Imagine what it would be like
touching down on another planet, and
you'll have some idea of what
confronts you when you first arrive
in
Brasilia : there is a
clinical, science-fiction logic at
work in the city. Other visitors
have had less kind things to say
about the city. Simone de Beauvoir,
visiting in 1963 with Jean-Paul
Sartre in tow, described the place
as "elegant monotony",
while the Royal Institute of British
Architects poked fun by renaming
Brasilia "The Moon's
Backside".
The city was intended for a
population of half a million by the
year 2000. However, there are over
two million people living in and
around Brasilia today and within
twenty years this could easily
double. There are also substantial
and rapidly growing shantytowns -
which are euphemistically named
"pioneer settlements" -
ringing the ultramodern city. Most
of the people who live here do so
for economic reasons. A large
service sector followed the
bureaucrats, diplomats and
businessmen into the new city and,
behind that, a whole trail of
retailers and smaller merchants
arrived to compete for the new
markets.
Brasilia's good points are all
fairly obvious architectural
ones, but there are other
attractions, too. Magnificent
sunsets send a golden glow over the
twin concrete towers of the National
Congress building; pleasant parks,
popular for weekend picnics,
encircle the entire city; and in the
downtown zone, by the central bus
station, the lively atmosphere
revolves around a busy mess of
people and trade. Brasilia's design
also has a mystic side to it.
On Brazilian Republic Day - April 21
- the sun rises through the concrete
"H" shape of the parallel
twin towers which poke out of the
National Congress building,
provoking images of a futuristic
Stonehenge. Other curious theories
associate modern Brasilia with the
stars, with the lost city of
Atlantis and with ancient Egypt's
pyramids and temples. The aerial
view of the city, a winged bird
shape, is vaguely reminiscent of the
mystical Egyptian ibis bird, and the
cemetery is laid out in the shape of
a spiral - life's symbol and
essential pattern.
Brasilia can be as alienating as
any city and, unlike most other
Brazilian cities, people here seldom
stop or smile to acknowledge a
fellow human being. Moreover, on
some very basic points, Brasilia
has certainly failed as a planned
city. Forty years on, although
people are certainly grumbling less
about the soullessness of Brasilia,
no one would dream of comparing it
to Paris, London or Rio for
nightlife and entertainment. Many
officials still arrive for work on
Monday and leave for home on
Thursday because they find the city
either too oppressive or just plain
boring at the weekend. At the most
basic level, there's a distinct lack
of street-corner bars and ad hoc
market places, things which provide
a major social hub elsewhere in
Brazil. Instead, there are simply
vast areas of empty space, massive
and anonymous office or hotel
blocks. Despite this, however, there
is a substantial middle class living
and working happily in Brasilia,
mostly based around the university
and the civil service.
