RIO DE JANEIRO TODAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174As the Summer Olympics draw near, Rio is reinventing itself, with new developments happening all across the city.

HISTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .176Portuguese royals, authoritarian demagogues, repressive military dictatorships and socially-minded visionaries have all played a role in Rio’s complicated past.

THE SOUNDS OF RIO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187Rio’s greatest hits feature bossa nova, tropicália, Música Popu-lar Brasileira (MPB), hip-hop and, above all, samba.

FOOTBALL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .192When it comes to the beautiful game, no other place quite compares: a look at Rio’s extraordinary footballing legacy.

ARCHITECTURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196From baroque churches to post-modern concert halls, Rio has some surprising architectural treasures.

Understand Rio de Janeiro

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Big things are happening in Rio. Center stage for the 2014 World Cup and host city of the 2016 Summer Olympics, the Cidade Maravilhosa (Marvelous City) has experienced enormous transformations in the past decade. Ambitious urban-renewal projects, new museums and concert halls, improved infrastructure and continued investments in the favelas are just a few other reasons why cariocas feel like their day in the sun has at long last arrived.

Best on FilmCidade de Deus (director Fernando Meirelles, 2002) Oscar-nominated film showing the coexistence of brutality and hope in a Rio favela. Orfeu Negro (Black Orpheus, director Marcel Camus, 1959) The Orpheus-Eurydice myth set during Rio’s Carna-val with a ground-breaking bossa nova soundtrack. Central do Brasil (Central Station, director Walter Salles 1998) Epic journey through unglamorized Brazil, set in Rio and the Northeast. Madame Satã (director Karim Aïnouz, 2002) Compelling portrait of Rio’s gritty Lapa district during the 1930s.

Best in PrintBossa Nova (Ruy Castro, 2000) A fas-cinating look at the poets, composers and musicians behind the music. Samba (Alma Guillermoprieto, 1991) Portrait of life inside the favela Mangueira in the weeks leading up to Carnaval. Brazil on the Rise (Larry Rohter, 2010) A journey through the culture, history and economic transformation of Brazil.Rio de Janeiro (Ruy Castro, 2004) A short chronicle of intriguing episodes in Rio’s history.

Boom TimesRio’s flourishing economy mirrors that of Brazil, with a burgeoning middle class fueling the city’s growth. In 2012, Brazil officially surpassed the UK as the world’s sixth largest economy. The economic policies of President Dilma Rousseff, the country’s first female president in its near 200-year history, have maintained Brazil’s good fortune – much to the surprise of many of her detractors. As a result, a consumption craze is on, and new restaurants, bars and boutiques open with startling frequency. The downside to all this is the high cost of living. A 2012 study by Mercer showed that Rio was the 13th most expensive city in the world – well ahead of London (25th) and New York (33rd). Rio also recently earned the distinction of having some of the world’s highest hotel prices.

Game FaceIn the run-up to the World Cup and Summer Olympics, Rio is investing billions of reais in improvements and infrastructure. Maracanã football stadium received an R$800 million upgrade, while Barra da Tijuca saw even larger investments (a staggering R$23 billion in total will be spent on the games) as the home of Olympic village and the majority of sporting venues. The city hasn’t limited its focus to sports, however. Something more ambitious – and of greater impact for citizens and visitors alike – is happening in Rio’s dock-lands, north of downtown. A once unsightly waterfront will see new gardens, bike paths, cultural spaces and museums (including the Santiago Calatrava–designed Museum of Tomorrow). Light rail will link the neigh-borhood with downtown. Meanwhile, work on the ex-tension of the metro continues, with engineers hope-ful they can complete the tunnels linking Barra and Ipanema before 2016.

Rio de Janeiro Today

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