Here is my last video for my internship *tear tear*. I cannot believe that this experience is coming to an end… but I will save the emotional bit for another post.
I did both of these tours during Rio’s 450th anniversary weekend so both were in very lively and happy spirited environments. and hope that that translated well into this video!
Wanna go on one of these tours yourself, or browse other options? Click on the RioEncantos logo below!
Sunday was the city of Rio de Janeiro’s official 450th anniversary! I spent the day full of Cariocalicious activities. In the morning, I went to my last Ipanema Hippie Fair! 😦 So sad, it is the artisan fair that happens every Sunday in General Osorio Square in Ipanema. Considering it was my last Sunday in Rio and a great present and souvenir purchasing opportunity, I went hard for the money, literally. But I know it will be so worth it when I get to see all of my loved ones open their presents 🙂 (you know who you are- get ready folks!
The second half of the day, I went on my last Rio Encantos tour 😦 EXTRA SAD! This time we went to Morro das Prazeres, a region of Santa Teresa that is decked out completely in street art. To celebrate Rio’s anniversary, there was a live installation of new murals that we got to witness first hand as well! It was amazing to see how much of a positive influence some color and personal expression can have on a community! Literally happiness oozing from the walls.
Our guide’s front stoop
One of the french women who came with Rio Encantos, admiring the community above.
A playground with a view!
I could not stop taking pictures the entire time, but the vibe of this community could not be captured by camera– you have to come see it yourself! Click here to set up a tour!
Oi gente! My newest video is officially up on Rio Encantos’ website! This video is about the different Cariocas nights tours that RioEncantos offers. If you didn’t know, a ‘Carioca’ is someone who lives in Rio de Janeiro– just like someone from Los Angeles is an ‘Angelino’. Here you can see the different night life environments as a Carioca, and what I have been doing with my nights (working and sometimes not working) while in Rio.
Saude!
To see more of my videos or other tours offered by RioEncantos… click this pic!
The calm before the storm…
So I made a new friend! Meet Shadee, she RioEncantos’ intern for next term from Germany! She came early to get settled and experience Carnaval before her internship starts. We became very fast friends! I spend most of my time with her now because we, considering she is starting the same job as me, have very similar schedules. It is so nice to have a little buddy around! Anyway, before Carnaval started, Shadee, Kelly and I went on a quick tour of Lapa and Centro. The emptiness was quickly filled around 8 hours after we were there, when Carnaval hit.
Lapa Arches, with the famous cone shaped Metropolitan Cathedral behind.
Teatro Municipal
Ironic pre/post technological long distance relationships… Get it?
I have a soft spot for love letters ❤
Woman made this art from her father’s day planners that he never threw away… sounds like me. I still have my planners from middle school
RioEncantos intern love!
I need to do this to my room!
this photo does not do the sunset justice
And so it begins… Carnaval began. The main events of Carnaval are called ‘blocos’ and there are about 20 per day. You can go to 2 maybe 3 in a day if you’re really trying to get after it. But they are in just about every neighborhood of Rio and consist of a bunch of people parading down the street. There is a samba band on top of a huge speaker truck and people just getting silly all over the streets. The first one we went to was the Carmelita’s bloco Santa Teresa. Which by the way is a beautiful neighborhood upon a hill with amazing panoramic views of the port and Botafogo (kind of reminded me of home).
I need to remember this store in Santa Teresa, they had amazing hand made art all having to do with Rio!
Copacabana Palace at night!
…al. I’m sure you got the memo though
The next night, Kelly got Shadee and I the amazing opportunity to go to the Rio Scenarium to film her friend Sara sing. It is a very popular, high class club and the line was almost around the block! I am so excited Kelly got Shadee and I VIP passes, because we would have otherwise not been able to go. It was a much different and less chaotic atmosphere than the blocos so that was a nice breath of fresh air. What I loved most was the beautiful, eclectic interior decor. 🙂
Lapa Arches at night on my way home 🙂
The Sunday after Carnaval had ended, there was a concert for a bloco that turned into a performing group. Monobloco is their name and it was an amazing performance at the Fundiçaão Progresso in Lapa. It was like a bloco but in perfect conditions; indoors, fans everywhere and concert seating (though no one was sitting) haha. It was also sponsored by a bank so the event was impressively put together. Shadee and I, being the PR and marketing students we are, commented on the amazing promotional aspects of the event! There were hats and bracelets for free, a man dressed as an ATM to take your photo on the screen, and the best part- Carnaval makeovers! Yes- you read correctly… just wait for the photos.
Beautiful venue
ATM photo!
The back porch had an amazing scene of the Lapa Arches!
and upstairs…
Carnaval makeup!
And, without further adieu, SAMBADROME! The Sambadrome is where the samba schools “desfile” or parade down this long street. There is a bateria (band), singers, various floats and sections of costumes that all contribute to the schools’ theme. To give you an idea of how long this Sambadrome is/slow the parade goes (probably a combination of the two, it takes the school about an hour for each school to get to the end. Shadee and I went to the Champions’ Parade on Sunday, after the winners had already been announced. Here’s some math for you; if there were 6 champions, the parade started at 10, and it takes each school an hour to finish their ‘desfile’; what time did it end? Think about it. We only stayed for around two; we couldn’t hang with the Brazilians this time.
…A more accurate facial expression
This samba school, Portela, actually had parasailers fly into the parade with fire shooting off of them!
All of the people on the floats have to get lifted off on the end by cranes!
all of the ‘fantasias’ or costumes at the end of the Sambadrome. People collect them from the participants as they undress and resell them… smart cookies
And that is just a little snippet of my Carnaval experience. Now I am working on the last few assignments for my internship here. I cant believe I only have 3 weeks left, and 2 until my grandpa comes! I can’t wait to see him and go to São Paulo to visit where he and my grandmother grew up! This experience has gone by so fast and I couldn’t be more excited about how it has turned out so far.
