Planet Brasilia

Ah, my Brasil is a whirl of colors and skin, samba dancing, caprihinis and sand. One of the most beautiful things about Brazilians is their clear comfort in their own skins, and the easy and natural confidence that goes along with that. Sensuality is on the lips of the women and eyes of the men like an invitation that trickles through the air. During my first week in the capital Brasilia, I went running in the expansive Parque de Cicidue, the paths filled with walkers and rollerbladers and joggers. The women, regardless of age or size, were nearly universally in something short, tight, or revealing and most with dramatic shades of lipstick. Brasil is a cornucopia of feminine beauty and persuasion.

Brasilia is the capital of Brasil, moved from Rio in the late ‘50s at the determination and vision of President Kubitschek to develop the interior of the country. The “city of the future” was built from nothing in 41 months by architect Oscar Niemeyer. Brasilia is exactly how you’d think people in the late ‘50s, early ‘60s would imagine the future. A lot of curved, abstract shapes with no functional purpose… think “The Jetsons.” From the top of the TV tower (the highest you can go in the city), you can see that the roads are a crazy amalgamation of looping lines. The layout is actually quite beautiful from a bird’s eye view, but in a vehicle requires a lot of traveling in the opposite direction of where you want to go and a dizzying amount of looping to eventually get there. 

Between the TV tower and the National Congress is a sprawling “mall” somewhat akin to DC’s, except much longer and emptier and not pedestrian friendly. Niemeyer may have been a great architect but his vision of the future failed to anticipate “walkable cities.” Regardless, the mid-20^th century nostalgia has a trippy and almost whimsical effect, making Brasilia unlike any other city I’ve visited. The national museum looks like Saturn rising from the earth and contains a small, free-spirited collection of extra modern art. 

The national cathedral next door is surrounded by a moat and accessible only through an underground entrance lined with stone statues like something out of Lord of the Rings. If a bit odd on the outside, the all stained glass roof is stunning from within. 

After yet more walking, the mall culminates with the National Congress building, basically topped with a woman’s breasts – according to Niemeyer, designed to show his devotion to the female form. Saúde!

The board-walked Pontão do Lago Sul wraps itself along a lagoon lined with palm trees and lights that glint off the water at night. The open-air restaurants and bars offer an inviting spot to spend an evening over conversation and Caipirinhas. The Caipirinha is the national drink of Brasil, made with cachaça (a rum-like liquor) muddled with lime and sugar. It was here that I had one of the most memorable meals of my travels, a taste-bud rousing salmon ceviche. The citrusy tang danced on my tongue, the texture sating to the bite. Conversation stimulated my mind and caiprihinas pleasantly accentuated the pleasure of it all.

For a country known for its beef, I was happily surprised by the variety and quality of options in Brasilia, including an all-natural, near vegetarian restaurant with a soup buffet and finding the perfect falafel (moist and full of flavor) in a somewhat sketchy gas station across the street from our hotel. I also moonlighted at the famous Fogo da Chao, enjoying their generous salad bar and spectacle of the endless parade of meat.

A tourist might have trouble occupying more than a couple days in Brasilia, but it’s well worth a look if you ever get the chance. Its weird uniqueness, like landing on another planet, earned my affection.