Back in June we went to Niteroi and while there decided to see the complex of buildings designed by Niemeyer, which our guide book featured prominently. I was assuming that those were built a while back, since Niemeyer was most famous things he did in 1950s and 1960s, and those buildings did look 1950s style on the pictures. Well, we learned an important lesson, or actually two. First, if you get famous for a specific architectural style in 1950s, you can well continue working in it for the next 60 years. (Seriously, compare the photos below with the photos of Pampulha built in mid 1950s. Though, while it took the catholic church 15 years to accept and consecrate the church in Pampulha, this time they ordered a cathedral for themselves.) Second, when traveling in Brazil, make sure that your tour guide is not too new. Of the complex that was presented in the book as if it was done, only one building is ready, a few more are in the works, for one construction is about to start this year, one got sent to back for redesign, and one got canceled. Anyway, it’s was an interesting site: it’s not every day in 2007 that one can see 1950s architecture in the process of construction. Well, not exactly in the process of construction, since it is actually frozen now, awaiting some kind of judicial decision. And not that I am not complaining – the one building that is ready is quite nice and repeats the outline of Pão de Açúcar. (Or, perhaps, of Pampulha.) Anyway, the bottom line is that in a few years reality will hopefully catch up with the guide book, which, paradoxically, will then be quite a bit more useful. (Compare this with China, where you really must have an up-to-date guide to avoid arriving to some place looking for a restaurant and discovering that not only is the restaurant no longer there, but in fact the whole chunk of the city has been demolished.)

Now, for the drawings on the walls – supposedly those were done by Niemeyer himself. They are not exactly visually attractive, but I suppose they make an important point – even just someone scribbles can be a work of art. (Of course, if that someone has powerful friends. Otherwise they would be called “grafitti”.)