Rio Olympics: Visual Feast, Civic Folly?

Christ the Redeemer statue overlooks all of Rio from atop Corcovado. Photo from riodejaneiro.com.

Ah, Rio. One of my favorite cities on earth, and certainly one of the most beautiful.

Sugar Loaf Mountain… the golden beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema…the panoramic views from Corcovado (site of Christ the Redeemer statue)…Carnival…samba…churrascaria retaurants (all the meat you can eat!)….caipirinhas (Brazil’s delicious national cocktail, made of cachaca, sugar and lime)…the Cariocas  (Rio natives) themselves, some of the world’s most sensuous people.

These are all images that will become familiar during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, which run August 5 to 21.

Perhaps less publicized  will be the images of Rio’s sprawling slums (favelas), of toxic polluted waterways (including some Olympic venues), of shoddy workmanship in the Olympic Village (the accommodations for the Australian team have already caught fire due to faulty… Continue reading →