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“Brazil is not for amateurs,” said Brazilian composer Ary Barroso in the 20th century. Even after all these years, Brazil still confuses many travel agents, which shows how little of the country is known, respected, and shared with customers.
Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Iguassu Falls, and the Amazon are some places that make Brazil stand out worldwide. But what are tour agents missing if they don’t look beyond places that only happen once?
Brazil was “discovered” in 1500 and had 26 states, some bigger than Western European countries. It also had a strange history of European neglect by Portuguese rulers, who the Colony eventually overthrew. It also didn’t have the native people or mineral wealth that drove early development in the rest of Latin America. So, things look, feel, sound, and taste differently in this “not for amateurs” country, which will surprise and please your customers.
Brazil, a Portuguese colony, only found out it had a lot of gold when it fell into the 18th century. The country then changed its focus from exporting sugar cane to gold, gems, and (a hundred years later) coffee.
One area went from being a colonial agricultural backwater to South America’s most important source of wealth. Minas Gerais is Brazil’s fourth-largest state (the size of France!) and is home to two South American cities needing more attention: Belo Horizonte and Ouro Preto.
Belo Horizonte, the capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro, may be the most prominent South American city you’ve never heard of. Many reasons exist to start in Belo, including new nonstop flights from Florida’s Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) with Azul Airlines. Ouro Preto, which translates to “black gold,” is 100 km away and accessible by regional bus or private tour. It is one of South America’s cultural landmarks for its Portuguese Colonial architecture and high-flying art. Both places, one in a city and one that looks like a town, are kept alive by Brazilian hospitality, a wide range of foods, and cultural experiences that can’t be found anywhere else.
Nearly three million people live in Belo Horizonte. It didn’t start until 1888 when Brazil got rid of its monarchy and the last of its slaves from Africa. It was the first attempt to plan a city after the Spanish left South America. It was scribbled in a flat valley ringed by mountains. The Republican federal government needed new capital because mining in Ouro Preto was going downhill. Belo was first shown to the world in 1897. It was based in Washington, D.C. The master plan is still visible in the wide streets with stately neoclassical architecture, parks, green neighbourhoods, and a safe, enjoyable quality of life for residents and tourists.
Today, tourism is based on how easy it is to live in the city, Brazil’s most famous regional cuisine, and three must-see South American attractions: the live music and pub scene in Belo, the Pampulha UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the unique outdoor park and art complex INHOTIM.
The story of Belo begins with music. Brazil is the only place on Earth that celebrates how vital music is. Your first thought about Brazil was music like mine. A samba or bossa nova track from my parents’ 1960s record collection foretold a musical wave credited with starting Brazil’s MPB movement and the World Beat genre we enjoy today.
In the time after Bossa Nova, in the late 1960s, no one stood out more than Milton Nascimento, who was born in Minas and became a worldwide star. He and his friends made the high-flying “Minas sound.” Milton is now in his 80s and doesn’t act anymore, but his work is still admired worldwide, and Belo Horizonte is still a musical giant.
Can this explain why there are more bars per person in Belo Horizonte than in any other city in the Western Hemisphere? Or did the bars ask for music, and Belo was happy to fill them?
Belo Horizonte is known for its “biotechs,” small neighbourhood bars with cold beer, live music, and traditional Brazilian snacks. Some famous areas, like Savassi, Santa Tereza, and Lourdes, are great for going from bar to bar and listening to jazz, pop, and rock, as well as local music called sertaneja. The Bar do Museo “Clube da Esquina” honours the 1972 album “Clube da Esquina” by Milton and his childhood friends from Minas, who all became world-famous artists.
The Pampulha area of the city is an excellent example of the work of architect Oscar Niemeyer, known as the modernist of Latin America. In 1940, he made an artificial lake on the edge of Belo and ringed it with a group of curvy, modernist buildings made of reinforced cement. In the late 1950s, these works were the first of many architectural marvels built in Brasilia, Brazil’s new city. Pampulha became the centre of the city’s growing middle-class culture and leisure life.
In 2016, UNESCO gave World Heritage status to four of Niemeyer’s architectural masterpieces. TIP: Have lunch at Xapuri, in a private area of Pampulha. It serves regional Mina’s food like stews, grilled meats, superfood greens, and Brazil’s best cow’s milk cheeses, and all served al fresco and family-style.
INHOTIM is the most unique art cluster and botanical park in South America. It is about an hour’s drive west of Belo. It has an extensive collection of modern art by Brazilian and foreign artists displayed outside and inside modernist buildings used as galleries. People walk around and ride golf carts to see the many “brutalist” buildings that hold art and photography shows. The buildings are surrounded by tropical greenery and bright colours.
The place is bigger than 1,000 acres and has species worldwide in its 135 acres of botanical gardens. It’s a full-day trip with art, good dining, solitude, and beautiful Brazilian nature.
Belo Horizonte is a lively, busy city known for its cultural events, buildings, food, and friendly people. It is still a must-do in Brazil and accepts all “amateurs.”
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