Rio de Janeiro

Warm sunshine tickles your toes as you stand near the bright blue water. All around me, lumpy green mountains pop up right out of the sea. They look like gentle giants taking a nap. From far away, you can hear happy music that makes you want to dance. High on the tallest peak, a giant stone person stands with arms stretched wide, watching over everyone below. He looks like he is ready to give the whole world a hug. I am that place of sunshine, mountains, and music. I am Rio de Janeiro, the Marvelous City.

I got my name because of a happy mistake a long, long time ago. On January 1st, 1502, explorers from a country called Portugal sailed into my beautiful, sparkling Guanabara Bay. The captain, Gaspar de Lemos, looked at the huge bay and thought, “That must be the mouth of a big river.”. Since it was the very first month of the year, he called the place ‘Rio de Janeiro,’ which means ‘River of January’ in his language. It wasn't really a river, but I liked the name so I kept it. Many years later, on March 1st, 1565, a man named Estácio de Sá decided this was the perfect spot to build a city, and that’s when I truly started to grow.

I became very important when people discovered shiny gold in the mountains nearby in the 1700s. Ships filled my harbor to carry the treasure across the ocean, and I grew bigger and busier. Because I was so busy and important, I became the capital city of all of Brazil in 1763. Everyone wanted to be here. Later, in 1808, something amazing happened. A real king and queen from Portugal sailed across the sea and came to live right here with me. They built beautiful botanical gardens filled with amazing plants and grand buildings that made me feel like royalty myself. I was the heart of a giant kingdom.

To celebrate Brazil being a country for 100 years, my people wanted to build something special. They worked together for years to build a giant statue on top of Corcovado Mountain. On October 12th, 1931, he was finally finished. His name is Christ the Redeemer, and his arms are always open to give the world a giant hug. I am also famous for my biggest party of the year, Carnival. It is a huge festival filled with joyful music, amazing dancing, and parades with colorful costumes. Even though a new capital city called Brasília was built in 1960, I am still known as the happy heart of Brazil.

Today, my song is louder and happier than ever. People from all over the world come to visit me. They play in the sand on my famous beaches, like Copacabana and Ipanema. They dance to my favorite music, called samba, and they climb my mountains to see the amazing view. I love sharing my sunshine, my music, and my story with everyone who comes to visit. I am a city full of life and joy, and just like my famous statue, my arms are always open to welcome you.