Do They Blow-Up Christ, the Redeemer?

In an interview in the last issue of the Brazilian weekly Veja the actor Paulo César Pereio spoke about his campaign to get Christ, the Redeemer, one of the Seven New Wonders of the World, imploded. And all that solely because he thinks the statue is a blot to the landscape.

(For the uneducated (I had to look it up myself) imploding is bursting inwards i.e. from the outside to the inside in contrast to explode where the object bursts outwards thus from the inside to the outside, burying Rio de Janeiro under a shower of concrete blocks)

Paulo continues to say: “That statue is an improper disturbance of the landscape. The mountain on which it stands is of great beauty. Christ just disturbs the panoramic view. Why should we maintain such an idiotic puppet there at the top of the mountain?”

The actor (for the reader who never heard of Paulo César Pereio, here is his wiki-link) calls the election of the statue as one of the Seven Wonders of the World, absurd and confirms to have hired a publicity agency to gather signatures for his campaign.

Of course the reactions and comments were rife. “Christ, the Redeemer is homage to Jesus Christ, in other words a religious symbol for the majority of the Brazilian Christians and even for the “heathens”, it is one of the cultural and touristy attractions of Rio de Janeiro.”

The statue stands 39,6 meters (130 ft) high, weighs 700 tons, and is situated at the peak of the 700 m (2,296 ft) Corcovado mountain in the Tijuca Forest National Park, from which it oversees the city of Rio de Janeiro.

The idea to erect a large statue on top of the Corcovado dates from around 1850, but was brushed away in 1889, as Brazil became a republic, with laws separating church and state. The second proposal however, done in 1922, was successful.
The local engineer Heitor da Silva Costa made the first designs of the statue, while the visual artist Carlos Oswald did the final design of the monument, which was sculptured by Paul Landowski, a French sculptor of Polish origin.
A group of engineers and technicians studied Landowski’s plans and decided to use a reinforced concrete structure, which was designed by Albert Caquot.
The outer layers are made from soapstone, as it has sustainable qualities and is easy to carve.

Various historians take the view that the monument was a present from France to Brazil as compensation for the various French attempts to colonise parts of Brazil. This is not an unbelievable supposition as France always has been generous donating statues, among which New York’s Statue of Liberty from 1886.

Modernizing and Devotion go hand in hand
From 20 Jan 2003 on the “cariocas” and the tourists don’t need to climb anymore the 200 carved out steps, which led to the statue. From that day, St Sebastian’s Day, Rio’s patron saint, a set of elevators and escalators were set in motion.

An “invisible” construction
As everybody is used to have an unobstructed view of the statue from any angle and corner of the city, the architect Mauricio Prochnik designed a construction which followed the contours of the northern side of the mountain and be camouflaged by the trees. The design intended to minimize the impact of such a large-scale construction as elevators and escalators on the environment and the visual appearance. The complete construction is painted in a variety of grades of green, and special sun ray reflecting glass was installed. The only part visible is the steel construction, made from special anti-corrosive steel, on which the elevators, escalators and walkways rest.
The 7th of July 2007 Christ, the Redeemer was added to the list of Seven Wonders of the New World published by the in Switzerland based The New Open World Corporation. By the way, the title is not recognised by Unesco.

And now Christ, the Redeemer faces an implosion. But even before the plans could be executed the statue was subject to heated discussions, which divided the country in Catholics and Protestants (ha, the right word). Although it is probably without doubt, that many Protestants from around the world are visiting the statue, the first leaders of the Baptist Church started a controversy on religious principals.

The followers of the Baptist Churches released on 22 of March, 1923 an official note expressing their disgust about the planned construction of Christ, the Redeemer. The note stated, that the construction “will be a portentous prove of idolatry by the Church of Rome” and that it will be an offence to God. “The day this crime will be executed, all real Christians of Brazil should unite in a penance to ask God not to attribute this mortal sin, which is the sole responsibility of the Roman Catholic Church and the government leaders, to the whole of Brazil.” The note continues with “those who have this awkward idea to erect this monument of Christ, the Redeemer, do not have the intention to praise to Christ, but solely want to glorify the Roman Catholicism. ..... They, who pretend to praise to Christ, affront Him and do just that which He absolutely forbade - namely visualise Him in a statue.”

