Rio de Janeiro - The Marvelous City - Coursework Example

Brazil, as a modern nation, shines as the jewel of South America: occupying half of the continent’s land mass, representing the fifth largest population in the world, and the tenth largest economy that the world has to offer (The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition). It has a not so glorious history—with times past of colonization and oppression. However, Brazil is slowly overcoming such a history to become one of the world’s leaders in almost every category. In addition to the country’s abundant economic and political resources, it too has the most immense rain forest on the planet and a geography which is unmatched by any other region. Within its borders exists probably the highest number of species of plants and animals per capita than in any other place in the world. Given the chance to live anywhere in the world, I would choose Brazil. However, given Brazil’s immense size and diversity, living where exactly within its borders may be a slightly more difficult decision. The city of my choice, after some analysis, shall come to be the city of Rio de Janeiro—the second largest city in Brazil and the third largest city in South America. The reason for this choice involves the cultural and geographic aspects of A Cidade Maravilhosa (“The Marvelous City”). In the end, it is Rio de Janeiro’s tropical climate, demographic diversity, and rich cultural history which would prompt my move. Despite the country’s high rates of homicide and drug-use (which are symptoms of most, if not, all South American countries), these problems are isolated to certain areas of the city which can be avoided in experiencing most of what the municipality has to offer. First, some discussion of Rio de Janeiro’s geography, economy, and culture are in order. In terms of climate, the city is situated in a tropical zone, which means that in any given month, temperatures can exceed upwards of eighty degrees Fahrenheit, even in winter months. The average minimum temperature in Fahrenheit is sixty-eight degrees and the maximum temperature in Fahrenheit is about seventy-nine degrees (The Weather Channel). The total population of Rio sits at about 6,200,000 people—a population which occupies 456.5 square miles, and putting the population density at about 13,500 people per square mile (Microsoft Encarta). The economy of Rio de Janeiro is booming and has been since it was Brazil’s capital. When, in 1960, the capital was changed to Brasilia, the city still kept attracting companies to the city, including oil companies upon the discovery of deposits in areas nearby. Rio also hosts large corporations from a variety of other industries, such as telecom (Embratel), energy (Petrobas), finances (Caixa Econômica Federal), pharmaceutical (Merck) and mining (Vale) (Comunicação Social). Rio’s service sector is the dominant force in the economy, which includes a vibrant banking industry and one of the largest stock market exchanges in South America. Entertainment, including tourism, plays also a key role in the city’s economy: nightclubs, beaches, and hotels mark a major attraction for both Brazilians and foreigners alike (Damasceno). The culture of Rio de Janeiro is vibrant and active: mainly in terms of its two favorite attractions in music and the carnival. Music in Rio has been, for quite a long time, a means of expression for the city’s population facing many social problems like oppression and corruption. Bossa nova is famous for having emerged mainly from Rio and contributed to the creation of the exclusively Brazil genre Funk Carioca—a genre which modeled African-American music in the United States from the 1970s to the 1990s. While music provides a key piece to unifying Rio’s culture, it does also provide the means by which the city’s gangs and crime culture operates, using parties called bailes to grow their number and sell drugs (Arias). The music scene in Rio today, however, is experiencing great change both in terms of tastes and in compositions. Samba and Choro music are returning, creating a demand for performers and musicians (American Public Media). The well-known events of the Brazilian Carnival take place exactly forty days before Easter annually, which introduces the beginning of Lent. Carnivals consist of parades throughout the center of the city to which nearly half a million people attend each day. Certain parades, such as the Banda de Ipanema, attract a wide variety of individuals—everyone from families with children to drag queens. It is often said that the Carnivals of Rio contain the roots of all Brazilian music. But what is Brazilian music, anyway? Is it a cohesive whole, or a mixed bag of genres that form loosely into a general category? As Gerard Béhague reports in an ethnomusicological examination of Brazil, “the various trends in Brazilian popular music since about 1980 reflect in convincing fashion a diversity of ideologies and through them a plurality of social and ethnic identities” (Béhague 90). In other words, the music of Rio de Janeiro and Brazil as a whole represents a much larger picture of an integration of many different cultures, with vastly different cultural histories, into a cohesive whole. “Either directly or indirectly”, Béhague continues, “the various styles allude (often metaphorically) to major cultural, social, political, and economic issues faced by various sectors of Brazilian society” (Béhague 90). Thus, if one wishes to learn about any segment of the Rio or Brazilian population, one should find indications of large-scale change in the content, both lyrical and stylistic, in the music reflecting the state of these groups. Music is truly indicative of some more underlying social problems facing Rio de Janeiro as a city. One of the most troubling is the prevalence of crime (with special emphasis on homicides) in the relatively poorer areas of the city. Although there has been a drop in the murder rate in the city from 2002 to 2006 (from 62.8 cases to 37.7 cases per 100,000 people), this rate is still seventeen times the murder rate of a city center such as London, which has only 2.2 murders per 100,000 people per year (Povey, Coleman and Kaiza). Police corruption does not help the situation any more: police violence is a persistent problem due to the low wages they receive and the lack of resources they have at their disposal. This has led to inability on the part of Rio Brazil’s police to either (a) find criminals or (b) prosecute them. An estimated three percent of all Rio’s homicides are actually solved (David Rcokefeller Center for Latin American Studies). One can go about solving this problem in one of two ways: (a) addressing Rio’s police to create a more effective crime-fighting force or (b) using the existing police force to fight existing crime. It seems that (b) is the solution that many of Rio’s politicians have tried in the past—not wanting to invest in major overhauls in the police. However, it seems that such an investment is