Exile in Paradise

For those not in the know, Notes from the Reef will be going into exile for an undetermined period of time - in Rio de Janeiro. What has been rumoured since approximately July of last year has come to pass at last. I have now, as of March 17th, been transferred to a cidade maravilhosa. Because the school year is already in full swing, I have had to come here alone - the earliest that the rest of the family will be able to join me will be sometime in July. Assuming, of course, that we finally decide to make the move once and for all.

But, if one has to be exiled apart from family for a period of time, there are certainly worse places for it than Rio de Janeiro, especially the region known as Barra da Tijuca. This part of the city is something of an oddity in South America, in fact one might call it Brazil: American-style. Separated from the rest of Rio on three sides by imposing granite mountain ranges, Barra da Tijuca is one of the only areas in Brazil to be developed according to strict rules of urban planning.

To the American eye, it looks something like a cross between Southern California and Miami: wide, palm-tree lined avenues with sprawling neighborhoods of tile-roof mansions; towering residential highrises along the coast, surrounded by extensive parks; shopping centers, strip malls, and suburban office complexes; even a region composed entirely of lowrise condos with walkable streets, outdoor cafés and streetside restaurants. One even gets the same odd feeling of déjà-vu found in Los Angeles where various buildings or streets just look somehow familiar - because they've been used as backdrops in countless films and television programs. The combined effect makes Barra da Tijuca simultaneously the most livable and most unobtainable neighborhood in all of Brazil. It's South America's Hollywood.

In light of the widespread poverty and miles after miles of favelas one finds just over the mountains, Barra da Tijuca seems somewhat of an odd hybrid of refuge and parasite - a place of relative safety and security built on the backs of millions of miserable souls who will never be able to enjoy it. But then again, that's the reality of Brazil. In fact, it's the reality of the planet.