Without doubt Paulo César Pereio's campaign to implode Christ, the Redeemer, will be supported by the Baptists. But forget it, as money always brings home the bacon, so will this tourist attraction, religiously controversial or not, stay where it is. Undisturbed and well cared for.

P.S. Please, don’t mistake this Christ, the Redeemer with the statue, with the same name, high in the Andes on the border of Argentina with Chile. That’s another statue and another story.

80489

Picture Brazilian Exuberance – A Land of Contrasts

In a special supplement of 20 pages published on 14 March 2008 the British daily The Guardian draws up a balance of Brazil and Rory Carroll the writer of the article “Land of Contrasts” comes to the, as he calls it, “striking conclusion”, that “Brazil, best known for soccer, samba and sensuality, has become a serious economic player.”
Well, let’s start first of all to say, that in Brazil The Guardian is not seen as an estimable journal in regard to reporting about Brazil. So no one was surprised to see the political commentators and columnists rolling one over the other to make this article and his writer laughing stock. And I must say they have a point. Let’s have a look at some of the paragraphs of the article which I combine with the comments of Thomas Traumann, one of the most respected political bloggers in Brazil.

Let’s go back to Rory Carroll’s article in which his first paragraphs already are leading to his “striking conclusion”.
- quote -
Picture Brazilian exuberance and odds and you are not thinking economics. This, after all, is the land of carnival.
But picture this: a country where investment inflows are running at record levels, where exports of everything from soy to biofuels are surging and where the incomes of rich and poor alike are rising and driving a consumer boom.
Not quite as attention-grabbing as a beauty queen wearing just a smile and a feather, granted, but it adds up to a striking conclusion. Brazil, best known for soccer, samba and sensuality, has become a serious economic player.
- unquote – (italics by me, as the original text said: “are”, I corrected it into “and”)

It looks like as if Rory Carroll, The Guardian's Latin America correspondent, before he reported to the The Guardian arrived in Brazil for the first time in his life after just having given credentials to all the funny stories about Brazil which are obviously the only ones printed by the Western press. He is the typical prime example of the Western journalist trying to become popular with dulled stereo-types. Thomas Traumann has to say this about the first paragraphs:
The article begins with the typical “gringo” (bloody foreigner) surprise: The country “best known for soccer, samba and sensuality,” has turned into an economic potency. A fact the British Financial Times and The Economist concluded already more than a year ago. And Rory Carroll continues with another cliché when he reports: “As well as footballers and samba it is exporting cars and planes, notably the executive jets and passenger liners of Embraer.”

After some paragraphs of senseless gossip the article, as could be expected, hits the low life of so many Brazilians:
- quote –
Hike up into the favelas, the notoriously lawless hillside slums, and ........ Rory continues
Gang warfare and police brutality remain embedded here, as does extreme inequality. Some shantytowns, with their legions of street children and shacks of wood and plastic, could pass for the more impoverished parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Except that overhead there are helicopters ferrying the super-rich to shopping appointments with Gucci and Jimmy Choo.
- unquote –
With a little more journalistic digging The Guardian could have known that the shopping centre Daslu, which is the one Rory Carroll refers to, is close to bankruptcy, as Thomas Traumann writes in his column. And Rory Carroll is obviously not aware of the fact that the economy in the favelas is growing at a rhythm only seen in China and India and certainly he did not execute a little bit of research regarding the implementation of the PAC (Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento - A program to accelerate the economic grow) in Rio’s favelas, representing a R$ 1 billion (Euro 400 million) federal investment. The program has infra-structure investments planned in the three largest favelas. The works include broadening and paving the streets, recuperating and installing sanitation installations, building homes, schools, health care stations, and recreation areas. And it is not a farce; the works are in progress at this moment.

