The city foreigners usually think of when they think of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro is the second-largest city of Brazil (with 6.7 million people as of 2019, just over half of São Paulo's 12.2 million) and sixth-largest in The Americas, being separated from São Paulo by Mexico City, Lima, New York City and Bogotá. Like São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro is the capital of the State of the same name - and, like São Paulo, it often has its demonyms mixed up. Cariocas is the name given to people born in the city, while those from elsewhere in the state are called Fluminenses. It was (as in, is not anymore) the second capital of Brazil, from 1763 to 1960, when the government seat was transferred to Brasília, but its importance has continued on to the present, being responsible for over 15% of Brazil's GDP, behind only their cross-state neighbors, São Paulo.
As one could gather, being the two most important cities in Brazil, there is quite the rivalry between São Paulo and Rio. While the former takes pride in being the country's main economic force, the latter thrives on tourism, being the main hotspot in all of the Southern Hemisphere, much of it thanks to the eye-catching beauty of its beaches, hills and landmarks, which earned it the epithet of Cidade Maravilhosa ("Wonderful City") and led UNESCO to declare its landscapes a Cultural Heritage Site. It's also probably the pulsating heart of Brazilian culture, as many of the country's cultural manifestations are centered here, being the birthplace of samba
and bossa nova and where Carnaval is celebrated on a major scale (those large parades with the luxurious floats? The tradition began here).
Rio is also a rich haven for sports in Brazil, having hosted the 2016 Summer Olympics and being home to one of the best-known stadia for football fans, the Maracanã (officially known as Journalist Mário Filho Stadium, in homage to a sports journalist who campaigned fervently for its construction)note , which played host to a number of events, such as the 1950 and 2014 World Cup finals (although Brazilians don't like remembering the former much...note ) and historical matches involving both the Brazilian national team and its clubs (it was in this stadium, in 1969, that Pelé scored his 1,000th goal, in a match between Santos and Vasco da Gama).
However, not everything is sunshine in Rio de Janeironote . The city's affluence and rapid expansion gradually pushed its poor contingent toward the hills surrounding it, giving rise to the slums known as favelas. While most of the favela-dwelling people are decent folks working hard to eke out a living in the city, the social inequality means that many others turn to crime to survive, mainly in the form of drug dealing. This has invariably led to a lot of clashes with the local police forces (most notoriously the Military Police, although turf wars between rival gangs aren't uncommon either), which more often than not turn into gunfights with innocents caught in the crossfire. Reports of bystanders losing their lives to these confrontations are not infrequent. In spite of this, Rio de Janeiro remains one of the most beloved and recognizable cities in Brazil, whose artists are usually waxing poetry or nostalgic about the city.
Rio is served by two main airports: Rio de Janeiro–Galeão (GIG), also known as Tom Jobim (yes, in honor of Antônio Carlos Jobim) is the city's main international airport and Brazil's second most active one, boasting the country's longest commercial runway; and Santos Dumont Airport (SDU), located downtown and mainly holding domestic flights, most notoriously the "air bridge" connecting Rio and São Paulo.
Rio de Janeiro in fiction
- That Man from Rio
- The Return of the Tall Blond Man
- James Bond goes to Rio in Moonraker. There's an action sequence on the Sugarloaf Cable Car, most notably. And, of course, the inevitable Carnival.
- City of God
- The Elite Squad and its sequel.
- Fast Five
- Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire: Some of the battles between Titans shown in the trailer happen in Rio, and the city is shown suffering from a lot of death and destruction.
- Rio, of course.
- Grizzy and the Lemmings have their stop in Brazil after a magic closet incidentnote from Scotland. They find that it’s home to tapirs, parrots, and ancient temples.
- The first act of The Incredible Hulk (2008) shows Bruce Banner hiding in a favela, working at a soft drink bottling plant.
- The "Elevator Action" mini-arc of Hellsing takes place in Rio de Janeiro, where Alucard is sent to take out Tubalcain Alhambra, one of the main figures of the Millennium Organization.
- The Brazilian segment of Saludos Amigos mainly takes place here, with José Carioca serving as its host. The character would later have his own comic produced in Brazil, initially as a supporting character to Donald Duck, then getting his own book, which at first adapted Donald and Mickey Mouse stories, but then started to have plots taking place in Brazil, with José (popularly shortened to "Zé") becoming a more rounded character with his own supporting cast.
- One mission in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has Task Force 141 pursue wanted terrorists through the city's favelas.
- The Hillside Plaza stage in Street Fighter V takes place on Rio de Janeiro, albeit with a golden trophy taking the place of the Christ the Redeemer statue in the distance (believe it or not, this is due to copyright red tape).
- Driver 2 has some missions set in Rio.
- Forza Motorsport 6 introduces a street circuit in a compressed, but mostly accurate version of Rio de Janeiro.
- Wrath of the Black Manta: The third level of the game is set in Rio with the titular ninja having to negotiate waterfalls and boats.
