Carioca

Carioca, anyone or anything from or pertaining to the city of Rio de Janeiro; thus, residents of Rio de Janeiro are called Cariocas, just as people from São Paulo are known as Paulistas. The name comes from the Carioca River, which originates in the valley between the Tijuca and Paineiras mountains, flows through the neighborhoods of Laranjeiras and Catete, and empties into Guanabara Bay at Flamengo and Glória beaches. Today almost entirely subterranean and extremely polluted, due to the emptying of raw sewage into it, the Carioca River was once famed for the purity and pleasant temperature of its water, which was believed to have medicinal qualities. The Tamoio, a Tupí community that lived on the margins of Guanabara Bay in the sixteenth century, believed the Carioca's waters sacred and inspirational for musicians and poets. Until the late nineteenth century, the river was the city's major source of potable water. A monumental aqueduct built in the early eighteenth century brought water from the Carioca to public fountains in the center of the city. Part of this Roman-style aqueduct, built in stone and mortar, which is today called the Arcos de Lapa, is one of Rio de Janeiro's most striking man-made landmarks.

See alsoRio de Janeiro (City)xml .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cunha, Maria Clementina Pereira. Ecos da folia: Uma história social do carnaval carioca entre 1880 e 1920. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2001.

Lessa, Carlos. O Rio de todos os Brasis: Uma reflexão em busca de auto-estima. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Record, 2000.

Pechman, Robert M. Cidades estreitamente vigiadas: O detetive e o urbanista. Rio de Janeiro: Casa da Palavra, 2002.

                                Sueann Caulfield