This week we have had an education in Brazilian architecture: from the modernist, centrally-planned capital city to the baroque grandeur of Ouro Preto.
Distances in Brazil are vast so we flew from Manaus down to Brasilia, in the centre of the country. Before 1956 there was nothing here, just scrubland. A new city was built from scratch and it became the capital in 1960. Architect Oscar Niemeyer was given a completely free hand ( an architect´s dream) and built big public buildings with a stress on space, light, curves and the use of water features. Different parts of the city were designated for particular uses with a Soviet-like faith in central planning. The big government buildings do look dated now, but they are still impressive, as are the wide open garden spaces and plazas between them. But the residential and small business sectors have not worn so well: with too much concrete, empty spaces that feel dodgy at night, and people living miles away from where they work and shop.
Brasilia is seen as a capital for the people and in that spirit many of the government buildings can be visited by the public. We took a guided tour around the Foreign Ministry building with its cocktail and dining rooms for entertaining foreign visitors decorated with old paintings and carpets, making an interesting contrast to the modernist building itself.
We also visited the parliament building with its distinctive twin towers and big white concrete concave and convex domes. With a refreshing lack of security, we carried our bags into the chamber and sat in the members seats. Apart from electronic voting machines, the chamber seems to have changed little from the 60s.
We were very lucky to get to visit the President´s official residence as it is not often open to the public. It´s called a palace but in fact it´s a very large 1960s villa set in lovely gardens with a swimming pool and a 5-aside football pitch. (How many Presidential palaces have that?) Our guided tour took us through the large airy rooms, with floor to ceiling windows, including the family sitting room with comfy chairs and lots of books. Unfortunately Lula wasn´t in but it was still quite something to visit his lovely house.
From Brasilia we caught an overnight bus south to the old town of Ouro Preto, built in the 18th century with money from the nearby gold and diamond mines. It reminded us of an Italian hill town or somewhere in the Black Forest - and many of the immigrants came from these areas - with lots of churches, cobbled streets and well-maintained houses with coloured shutters and balconies, all tumbling down the hillsides. It´s a popular weekend away for middle-class Brazilians. The winter arts festival was underway with live music and artists selling their paintings. All very European and far removed from the images we have of Brazil from abroad.
Yesterday evening we arrived in Rio de Janeiro where we plan to stay this week.
Written by Louise
