Brasilia - no more boring capital city

When the word Brasilia comes to mind, few think of the capital of the fifth largest country in the world. Of course, Brasilia immediately conjures up images of beautiful girls, sandy beaches, samba and colorful carnival, because even the country itself cultivates an alienated and impersonal attitude towards its political center, which exists somewhere far from fun, racial diversity and sharp social differences.

But the city was a project of socially conscious leaders who envisioned its creation and existence as a rebellion against the centralization of state centers concentrated on the shores of the Atlantic.

The history of Brasilia is fun and dramatic, just like the Brazilians themselves. The idea of a capital, which would be not only the political but also the geographical center of the country, appeared already in the first Brazilian constitution, but no one thought much about this note in the constitution. The anecdote about the creation of the city tells of a meeting between one of Brazil's most determined presidents, Juscelin Kubitschek, and a journalist who reminded the president of the provision of the constitution and almost forced him to promise to establish the city. The impossible idea was carried out by three men whose names were forever written in the history of planned cities: Lúcio Costa was the chief urban planner, Oscar Niemayer, who is 102 years old and still creates in his studio in Rio de Janeiro, designed the city architecturally , Burle Marx, whom many call the poet of gardens, was the leading landscape architect. But those who still think that Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, is only a hub of government officials who leave the city en masse every weekend in the middle of the Brazilian savannah, dry diplomatic talks and political corruption, are sorely mistaken. Brasilia is not just a cold city of monuments and concrete without pleasant squares and street corners. The capital of a multicultural country, which was, among other things, the main stage of the rock and roll explosion in the 1980s, today lives and breathes culture through a wide variety of expressions and confirms its place in various fields. In April this year, Brasilia celebrated its first fifty years. And it was precisely in this revolutionary urbanistic experiment, in this city of monstrous highways and charming residential districts on the other side, that a new type of Brazilian was born, developed and grew up: a mixture of continental and tropical; Easterners, Southerners, Northerners..., they all came together in the center of the country.

A new cultural impulse of a new generation
Thirteen years after the city was founded, only 220,000 officials and their families lived in it, and the city was far from the dreams of one of the founders, Lúcio Costa, who wanted the city to become "livable and pleasant", or from the idea of Darcy Ribeiro, who wanted, that Brasilia becomes an "autonomous cultural center". Instead of importance, an inferiority complex lived, and it seemed that Brasilia would become the modern Machu Picchu. Cultural oxygen began to circulate in the capital again in the 1980s, when the first generation of intellectuals born in the city began to become independent. Among the agents of change, we should mention Concertos Cabeças - cultural gatherings of young people with recitations, singing and dancing. From this creative nucleus came out: the poet Nicolas Behr, the visual artist Wagner Hermuche and the famous singer Cassia Eller. But the years passed and the city grew and expanded. Artists developed, occupied new areas, received recognition, awards, in other words, the city became a marketplace. It turns out that they have to jump the boundaries of the city and conquer new areas, which happened with the theater group Os Melhores do Mundo, the singer Zelia Ducan, the rock groups (Legiao Urbana, Plebe Rude, Capital Inicial) and the musician Hamilton de Hollanda.

The city of modernism
Brasilia was built in a time when fuel was cheap, so the car is king in the city, although the wide roads are no guarantee of a smooth flow of traffic, as a city that was originally built for only 600,000 inhabitants, today it is home to 2.6 million people, flooded with cars, which presents a considerable problem for visitors who have to cross the wide avenues while seeing the city. Unfortunately, Brasilia does not stretch to infinity. The center of the city, where the most important buildings are located, is built in the shape of an airplane or a bird, and from head to tail the "bird" measures only 8 kilometers, and government buildings, such as 16 identical buildings of ministries, are surrounded by well-kept greens and parks. We must start our tour of the city at monument to President Kubitschek, who initiated the construction of the capital. The poet of public works, as the Brazilians called the president of Czech roots, is 27 meters tall and somewhat reminiscent of the times of Soviet dictators. Next to the monument, you can also visit the museum dedicated to Kubitschek, with interesting photos that prove that fifty years ago there really was nothing on the site of today's capital. City building built in 1958 the cathedral is literally an explosion of light framed in a crown of parabolic concrete columns. Niemayer's highlight is Praça dos Trés Poderes s courthouse and the palace Planalto, which is the office of the president of the country. The President's residence is also impressive Alvorada Palace, which is near Lake Paranoá. The most dominant is the building Congress (Congresso Nacional), a 28-story H-shaped building representing the word humanity (humanidade), and of Parliament with two huge hemispheres, one facing upwards, the other downwards. Like Gaudí's Barcelona, Brasilia is also one of the wonders of the world and the only modern city on the UNESCO World Heritage List, which Russian astronaut Yuri Gagarin described on his first visit with the words: "I feel as if I stepped on another planet. "

A modernist, yet lively city
Despite the fact that many describe it as an impersonal and boring capital, the city, with more than 90 embassies and a large number of foreigners, is extremely cosmopolitan. Warm evenings, great restaurants, residents drinking top wines and indulging in a mix of flavors from around the world, it's not just a cliché, it's a reality. A well-known chain of "churrascaria" restaurants Porcao, whose offer is based on grilled meat dishes, makes meat lovers happy even in the capital, especially since they can eat as much as they want in the restaurant. Everyone who is not impressed by meat specialties is pleased by the fact that there are many vegetarian restaurants in the city, one of the more successful, for example, is Real Vegetarian Cuisine, which is in the Conjunto Nacional Shopping Center. One of the most famous restaurants is called Alice, and in it we will very likely enjoy the specialties of owner Alice Mesquita together with ambassadors, state officials and the rest of the social elite. The night life of the capital takes place in clubs such as Balaio Café, Blues Pub, Gate's Pub; Club Espaço Galleria is the center of the underground scene, Café da Rua 8 famous as a gathering place for artists, one of the most emblematic clubs for sure Clube do Choro, which has been presenting new talents and rising stars of the Brazilian dance and music style called choro to the audience for many years in a pleasant atmosphere with cold beer and delicious snacks. Brazil may seem like another planet, but even on this planet, people enjoy life, which Brazilians are masters at, and the capital city is no exception.

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