05Central & South America · Brazil

Brazil

Rio de Janeiro, where mountains meet the Atlantic and every neighbourhood holds a different rhythm.

The Niterói Contemporary Art Museum, a flying-saucer form by Oscar Niemeyer, above Guanabara Bay at golden hour — Niterói Contemporary Art Museum · Rio de Janeiro

From the notebook

Rio, one landmark at a time

This first Brazil chapter follows Rio from the water to Corcovado, through football history, tiled streets, soaring churches, and one extraordinary room full of books.

Rio · 01

First views of Rio

From the Sheraton, Rio rose directly from the water — rocky coves by day and a hillside bright with windows after dark.

A densely built Rio de Janeiro hillside glowing with lights at night — Rio climbing the hillside after dark

Animated evening view across the illuminated hillside from the Sheraton Rio — The evening view in motion

Swimmers gathered around a small turquoise cove and broad coastal rocks in Rio — A rocky cove below the hotel

White Sheraton beach umbrellas and loungers on the sand beside a turquoise cove — Umbrellas on the hotel beach

Empty beach chairs on the sand with swimmers and the city skyline in the distance — Beach chairs facing the surf

Quiet stretch of sand with large boulders, breaking waves, and two people wading — Boulders and open water

Elevated view of the coastal road, beach, and hillside homes beside the Atlantic — The coast road below

Colourful hillside houses with Christ the Redeemer visible on a distant peak — The hillside, with Corcovado beyond

Rio · 02

Copacabana, from sunset to night

The beach changed by the hour: a long amber sunset, evening games beneath floodlights, and the familiar black-and-white promenade still busy after dark.

Orange sun setting beyond islands and Copacabana Beach — Sunset over Copacabana

Wide elevated view along busy Copacabana Beach in late afternoon — Late light along the beach

Copacabana Beach, promenade, kiosks, and traffic illuminated at night — The beachfront after dark

Animated night view across Copacabana Beach and Avenida Atlântica — Night along Avenida Atlântica

Rio · 03

Botafogo Bay

Across the sheltered water, Sugarloaf Mountain held the skyline while sailboats gathered in the bay below.

Elevated view over Botafogo Beach, the marina, and Sugarloaf Mountain — Botafogo Bay and Sugarloaf Mountain

Sailboats filling Botafogo Bay beneath Sugarloaf Mountain — Boats across the bay

Botafogo Beach volleyball courts with Sugarloaf Mountain beyond — From the sand

Sugarloaf Mountain and rows of sailboats seen across the water — Sugarloaf above the marina

Rio · 04

Christ the Redeemer

At the summit of Corcovado, the monument filled the sky from every angle. The crowd was part of the experience — everyone looking up, taking turns, and trying to hold the scale of it in one frame.

Ken and his companion standing on the steps below Christ the Redeemer — Together at Corcovado

Visitors gathered beneath Christ the Redeemer under a clear sky — The summit crowd

Christ the Redeemer rising above visitors descending the summit steps — Arms above the city

Dramatic low-angle portrait of Christ the Redeemer and its pedestal — Stone against blue

Rio · 05

Inside Maracanã

The stadium tour moved from the numbers and names that built its legend to the open bowl itself — blue and yellow seats circling an immaculate green pitch.

Maracanã Stadium information wall showing records and construction facts — Maracanã by the numbers

Ken standing beside the large Maracanã Rio de Janeiro emblem — At the Maracanã

Ken in the stands overlooking the Maracanã football pitch — First look across the pitch

Ken seated at a Maracanã tour press desk with the stadium behind him — A place at the press desk

Ken in front of Maracanã's Hall of Fame display naming celebrated footballers — Hall of Fame

The green Maracanã pitch and empty blue and yellow stands — Pitch level

Rio · 06

Through central Rio

A walk through the centre connected very different versions of the city: old arches, Gothic stone, modern towers, and colour laid one tile at a time.

The white arches of the Carioca Aqueduct beyond a cobbled street and painted wall — Arcos da Lapa

Gothic façade of the Presbyterian Cathedral framed by palms and modern towers — Presbyterian Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro

Visitors climbing the brightly tiled Selarón Steps between colourful buildings — Climbing the Selarón Steps

Close view of red mosaic steps inset with illustrated tiles from many places — Tiles gathered from around the world

Red mosaic wall spelling Lapa beside the Selarón Steps — Lapa in red tile

Rio · 07

Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Sebastian

Outside, the cathedral rose like a concrete pyramid. Inside, its immense stained-glass panels pulled colour upward into the dark, cavernous space.

A heron standing beside a reflecting pool near the cathedral — A quiet visitor by the water

Low view up the Metropolitan Cathedral's tapered concrete façade — The concrete façade

Vast curved concrete interior and luminous stained glass inside the cathedral — The cathedral interior

Stained-glass panels casting colour across the cathedral ceiling — Light overhead

Rio · 08

A Garota de Ipanema

The restaurant keeps the song close: handwritten music, old photographs, framed clippings, and the memory of the room where a Rio standard took shape.

Handwritten lyrics and musical notation for The Girl from Ipanema displayed in the restaurant — The song on the wall

Framed shirt printed with The Girl from Ipanema lyrics and music — A song preserved

Historic black-and-white photograph of musicians and guests gathered around a table — A table in the restaurant's history

Rio · 09

Real Gabinete Português de Leitura

The Portuguese Reading Room felt built around books rather than merely filled with them — carved galleries, ladders, old editions of Camões, and a stained-glass ceiling glowing overhead.

Grand reading room surrounded by floor-to-ceiling bookcases and carved galleries — Walls made of books

Tall book-lined interior of the Portuguese Reading Room with visitors below — The central reading room

Ornate chandelier hanging above several levels of carved book galleries — Galleries beneath the chandelier

Detailed carved galleries, bookshelves, and ladder inside the reading room — Carved balconies and ladders

Closely packed historic books arranged across dark wooden shelves — Rows of old volumes

Historic editions of works by Luís de Camões displayed beneath glass — Early editions of Camões

Special editions of Os Lusíadas by Luís de Camões displayed in a case — Os Lusíadas, first published in 1572

Octagonal stained-glass ceiling and chandelier in the Portuguese Reading Room — Stained glass above the collection

Stained-glass skylight and chandelier glowing against the dark library interior — Light at the centre of the room

Ornately carved stone entrance to the Real Gabinete Português de Leitura — The carved stone entrance

Highly decorated historic church interior with a vaulted ceiling and altar — An ornate sanctuary nearby

The rest of the Central & South America collection continues in the journal.

Open the Brazil segment in the Central & South America journal →