completely necessary, considering the past of that city’s corruption. Any search for news on Rio’s police leads to such headlines as “Police officers suspected of killing at least 27 in Rio de Janeiro” (Astor), “Brazil arrests 75 Rio cops for organized crime ties” (Khalip), and so on. Such stories indicate a strong need for change in the inherent nature of the system: to eliminate corruption is the first step in taking the offensive against the prevalence of crime. A solution modeled around (a) needs to be implemented: to pay officers more, to train them more, and to make sure they are not committing undue crimes in the process of solving and prosecuting them. The population, in addition, needs to gain trust in the police by noting a change in police policies with regard to the public. Prosecutions of homicides need to be raised far beyond a derisory three percent, and the murder rate needs to go down in response to a fall in the drug-use rate within the city. City leaders can reduce incentives to join gangs and participate in drug wars and narcoterrorism by providing more productive economic opportunities to the lower classes. Poverty, according to experts, is the chief cause of crime in Brazil and many South American countries (Osava). Solving the city’s persistent problems with poverty will be the first step, in addition to deep reforms to police forces, in making Rio a city where every street is as safe and as beautiful as the most precious landmarks that define its history. Despite this problem, Rio is probably the most desirable place on the planet for me to live and prosper. The problem, although deeply rooted in the city’s political structure, is by no means intractable. The city, nevertheless, has much to offer—so much so that any harms that may be brought about by a high homicide rate are negligible. Earlier, I mentioned the demand for talented musicians and composers to assist in the revival of many traditional Rio de Janeiro and Brazilian forms of music. I believe that, given my experience in music, I could make a fair living in Rio at first learning these styles of music and perfecting my practice, and then performing them for audiences both native and foreign. At first, this could be a night job in addition to a more regular job working in the entertainment industry as a serviceperson of some kind, helping tourists get around the city or staying in one of many of Rio’s beachfront hotels. Meeting people in Rio, like in many tourist destinations throughout the world, would be surprisingly easy. Of course, a working knowledge of the Portuguese language commonly spoken throughout the country and in the city would be necessary to connecting with fellow residents. However, my experience in English would give me an advantage with meeting tourists and foreigners in the city as both a friend and potential business fellow. The demographics of the city indicate that Rio is by no means a monolithic population, with large groups of Jewish, Arabic, African, Spanish, Italian, and Native residing in centralized locations. This tremendous diversity, like in any place, does not isolate any one particular person based on that person’s race or national history, but instead puts everyone on an equal plane. Meeting others as a musician or a serviceperson is part of the job: musicians should interact with those they are playing for in order to ensure future patronage. A serviceperson is, by definition, committed to the satisfaction of those customers he or she serves, thus making interaction a necessity. The size of the industry would also put me in contact with many others like me and in similar situations as mine. When one thinks of Rio de Janeiro, there are many beautiful, distinctive features one immediately pictures. Of course, one of the first is the Christ the Redeemer statue, located on Corcovado mountain and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. In addition, Rio is known across the world for its famous beaches, which facilitate many activities that are essential to Brazilian coastal culture. The most popular sports in Rio, for example, are beach volleyball and beach football, and the most prosperous hotels (the indispensable pieces of the entire tourism industry) are those which lie on the coast. The Carnival, of course, is the largest community event for Rio, including fireworks displays all around the city. Rio houses many world-famous museums, including the Quinta da Boa Vista, the Indian Museum, and the Native Art Museum. All of these events and locations would serve to cement my place within a very different cultural context and help me immerse myself in all that Brazil and Rio de Janeiro have to offer any individual (Microsoft Encarta). Despite the problems which face Rio de Janeiro in terms of its wide financial and political disparity between the haves and have-nots, which is a primary source in producing the terrible crime rates, the city and the surrounding country itself has so much to offer a person like me, willing to engross myself in what is practically a different world. The culture and geography both present a fantastic opportunity for personal exploration, learning, and growth. The problems which the city faces in terms of its politics and economics seem to be on a path toward solutions (Reel), and make Rio not only a Westernized center of modern capitalism but also a place which values and preserves its long past as the jewel of South America. Works Cited American Public Media. What is Choro Music? 2008. 11 December 2008 . Arias, Enrique Desmond. Drugs and Democracy in Rio de Janeiro: Trafficking, Social Networks, and Public Security. Durham, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 2006. Astor, Michael. Police officers suspected of killing at least 27 in Rio de Janeiro. 1 April 2005. 10 December 2008 . Béhague, Gerard. "Globalization/Modernization Rap, Reggae, Rock, or Samba: The Local and the Global in Brazilian Popular Music (1985–95)." Latin American Music Review, Vol. 27, No. 1 (2006): 79-90. Comunicação Social. Estatísticas do Século XX. 29 September 2003. 10 December 2008 . Damasceno, José Luiz. Rio Turismo. 12 January 2006. 10 December 2008 . David Rcokefeller Center for Latin American Studies. Cidades violentas perdem negócios. 28 July 2007. 10 December 2008 . Khalip, Andrei. Brazil arrests 75 Rio cops for organized crime ties. 15 December 2006. 10 December 2008 . Microsoft Encarta. Rio de Janeiro (city). 2008. 10 December 2008 . Osava, Mario. Brazil/Colombia: Poverty the Chief Cause of Violence, Experts Say. 22 May 2003. 10 December 2008 . Povey, David, et al. "Homocides, Firearm Offences and Intimate Violence 2006/07." Supplementary Volume 2 to Crime in England and Wales 2006/07 (2008): 1-101. Reel, Monte. Rios New Governor Takes Aim at Old Problem: Gangs. 24 May 2007. 10 December 2008 . The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Brazil. 2008. 11 December 2008 . The Weather Channel. Rio de Janeiro Destination Guide. 2005. December 10 2008 . Read More