Another quote:
In the same vein some western diplomats credit Lula with raising Brazil's prestige but not its influence, partly because he lets Venezuela's Hugo Chavez shout as regional spokesman. A permanent seat on the UN security council is still a dream.
- unquote -
It is true that one of the wishes of Lula is to have seat on the UN Security Council, but not at any price, as he has been pointing out to Condoleeza Rice visiting him a few days ago. Lula is adamant, doesn’t like to pronounce himself as the Latin America leader. His is, and all other Latin American heads of state recognise him as such. But Lula knows that being the head of state of the most powerful nation of Latin America, and not only economically, an outspoken leadership of Brazil might cause turbulence with the neighbours. In the recent conflict between Ecuador and Columbia, it was after all the Brazilian Secretary of State Celso Amorim who brought parties together. Never in the past has a Brazilian president been travelling around so frequently as Lula. But he refuses to implement the Western political attitudes, which require condemnation of Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez. Lula prefers the silent diplomacy, the leadership appointed by nature, the pragmatic way of confronting problems, the Latin American way, diplomacy with a smile, which the West is not ready to accept or to understand, which sees Brazil still as Charles de Gaulle typified it years ago: “This is not a serious country”.

Rory Carroll’s report for The Guardian is a collection of “gringo” clichés, statements and “old news”, never updated and never infused by local feeling. He might be The Guardian Latin America correspondent but he was never close to the Brazilian daily life.
Although published on March 14, 2008 it seems to have be written quite some time ago, as it states “Lula was enthusiastically voted back into power last year,...” , while the elections were in 2006 and not in 2007.

One statement, Rory Carroll makes at the end of his article, is true, although dulled:
“It used to be said that Brazil was a country with a great future condemned to its eternal contemplation. That future has not arrived, not quite yet, but it is closer now than it has been in generations.”

When you want to read the full article, click: “Land of Contrasts”

When you want to read the daily political blog (in Portuguese) of Thomas Traumann, click here

200 years ago the Portuguese Royal Court arrived in Rio de Janeiro

The presidents of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and of Portugal, Aníbal Cavaco Silva took part in the commemorative ceremony in Rio de Janeiro on the occasion of the arrival of the Portuguese Royal Family in Brazil 200 years ago in March 1808.

Napoleon, reigning over France invaded Portugal, obliging the Royal Family and its Court to fly the country. The only colony which could absorb and protect them was Brazil. March 1808 the heir-apparent and regent Dom João and with him some 15.000 members of or, in one way or an other, related to the Court stepped ashore in Rio de Janeiro, after having made a first stop in Salvador de Bahia, leaving in the direction of Rio on 26 of Febr. 1808.
When the inhabitants of Rio were startled with the information that the Royal squadron has been spotted, they started to fill the quays and nearby streets and indeed the following day the ships could be seen near the Pão de Açucar (Sugar Bread).
With the whisper that the following day (March 8, 1808) the Royal Family would disembark the streets were filling with music and dancing people and nobody was considering going to bed. Nine days of festivities began with the arrival of prince-royal and regent Dom João and his mother Queen Dona Maria I.

Completely different and in all stealthiness after 80 years of ruling the Royal Family and its Court was shipped out of Brazil back to Portugal, when a military coup put an end to the Empire of Dom Pedro II and started the beginning of, what was then called: the Republic of the United States of Brazil. But about the transformation into a Republic another time.

The large group of courtiers had an impressive impact on the daily life of Rio de Janeiro, where before their arrival the streets had been occupied by the colonists, their descendants (mostly Coloureds), their slaves and the natives. After Napoleon was defeated and expelled from France the diplomatic ties with France were restored, resulting in a Royal invitation to a group of French artists. Under the name “French Artist Mission” they arrived in Brazil in 1816. The painter Jean Baptiste Debret was part of that group, having been the official painter of the milestones in Napoleon’s life, he was appointed to decorate the event of the crowning of Don João to Emperor Dom Pedro I.
But more importantly Debret is recognised as the most trustworthy chronicler and painter of the period of the Brazilian Empire recording daily life factually. It is not surprising that on the occasion of the commemoration of the arrival of the Royal Family 200 years ago, an exposition in the Casa França-Brasil in Rio de Janeiro has been organised.
The exposition contains 511 of Debret’s paintings, being 306 aquarelles and 151 litho graphics from his famous book: "Viagem pitoresca e histórica ao Brasil", published in 1834.
To give an impression of the daily life in Rio during the reign of Dom Pedro I, I illustrate this post with some reproductions of the paintings which are at display in the mentioned exposition.

More images on the website of O Globo