crazy..we had so much rain the last two days. The streets all flooded and many people couldn't work.













The week started out great! I installed my new sculpture in Ipanema. Here are some pics from the installation. Joao had an assistant who helped me hang the piece. He was a lot of help and very nice.