History of Carandiru Prison Museum

The first inmates arrived in 1956 and very quickly, overcrowding became a serious issue. At its peak, there were over 8,000 prisoners at Carandiru (with only 1,000 guards for company) and inevitably, gangs seized control of the cell blocks. The medical staff were reluctant to go in which led to untreated conditions, itself leading to infection and death. Malnutrition and starvation were also common and during the 1980s, a severe AIDS epidemic ran rife through the prison.

Eventually in October 1992, a prisoner revolt at the inhumane conditions started the mother of all prison riots. In what became known as the Carandiru Massacre, the Policia Militar do Estado de São Paulo, making little or no effort to try the diplomatic route, stormed the cell blocks, killing 102. A further nine prisoners were allegedly killed by fellow inmates in one of modern Brazil’s darkest hours.

The prison’s death certificate was signed and it was demolished in 2002. Eleven years later, 63 policemen were sentenced to a staggering total of 19,908 years in prison for their part in the massacre.

Carandiru Prison Museum today

Today, the Paulista Penitentiary Museum in the north of the city occupies the one remaining cell block and it aims to preserve the prison’s documents that tell the story of one of the world’s most brutal prisons.

The 21,000-piece collection includes detailed paintings, sculptures and furniture made by prisoners in creative workshops as well as objects ‘that help to reassemble the daily lives of the prisoners’ including rudimental tattoo machines and makeshift weapons.

There’s also a chance to be locked in a cell to simulate what it would have been like for prisoners – it’s not one for the faint-hearted and some find it slightly uncomfortable but it remains a draw nonetheless.

Getting to Carandiru Prison Museum

The museum is located inside the Parque da Juventude, which is a 5 minute walk from the Carandiru metro station (blue station). Buses stop on Av. Zaki Narchi, Av. Cruzeiro do Sul and Corredor Norte-Sul.

History of Christ the Redeemer

Christ the Redeemer (Cristo Redentor) is a 30 metre high statue, mounted upon an 8 metre pedestal, and of course the 700 metre high mountain of Corcovado. It was constructed between 1922 and 1931 from soapstone and reinforced concrete. Today it is a Brazilian cultural icon and global symbol of Christianity.

An earlier proposal for a Christian monument on Mount Corcovada was dismissed after the country became a republic in 1889, when the roles of church and state were separated. However a second proposal came in 1920 from Catholics motivated by the perceived atheism of contemporary Rio de Janeiro.

The proposal attracted donations to support the construction, which came largely from Brazilian Catholics. Designs included a representation of the Christian cross, a statue of Jesus holding a globe in his hands and a pedestal that symbolised the world. The resultant Christ the Redeemer statue symbolises peace.

Christ the Redeemer was created by French sculptor Paul Landwoski and Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa, working with French engineer Albert Caquot. It weighs 635 metric tons. The face of the Christ the Redeemer statue was created by Gheorghe Leonida, a Romanian sculptor living in Paris hired by Landowski.

On the 75th anniversary of the statue’s construction, in October 2006, the Archbishop of Rio consecrated a chapel beneath the statue. The statue was hit by lightning in 2008 and in 2014, causing damage, while it has also been the focus of recent renovation efforts.

Christ the Redeemer today

The monument is a cultural icon in Brazil and around the world. It’s a popular tourist destination so crowds are often large. On a clear day, the viewpoint atop Corcovado provides an excellent view of Rio.

Getting to Christ the Redeemer

The statue is open most of the day. A choice of train and tour buses make the journey to and from Christ the Redeemer simple, while the entrance ticket is inexpensive.

History of the Football Museum

The Football Museum, or Museu do Futebol, contains multimedia displays designed to summon the excitement of the sport. It’s devoted to the practice and wider history of the sport, and was inaugurated in 2008 with Brazilian former football star Pelé in attendance.

The Football Museum is close to the centre of São Paulo. It’s housed inside the Pacaembu Stadium, which was built in 1940 and is one of Brazil’s oldest football stadiums. It features a large exhibit devoted to different editions of the World Cup from 1930 onwards.

The museum features a video room dedicated to the 1950 FIFA World Cup. In the decisive final stage match Uruguay v Brazil, in which Brazil needed to avoid defeat to claim the championship title, Uruguay scored a championship-winning goal with 11 minutes remaining. The recurring term ‘Phantom of ‘50’ refers to the defeat of Brazil at Maracanã Stadium.

The fateful match is commemorated with radio commentary from the game. Meanwhile the Exaltation Room uses projections and the sound of clapping, drums and music to evoke the loud, excited atmosphere of football matches.

The Football Museum today

The stadium in which the museum is housed continues to function. Tours of the museum are available in Portuguese, while independent English tours are also available. The main exhibition is accessible to people with disabilities, while downloadable audio guides are available in Portuguese, English and Spanish.