As I said in my previous blog post about the tour of Rocinha, it was one of the most eye opening experiences of my life. I am so excited to finally share the video that I produced for RioEncantos with everyone. It really does not do the experience justice though, if you ever find yourself in Rio you MUST go on this tour!
So.. Where do I even begin about this tour. Sunday, the company I intern for, Rio Encantos, arranged a tour of Favela Rocinha right here in Rio de Janeiro. Our tour guide, Erik (far right in the picture below) lives in Rocinha, and could not have been a more perfect person to lead the tour and give us real insight from a local’s perspective. Rocinha is one of the largest favelas in all of Latin America ad really is its own city within a city. So far, if there is one tour that you need to do in Rio, and is worth the R$50 to go with Rio Encantos, I really believe this is the one you need to pay to do. Sunday was one is the most life changing experiences I have encountered and you have to live it for yourself to understand why. If you don’t have that opportunity, I will do my best to show you here, on the blog, and in the video I am producing for RioEncantos coming soon!
Our group! Gringas, Cariocas and our tour guide, Erik Martins (far right)
Sorry mom and dad, I had to give the mototaxi a try!
Amazing view of Rio at the top of Rocinha!
“gata electrica” Where the favela residents get their electricity from the city lines for free which is somewhat of a controversy in Rio.
View overlooking Rocinha towards São Conrado beach from one of the homes in the favela. Portal JoanasBrasil is a family who opens their home to visitors for R$5 to take pictures of the view and sip some Caiprinhas!
Another picture of the view at Portal JoanasBrasil!
And some parts don’t have as great of a view. Here is an example of one of the more claustrophobic streets in the middle of the day! No natural sunlight or airflow, and feel lucky that you can’t smell the sewer that runs through Rocinha through the picture…
Rain started pouring at the end of our tour, but here is a watery picture of the group in front of Rocinha at night!
I cannot put into words how much you need to go on this tour if you are in Rio! I will do my best to translate that into my video coming soon! #RioEncantos
Here is the product of my first assignment in my internship with RioEncantos! This is an example of the type of marketing I am doing for the company and why I am going on all of these fun tours! I am very excited about my first video, but the job is not finished here. Now I am researching websites and strategies on how to market this video and spread it around the internet so people will find RioEncantos. If you read my previous post about the hike, you know it was the perfect first look at Rio a few days after my arrival in the city. Enjoy!
Friday, Kelly arranged a tour for the historic port area of downtown Rio with Márcia, the woman who took me on the hike to Dois Irmãos. There is so much history that I can’t wait to share with everyone in the video I will make for Rio Encantos. The quick jist of it involves the original site of slave trafficking in Brazil. This area of downtown used to be where the land met the sea, so this is where the largest community of Africans lived post-slavery. To some, it is nicknamed ‘Little Africa’. There is still so much culture and pride in this neighborhoods as it pertains to the history. I got the opportunity to see one of the pre-carnival samba practices that was just out of this world. Such great music, smiles everywhere you look and people constantly moving around and dancing. The vibe was… you guessed it, unreal.
A miniature replica of a Favela at the MAR Museum.
Traipache Gamboa– One of the oldest samba bars in Rio
Inside Trapiche Gamboa
Example of the beautiful old architectural style that makes up the neighborhood.
The streets are filled with amazing street art such as this mural, which was a collaboration done by multiple artists.
Just the beginning of samba practice. The stairs on this hill were carved by slaves for loading/unloading ships.
My adorable boss and queen of Rio Encantos, Kelly Tavares!
Another samba practice site. Blue is this neighborhood’s color, which you will see most people wearing.
One of the most famous traditional restaurants of the neighborhood
The traditional dish is called ‘angu’. You can see the traditional version, which is Ox Tail on a bed of polenta.
My tour guides, Kelly and Márcia!
Yesterday was my first encounter with Favela Experience. Rio Encantos is forming somewhat of a partnership with this organization. Adam, who is friends with my boss, Kelly, is the director of this hostel within Favela Vidigal. Kelly and I went to meet with Adam and his team about the partnership and I shot some footage for a video about the organization which I will post on the blog when it is done! For now, here are some pictures from the Favela Experience HQ/ Hostel and the amazing views from Favela Vidigal. 
My first real adventure in Rio was a hike to Dois Irmãos. I am going to make a video of the hike for RioEncantos to publicize the activity as a tour the company offers. So, stay tuned for my first video! To get to the trail you have to go through one of the favelas in Rio. A favela, which is a Brazilian word for slum, is a huge concentrated area throughout the hills of Rio where people live. We had to drive up in one of the motor taxis, which are old white Volkswagon vans that zip up and down the narrow streets of the Favela. Even driving through for such a brief time, I was so taken aback by the way people live here. I am going back to do another video for a company that partners with RioEncantos and I can’t wait to get a better understanding of how communities like this work!
The hike was absolutely stunning. At the top you have a 360 degree view of Rio de Janeiro and all of its bairros (neighborhoods), Christ the Redeemer and Sugarloaf mountain. It was a great all encompassing perspective to see the city in which I will be living for the next few months!
How Brazilians drink coconut water!
The view on the way up a Montanha Dois Irmãos (Two Brothers Mountain)
View of Favela Rocinha. This is the largest slum in all of Latin America
#WeAreOregon
One of my hiking buddies!
Sunset on the way down from Dois Irmãos
Eliza Stapleberry 