Disappearing history

Work has caught up with me, but had to go to Botafogo, between Copacabana and the City, this afternoon. Once a place of large houses and gardens, one of which was the British Embassy until the capital moved to Brasilia, it still has charm, with older buildings cowering among the modern monstrosities.

Wandering back to the main road after my appointment, I admired the remnants of an older Rio and the eclectic mix of shops – construction materials in an old house, two small pet shops, cafés and restaurants, hardware and household materials. And a typical Rio sight, the jumble of overhead wires and cables and the transformer boxes.

Turning the corner, I visited (first time in 43 years) the mansion once occupied by a notable jurist, politician and writer, Rui Barbosa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rui_Barbosa). I admire him for his life-long opposition to slavery. He was also a formidable orator.

The house is much as when he lived there and house his collection of 37,000 books. The garden in front suffers from the noise and pollution of the busy street, but at the back all is calm and peaceful, and it's one of the few green spaces in Botafogo open to the public. The stable still houses three of his carriages and the (huge) motor car that he bought when he could no longer rely only on his beloved horses. I didn’t draw fast enough to capture all the tiddlers as they trooped past, light and bright in the sunshine, but they were a delight to the eyes and I managed to catch the stragglers.

The blue and white building in the background is the administration block. How any architect or planner worthy of the name could imagine planting something like that in such a place is beyond my imagination.