Christ the Redeemer statue is by far the most famous and important monument in Rio de Janeiro, and probably in Brazil. It was built in 1931, after 5 years of dedication. Its construction was organized by the Catholic Church, which hired a local Brazilian engineer-architect to build the monument. Donations came from all over Rio and Brazil. Today, Cristo Redentor (the Christ statue) is one of the most famous monuments in the world, and welcomes travelers every single day, all year around.
Another monument in Rio de Janeiro is Arcos da Lapa (Lapa Arches). This monument was completed in the begin of the 1800 to carry water to Rio de Janeiro city (today’s downtown). Nowadays, the monument not longer carries water but serves as the basis for the tram track. The century-old yellow tram (which could also be considered a monument) is in the process of modernization, and will be back completely new sometime in 2014 (hopefully before the Brazil’s World Cup).
A more recent monument built in Rio de Janeiro is the Michael Jackson statue in the heart of Favela Santa Marta. The government of Rio commissioned the statue right after Michael Jackson’s death, mainly because Michael did visited that favela (slum) for the recordings of his video-clip “They don’t care about us” in 1996. The statue (and a mosaic) were built right on the rooftop where he appears on the video-clip. Guess what monument you see from Michael’s statue? Christ the Redeemer!
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