AROUND TOWN - Top 10 Rio de Janeiro - page 64

& Museu Villa-Lobos

Modernist Architecture and
Oscar Niemeyer
The Palácio Gustavo Capanema
(see p70) was the first Modernist
building in the Americas. Oscar
Niemeyer, who helped design the
building, became the most
eminent Modernist architect in
Latin America. However, his
socialist views led to his exile in
1966. He returned in 1985 and
has been building ever since.

Heitor Villa-Lobos is Latin
America's most highly respected
classical composer. Between
1917 and his death in 1959, he
produced over 1,000 highly
original works influenced by both
foreign composers and Brazilian
musical styles, particularly choro .
His best-known piece is the
Bachianas Brasileiras , which pays
homage to both Bach and
Brazilian folk music. The museum
in the musician's former home is
devoted to displays of his
personal effects. These include
many of his musical instruments,
manuscripts, and recordings.
The museum also hosts regular
performances of his music.
d Map Q1 • Rua Sorocaba 200, Botafogo
• [phone] • Open 10am-5:30pm
Mon-Fri

% Museu de Folclore

Edison Carneiro
Displaying arts and crafts from all
over Brazil, this museum
features carved models and
tableaus of rodeos, circuses, and
festival scenes, which, when
switched on, work like music
boxes. Over 14,000 exhibits,
including bibliographic
documents, audiovisual displays,
and hundreds of ceramic objects
and photographs, paint a vivid
picture of Brazil's cultural life. d
Map H3 • Rua do Catete 181, Catete •
[phone] • Open 11am-6pm Tue-
Fri, 3-6pm Sat, Sun & holidays

* Praia Vermelha and

Praia de Fora
These fabulous beaches are
huddled around the base of the
Sugar Loaf and Morro da Urca, a
mere stroll away from the cable-
car station, and are the closest
to the city to be pounded by
Atlantic waves. They are regard-
ed as the safest in Rio and are
popular with young, upper
middle-class Cariocas, many of
whom have weekend parties on
the sand. d Map J4 • Urca

^ Museu do Índio When the Europeans arrived,

Brazil was inhabited by over 5
million indigenous people divided
into at least 1,000 groups. Much
of their culture was wiped out
with the onset of slavery. This
museum displays many
indigenous objects and
has rooms devoted to
information panels and
slide shows. There is
also a Guaraní maloca
(communal thatch
house), a bookshop, and
a library. d Map Q1 • Rua
das Palmeiras 55, Botafogo •
[phone] • Open 9am-
5:30pm Tue-Fri, 1-5pm Sat-
Sun • Adm (free on Sun)
• www.museudoindio.gov.br Communal thatch house at the Museu do Índio

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