Getting to the Football Museum

Visitors to the Football Museum can travel on bus 917M-10 from Metrô Clínicas. The museum is usually open from 9 to 6 between Tuesday and Sunday. Given it’s an operating football stadium, it’s closed on matchdays.

History of the Historic Centre of Salvador

The Historic Centre of Salvador is a location in the Brazilian city of Salvador that retains impressive Renaissance buildings, brightly coloured houses and sober allusions to the fact that this site was one of the first slave markets in the Americas.

From 1549 to 1763, Salvador was the first capital of Brazil. Located on the northeast coast of the country, the densely populated colonial city is remarkable for the combination of religious, civil and military architecture which dates between the 17th and 19th centuries.

The Historic Centre of Salvador is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. UNESCO describes it as the “colonial city par excellence of the Brazilian northeast”. It is situated in the older part of the upper city and incorporates the Largo de Pelourinho, a square that was once the location of a whipping post (pelourinho) where slaves were abused.

Salvador was a site of convergence for indigenous South American, European, and African cultures. From 1558 onwards, slaves arrived at Salvador to work on sugar plantations. The 18th century Church of the Third Order of Our Lady of the Rosary of the Black People originated among the mutual aid communities of slaves and freemen in Salvador.

Important sites in Pelourinho include the Cathedral of Salvador, which was consecrated in 1654 and the Church and Convent of São Francisco. Other popular destinations include the Rio Braco Palace and the Lacarda Elevator.

Historic Centre of Salvador today

The Historic Centre of Salvador is a destination for dining, music and nightlife. It was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985 and has been a national heritage site since 1984. Many of the buildings have been renovated: over 800 buildings have restored facades and interiors.

The development of the area has been controversial. While historical preservation, tourism, safety and economic development have enhanced since the 1990s, they have contributed to the gentrification and depopulation of what remains an Afro-Brazilian cultural hub.

Getting to the Historic Centre of Salvador

The Historic Centre of Salvador is walkable and accessible by bus and taxi from around the city. Salvador is accessible by airport, 30 minutes from the city centre, and by buses which run daily from other cities in Brazil.

History of the Ingá Stone

The archaeological site of the Ingá Stone, also known in the Tupi-Guarani language as the Itacoatiara do Ingá and Pedra do Ingá in Portuguese, is near the town of Ingá in northeast Brazil. The meaning of the carvings remain uncertain, but may allude to astronomy, animals and fruits.

The site was one of the first monuments of protected rock art in Brazil, exceptionally recognised for its artistic and historical importance. The Ingá Stone site consists of multiple basalt stones covered with glyphs. The main outcrop, featuring the three main rock art panels, forms a wall 24 metres long and 3.5 metres high at its highest point.

The engravings are generally non-figurative, and created using a technique of pecking at the stone and then polishing the grooves. Some of the figures also retain traces of pigment, suggesting they may have been coloured.

The first reports of rock art in the state of Paraíba were made by European settlers in the 16th century. The rock art at Ingá are the most representative group of a particular type of engraving tradition in Brazil.

Ingá Stone today

The Ingá Stone is located on the riverbed in the open air, which exposes it to a wide array of natural degradation processes in addition to human disturbance. Environmental risks include wind, rain, flood and temperature changes. The stone retains symbolic significance for the descendants of the indigenous population of the region.

Getting to the Ingá Stone

The Ingá Stone site is 5 km from the town of Ingá along a road. It is 96 km from the state of Paraíba’s capital city of João Pessoa. The site is protected by the Brazilian agency responsible for cultural heritage, and there is a visitor sign-in book though no entry fee.

History of Museu Afro-Brasil

Museu Afro-Brasil was established in 2004 by the current director of the museum, Emanoel Araújo, who was formerly director and curator of the art museum Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo.

The museum collects objects connected to the subjects of Africa, labour, slavery, religion, history, memory and art. Its collection of artwork includes important works by Afro-Brazilian artists. Its collection of Afro-descendant art is the largest in the Americas.

Its approximately six thousand objects include paintings, sculpture, documents, photographs and objects. These date between the 15th century and the present day. The Afro-Brazilian Museum operates with a similar mission and is located in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.

Museu Afro-Brasil today

The museum is located in the major Ibirapuera Park in São Paulo and is housed in the Manoel da Nóbrega Pavilion, which was designed in 1959. The museum also contains a theatre, library and hosts temporary exhibitions.

Getting to Museu Afro-Brasil

Museu Afro-Brasil is located in central São Paulo near the Oca exhibition space and São Paulo Museum of Modern Art. It’s a 30 minute walk from the AACD-Servidor metro station, although there are much closer bus stops.

