Brasília: History

Pre-20th-Century History

The Distrito Federal resulted from a longheld Brazilian dream to harness the vast resources of its inland territories. Central to this dream, first mooted in 1823 by Brazilian statesman José Bonifácio, was establishing an inland capital to catalyze the economic development of the interior.

Brasília's location was also influenced by Dom Bosco (don't miss his shrine in Brasília), a Salesian priest living in Turin, Italy. In 1883 he dreamed that a new civilization would emerge in the center of Brazil, somewhere between the 15th and 20th parallels. Bosco's dream became well known to Brazilians, and in the 1891 Constitution, land in the region was set aside for the construction of the new capital.

Modern History

Finally, in 1955, after almost 150 years of debate, President Juscelino Kubitschek proposed that the Distrito Federal be carved out of the state of Goiás to house the new capital, Brasília. The president commissioned three famous Brazilians - an urban planner (Lúcio Costa), an architect (Oscar Niemeyer) and a landscape architect (Burle Marx) - to build the city.

With millions of poor peasants from the northeast working around the clock, Brasília was built, incredibly, in just three years - it wasn't exactly finished but it was ready to be the capital (Niemeyer later admitted that it was all done too quickly). The capital was officially moved from Rio to Brasília on April 21, 1960.

The old Brazilian dream of an inland capital had always been dismissed as expensive folly. So what possessed Kubitschek to actually do it? Politics. He made the building of Brasília a symbol of the country's determination and ability to become a great economic power. Successfully appealing to all Brazilians to put aside their differences and rally to the cause, he distracted attention from the country's social and economic problems, gained enormous personal popularity and borrowed heavily from the international banks.

In 1987, Brasília was named a Unesco World Heritage Site, the only city in the world built in the 20th century to receive this honor.

Recent History

Today, Kubitschek is heralded as a national hero (he died in a suspicious automobile accident in 1976) and the jury is still out on Brasília. For some, the city represents the outstanding capabilities of this great and vast nation, a world model for urban development, architecture and society. On the other hand, some consider the city a wasted opportunity, full of pretty buildings but lacking a soul.

Interestingly, Brasília and its surrounds have proven to be a magnet for New Agers as well as architecture buffs and politicians. This is the legacy of Italian priest Dom Bosco's 1883 dream about the city, described above. Occult temples, crystal gazing and reports of extraterrestrial sightings are just part of the phenomenon.

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