The culture of Rio de Janeiro is vibrant and active: mainly in terms of its two favorite attractions in music and the carnival. Music in Rio has been, for quite a long time, a means of expression for the city’s population facing many social problems like oppression and corruption. Bossa nova is famous for having emerged mainly from Rio and contributed to the creation of the exclusively Brazil genre Funk Carioca—a genre which modeled African-American music in the United States from the 1970s to the 1990s.

While music provides a key piece to unifying Rio’s culture, it does also provide the means by which the city’s gangs and crime culture operates, using parties called bailes to grow their number and sell drugs (Arias). The music scene in Rio today, however, is experiencing great change both in terms of tastes and in compositions. Samba and Choro music are returning, creating a demand for performers and musicians (American Public Media). The well-known events of the Brazilian Carnival take place exactly forty days before Easter annually, which introduces the beginning of Lent.

Carnivals consist of parades throughout the center of the city to which nearly half a million people attend each day. Certain parades, such as the Banda de Ipanema, attract a wide variety of individuals—everyone from families with children to drag queens. It is often said that the Carnivals of Rio contain the roots of all Brazilian music. But what is Brazilian music, anyway? Is it a cohesive whole, or a mixed bag of genres that form loosely into a general category? As Gerard Béhague reports in an ethnomusicological examination of Brazil, “the various trends in Brazilian popular music since about 1980 reflect in convincing fashion a diversity of ideologies and through them a plurality of social and ethnic identities” (Béhague 90).

In other words, the music of Rio de Janeiro and Brazil as a whole represents a much larger picture of an integration of many different cultures, with vastly different cultural histories, into a cohesive whole. “Either directly or indirectly”, Béhague continues, “the various styles allude (often metaphorically) to major cultural, social, political, and economic issues faced by various sectors of Brazilian society” (Béhague 90). Thus, if one wishes to learn about any segment of the Rio or Brazilian population, one should find indications of large-scale change in the content, both lyrical and stylistic, in the music reflecting the state of these groups.

Music is truly indicative of some more underlying social problems facing Rio de Janeiro as a city. One of the most troubling is the prevalence of crime (with special emphasis on homicides) in the relatively poorer areas of the city. Although there has been a drop in the murder rate in the city from 2002 to 2006 (from 62.8 cases to 37.7 cases per 100,000 people), this rate is still seventeen times the murder rate of a city center such as London, which has only 2.2 murders per 100,000 people per year (Povey, Coleman and Kaiza).

Police corruption does not help the situation any more: police violence is a persistent problem due to the low wages they receive and the lack of resources they have at their disposal. This has led to inability on the part of Rio Brazil’s police to either (a) find criminals or (b) prosecute them. An estimated three percent of all Rio’s homicides are actually solved (David Rcokefeller Center for Latin American Studies). One can go about solving this problem in one of two ways: (a) addressing Rio’s police to create a more effective crime-fighting force or (b) using the existing police force to fight existing crime.

It seems that (b) is the solution that many of Rio’s politicians have tried in the past—not wanting to invest in major overhauls in the police. However, it seems that such an investment is completely necessary, considering the past of that city’s corruption. Any search for news on Rio’s police leads to such headlines as “Police officers suspected of killing at least 27 in Rio de Janeiro” (Astor), “Brazil arrests 75 Rio cops for organized crime ties” (Khalip), and so on.

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