History of the National Historical Museum of Brazil

The National Historical Museum of Brazil features over 300,000 items which relate to the history of Brazil, from the early colonial history of the country to the end of the Empire of Brazil in the 19th century.

The museum is situated in the historic centre of Rio de Janeiro on the site of a Portuguese fortification, arsenal and prison. The buildings were expanded in the 1920s and ornamented with neo-colonial architecture, and opened to the public as an exhibition site in 1922.

Since then, the National Historical Museum has accumulated important objects as well as handwritten documents, watercolour paintings and photographs in its library.

Inside the museum, visitors will be able to see the throne of Dom Pedro III (1825-1891), the last monarch of imperial Brazil, and luxuriously ornamented imperial coaches. The museum also features expansive oil paintings of the Paraguayan War, which lasted from 1864 to 1870.

The National Historical Museum today

The National Historical Museum of Brazil holds over 300,000 items and features more than 25 exhibits, both permanent and non-permanent. The ticketed museum is usually open between 10am and 5.30pm, Tuesday to Friday, with reduced hours on the weekend. There is a cafe and restaurant at the museum.

Getting to the National Historical Museum

The National Historical Museum is located close to other sites such as the Naval Museum and the Imperial Palace Cultural Center in historic Rio de Janeiro. It’s a six minute walk from Praça XV de Novembro, the public square in the Centro section of the city. Here there is a ferry terminal servicing numerous other destinations.

History of Ouro Preto

Ouro Preto was founded in the late 17th century and was originally known as Vila Rica (“Rich Town”), for its role in the Brazilian Gold Rush which started in the 1690s. Ouro Preto was the capital of the state of Minas Gerais between 1720 and 1897.

The municipality became known as Ouro Preto (“Black Gold”, for the local gold that is covered with iron oxide) on 23 May 1823 when the village was distinguished as a city. Ouro Preto features well-preserved Portuguese colonial architecture in its city centre, which is relatively unmarked by modern urban development.

The sculpture work of Aleijadinho, traditionally associated with the real name Antônio Francisco Lisboa, ornament the 18th and 19th century churches in Ouro Preto, where he is supposed to have been born in the 1730s. These include the Church of the Third Order of St Francis.

Ouro Preto was one of the main areas of the Brazilian Gold Rush, the world’s longest gold rush period which resulted in the largest gold mines in South America. Over 400,000 Portuguese and 500,000 enslaved Africans arrived in the region of Minas Gerais after gold deposits were found in the mountains by bands of fortune-seekers.

Ouro Preto today

Ouro Preto retains outstanding Baroque Portuguese colonial architecture, which makes it a major tourist attraction. There are numerous museums and churches in the city, as well as former gold mines which offer tours to tourists. The most famous are the Mina do Chico Rei and the Mina de passagem.

Getting to Ouro Preto

Ouro Preto can be reached by regular buses from São Paulo (11 hours), Rio (7 hours), and Belo Horizonte (2 hours). A nightly bus runs from Rio to Ouro Preto, costing between R$70-115. A R$10 taxi journey separates the bus station in Ouro Preto from its historic centre. Many attractions are closed on Mondays.

History of São Miguel das Missões

The Jesuits first arrived in modern day Brazil in 1549, on the orders of King João III: whilst they were there to convert and evangelize, it was also expected that the Jesuits would help subdue the local population. The Jesuits began to evangelize indigenous people along the Bacio do Rio Prata in the 1620s, in order to aid safe passage for the Portuguese along the river.

They founded 18 reductions in total at this point, many of which were destroyed. Returning to the Rio Grande do Sul, the Jesuits founded a further seven reductions, including São Miguel das Missões, which was built between 1735 and 1745.

In 1750, the Treaty of Madrid was signed between Portugal and Spain, which redivided sovereignty of certain parts of Brazil. The Guaraní converts refused to move village, which led to them being attacked by joint Portuguese and Spanish forces: the mission of São Miguel das Missões was destroyed in the process. The expulsion of the Jesuits from Brazil in 1759, further cemented the fate of the mission.

São Miguel das Missões today

Today, all that remains of the mission are its beautiful architectural ruins , including the Italian designed church. The site was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984. There’s now also a small museum with 18th century artefacts found nearby displayed, which was established in the late 1930s.

It remains an atmospheric site, and one of the best preserved missions in Brazil. Go with a full camera battery to make the most of the spectacular scenery.

Getting to São Miguel das Missões

São Miguel das Missões is relatively remote: located on RS-536. You can drive, or take a bus from the Santo Ângelo Bus Station to São Miguel das Missões. The nearest airports are São Miguel das Missões  and Porto Alegre, depending on where you’re coming from.