t On New Year’s Eve the area becomes Rio’s spiritual and festive heart, with millions of people flocking to the beach to party, watch the fireworks, and honor Yemanjá, Goddess of the Sea.
t On New Year’s Eve the area becomes Rio’s spiritual and festive heart, with millions of people flocking to the beach to party, watch the fireworks, and honor Yemanjá, Goddess of the Sea.
Experience Ipanema and Copacabana
Once the realm of the indigenous Tupinambá people (Tamoios), the mesmerizing beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana were initially ignored by the first European residents of Rio. In the years after the arrival of the Europeans, most of the Tupinambás died from exposure to introduced diseases or moved inland, and the beaches slowly started to be inhabited by a handful of Portuguese fishermen and sugarcane farmers. In the 17th century, a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Copacabana – the patron saint of Bolivia – was built on Copacabana beach, lending its name to the whole district. Ipanema beach was named for the area’s main landowner, José Antonio Moreira Filho, Baron of Ipanema, which was then part of São Paulo state.
The development of Copacabana began in earnest after the completion of the Túnel Alaor Prata (“old tunnel”) in 1892. The tunnel made the beaches easily accessible from downtown Rio, and the first tram line reached Ipanema in 1902. Sea bathing became fashionable during World War I, with the seaside promenade of Avenida Atlântica being inaugurated in 1919 and the lavish Copacabana Palace hotel following four years later. In 1922 the area was rocked by the Eighteen of the Copacabana Fort military revolt, but this was quickly suppressed by the authorities. By the time the “The Girl from Ipanema” achieved global superstardom four decades later, the area had already become one of Rio’s trendiest, synonymous with sea, sun, and sand.