Marvelous City in celebration: Rio de Janeiro turns 459

Tomorrow is Rio de Janeiro’s birthday and Coluna da Neuza couldn’t help but congratulate the marvelous city, the cariocas and the migrants who adopted it as their home.

The city, founded on March 1, 1565, by Estácio de Sá, was the capital of Brazil from 1763 to 1960, when the metropolis was transferred to Brasília.

Until 1956, the founding of the capital of Rio de Janeiro was celebrated on January 20th, the day of the city’s patron saint, São Sebastião and, from that date on, March 1st began to be considered the city’s anniversary.

According to the UOL portal, the date change has historical and political reasons. While March 1st refers to when Estácio de Sá arrived in Guanabara Bay, January 20th remembers the Battle of Uruçumirim, two years later, when Portuguese rule in Rio de Janeiro was consolidated.

For this, however, hundreds of Tamoios, including the leader Aimberê, and five French people were killed in the region that now houses Outeiro da Glória, Central Zone of Rio de Janeiro. The war also took the life of Estácio de Sá himself, who was injured by an arrow.

But according to history, the Italian navigator Américo Vespúcio, pilot of one of the ships on the first reconnaissance expedition of the Brazilian coast, was responsible for naming Rio de Janeiro’s Guanabara Bay. According to records, he was the first European to have contact with the Rio landscape.

Now that you know details about this city’s birthday, which is one of the most visited tourist destinations in the country, here are some tour options for this special day.

• From the top of Pão de Açúcar, be enchanted by the stunning views on a cable car ride;
• Use your imagination and see the projections for the future at the Museu do Amanhã for the next 50 years;
• Take beautiful photos at the colorful and inspiring Escadaria Selarón;
• Visit the Copacabana Fort, a little piece of Brazilian history;
• See the Vista Chinesa viewpoint, a natural setting full of attractions;
• Enjoy the extensive Barra da Tijuca Beach, there are almost 30 kilometers of coastline with diverse attractions;
• Spend the day at Parque Madureira Mestre Monarco, a park with 450 thousand square meters, located between the neighborhoods of Madureira and Guadalupe, in the North Zone;
• Take a walk along Passeio Público, the first public garden in Brazil;
• Discover Parque Laje, a place of greenery and tranquility, in the South Zone.

Double celebration

March 1st is also when World Zero Discrimination Day is celebrated. The date is about the fight for human rights, seeking to make the world a fairer and more equal place. The date was celebrated for the first time in 2014, with the support of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS – UNAIDS.

World Zero Discrimination Day 2024 reinforces that we can end AIDS, as long as the rights of all people are truly protected.

The world has made great progress towards the goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, and this progress has been driven by advances in the protection of human rights.

But laws, policies and practices that punish, discriminate and stigmatize women and girls, key populations and other marginalized communities, violate human rights and impede access to HIV prevention, testing, treatment and monitoring.

Tomorrow and throughout March, events, activities and messages will remind the world of this call to action. The path to end AIDS is based on guaranteeing rights.

Say no to any type of discrimination!