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The Praca dos Tres Poderes is another one of Brasilia's cultural sights that you have to see. It is a wide open space that houses some of Brasilia's most important government buildings. It is full of interesting sculptures and views of the city. More than just an architectural wonder, the Praca dos Tres Poderes has deep cultural significance as well.
The three powers refers to the three powers of democracy, which are manifested in its chief government buildings. These are the National Congress, National Parliament and the Supreme Federal Court. These buildings are where a large number of the residents of Brasilia work and conduct business, so the Praca dos Tres Poderes is a significant part of their daily life.
From the Praca dos Tres Poderes you can also see the Planalto Palace, the City Museum, the National Pantheon and Lucio Costa Hall. The Department of Justice and Itamaraty Palace are also nearby. The Praca dos Tres Poderes is a great place to see all the sights of the city in one place. From here you can see the curved arches of the Supreme Court, and the mock up of the city of Brasilia in the Lucio Costa Hall.
The area of the Praca dos Tres Poderes is also full of unique sculptures. These works of art are by celebrated architect of Brasilia, Oscar Niemeyer, as well as other artists. Niemeyer's piece is called Pombal. The other works are Justice by Alfredo Ceschiatti and Os Candangos by Bruno Giorgi. Seeing these sculptures alone is well worth the trip.
The Praca dos Tres Poderes was built in honor of Tancredo Neves, the first president after the end of Brazil's military rule in 1985. He was the first popularly elected Brazilian president after the military rule, but he died on his first evening in office. The Praca dos Tres Poderes was built for him, and also Brazil's commitment to democracy and freedom from now on. The buildings of the Praca dos Tres Poderes were designed by Oscar Niemeyer to look like the shape of a dove, symbolizing peace and democracy. Another design aspect that is significant is that the Praca dos Tres Poderes sits right at the cockpit of airplane design of Brasilia.
One unique sight at the Praca dos Tres Poderes is the biggest continuously flying flag in the world. The flag measures 70 by 100 meters. It is the Brazilian flag, and because it is so large, it rips and needs to be replaced almost once a month! The flagpole shows all the different states of Brazil, and every month when the flag rips, a different state has to pay for its replacement.
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Here's your soundtrack. Okay, maybe they're not exactly brazillian but their music is awesome and their live shows legendary.Now, Brazil covers almost half of South America and its Amazon rainforest is the world's largest jungle... which is rapidly getting cut down. The country is basically one giant botanical garden with some bangin' cities on its edges.Brazil was colonized in 1808 by the royal court of Portugal, which was fleeing Napolean's troops. They didn't stay long, and Brazil won its independence in 1822.Its biggest city, Sao Paulo, is the financial hub of South America. Brazil is the "b" in BRIC -- Brazil, Russia, India and China. These four were labeled the world's fastest developing large economies in the year 2001.Brazil is known for three things: amazingly beautiful women, carnival, and Pele -- King of Football, Athlete of the Century, football ambassador of the world and a declared national treasure.Brazillians can tell foreigners a mile away, by the way their hips move. Samba is built into the soul of brazil and carnival is when it bursts out into twenty-four hour undying explosions of sound on every street.This picture of mask diving at the Taipus reefs makes me shed hot and salty tears all over my calendar, which is set on "January" right now.Text by Steve Smith.
