Rio de Janeiro

by Bryan McCann

Overview

What do nineteenth-century fiction, early twentieth-century popular music, 1930s soccer, 1950s film comedy, 1960s experimental art and 1970s soap operas have in common with one another? Each reveal the deep patterns structuring social and cultural life in Rio de Janeiro. Bringing a fresh perspective to one of the most visited cities in South America, Bryan McCann explores each manifestation in turn, mining their depths and drawing connections between artistic movements and political and economic transitions. The book explores the centrality of slavery to every aspect of life in nineteenth century Rio and its long legacy through to the current day, illuminating both the city's grinding inequality and violence, as well as its triumphant cultural expressions. Rio de Janeiro is a unique and fascinating city, and through ten pivotal moments, McCann reveals its boundless creativity and contradictions, and shows how it has been continually remade by newcomers, strivers, and tricksters.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781009027083
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	04/30/2025
Series:	Ten Moments That Shaped
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	19 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Bryan McCann is a leading social and cultural historian of Brazil. He is the author of several books about the history of Brazil and Rio de Janeiro in particular, including Hello, Hello Brazil: Popular Music in the Making of Modern Brazil (2004) and Hard Times in the Marvelous City: From Dictatorship to Democracy in the Favelas of Rio de Janeiro (2014). He is Professor and Chair of the Department of History at Georgetown University.

Table of Contents

Introduction; 1. Jean-Baptiste Debret in the streets of Rio (1826); 2. Capoeira and Machado de Assis (1862); 3. Chiquinha Gonzaga's 'Corta-jaca' (1895); 4. Flamengo, Fluminense and the best-of-three championship (1936); 5. Warning to sailors and chanchada film comedy (1950); 6. Inside out: Lygia Clark and Clarice Lispector (1960); 7. Favela removal and state-sponsored gentrification (1969); 8. Pavao-Pavaozinho, Leonel Brizola and favela upgrading (1983); 9. Moving the Feira de Sao Cristovao (2003); 10. Marielle Franco Street (2018); Epilogue; Acknowledgments; Note on sources; Further reading; Index.