0:00:02 > 0:00:07I've been travelling the world for the past 25 years.
0:00:08 > 0:00:10I've met so many people in so many countries
0:00:10 > 0:00:14that everyone thinks of me as the man who's been everywhere.
0:00:15 > 0:00:19But in all these years, there's been one big gap in my passport.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24Nothing less than the fifth-largest country on Earth.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29A country blessed with a melting pot of people
0:00:29 > 0:00:31and an abundance of resources.
0:00:33 > 0:00:35A country that's risen almost out of nowhere to become
0:00:35 > 0:00:37a 21st-century superpower.
0:00:39 > 0:00:44It's the host of the next World Cup and the next Olympic Games.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47It's a country whose time has come.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51How can I say I've seen the world when I haven't seen Brazil?
0:00:53 > 0:00:55OK, waterfall, we defy you!
0:00:57 > 0:00:58We defy you!
0:01:16 > 0:01:18Modern Brazil was forged in the northeast,
0:01:18 > 0:01:20where the huge sugar plantations
0:01:20 > 0:01:23created the country's first real wealth.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26But by the 18th century, the importance of sugar had declined,
0:01:26 > 0:01:31and the balance of power moved south towards the mineral and coffee-rich
0:01:31 > 0:01:34state of Minas Gerais and the new capital of Rio de Janeiro.
0:01:36 > 0:01:40I'm going to be following this trail from the still immensely rich
0:01:40 > 0:01:41mining area of Minas Gerais here,
0:01:41 > 0:01:45to what's become one of the most famous cities in the world,
0:01:45 > 0:01:46Rio de Janeiro.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48SAMBA MUSIC
0:02:19 > 0:02:22Someone once described this mineral-rich area as having
0:02:22 > 0:02:24a breast of iron and a heart of gold
0:02:24 > 0:02:26and I'm going straight to the heart,
0:02:26 > 0:02:30courtesy of a British engine installed in 1825.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34It's not so comfortable when you are high, for your legs.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37No, I know, exactly. Yeah. Tall miners - no good.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40And this looks like you go crash your head, but it's not dangerous.
0:02:40 > 0:02:41OK. All right.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45Accompanied by Icaro, I'm about to enter a gold mine,
0:02:45 > 0:02:49closed recently after 227 years of production.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56It was originally worked by slaves,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59who'd often secrete gold dust in their hair or clothing
0:02:59 > 0:03:02in the hope of using it to buy their freedom.
0:03:04 > 0:03:10- OK.- So this was dynamited?- Yes. - This space was made by explosion?
0:03:10 > 0:03:12Yeah, after the explosion they used to work it by hand
0:03:12 > 0:03:16- to cut the rocks. - So this is not a natural cave, then?
0:03:16 > 0:03:18- It's not natural.- Oh, wow. - It's industrial.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22So you said the English worked this mine for a while?
0:03:22 > 0:03:27100 years, from the 1827 to 1927.
0:03:27 > 0:03:32- Really?- Yeah.- So most of the time, in the life of the mine, the gold...
0:03:32 > 0:03:34- was that going straight back to England?- Yes.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37But it's not official how many tons of gold England take from here.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40Not official, because nobody knows where it went.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45- And what's that little sort of...? - It's the St Barbara.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47What are those there?
0:03:47 > 0:03:49They're lipstick, because she is vain.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52- Oh, she's vain, so she likes to look good?- Yeah.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54So you bring her something to make her look better.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57Yeah, yeah. Were the miners, I suppose, very religious?
0:03:57 > 0:04:01- Yes.- Because they were doing a dangerous job...- Yes.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03They had to believe that someone was looking after them.
0:04:03 > 0:04:04Yeah, and she works a lot.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08In Catholic religion, she is protector of the miners, the storm,
0:04:08 > 0:04:10firemen, a lot of jobs she has.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13- So St Barbara's got a lot to look after here?- Yes.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17- Where would gold have been found? - OK...- And what kind of...?
0:04:17 > 0:04:22The rock that there is gold inside is all rocks near the quartz.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25- Yeah, so white quartz. - Yes. Tourmalinite, the black one.
0:04:25 > 0:04:30And some rock is shiny - there is gold. Calcite, call it calcite.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33- Oh, right.- We don't have gold in nugget, just golden powder.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35Later, you do separate.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38You've got to pan it. So they don't come out as blocks of gold?
0:04:38 > 0:04:39- Yes, just in powder.- OK.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44- The water there, very clear. - Very clear.- Yeah.
0:04:44 > 0:04:45But you cannot drink.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48For that is very good to get a bottle for mother-in-law,
0:04:48 > 0:04:49because there is arsenic inside.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55- Mother-in-law jokes! In a cave in Brazil - that's a first.- Yes.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03It was gold that paid for the handsome buildings
0:05:03 > 0:05:08of one of Brazil's most picturesque cities, Ouro Preto,
0:05:08 > 0:05:11its streets almost unchanged since the 18th century.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17Churches, built in gratitude for nature's bounty,
0:05:17 > 0:05:19are everywhere in the town -
0:05:19 > 0:05:23standing on conspicuous bluffs, like precious objects set on shelves.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34The current mayor is at pains to point out
0:05:34 > 0:05:39that the city's air of stability and prosperity was hard won.
0:05:39 > 0:05:45Here, among these mountains, would be the worst place to build a city.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49Tropical forest, Indians, mountains,
0:05:49 > 0:05:54rivers, rains - it was very difficult. A big challenge.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58But it was the richest area in black gold...
0:05:58 > 0:06:03Because Ouro Preto means black gold enclosed in...
0:06:03 > 0:06:07- Enclosed in iron...- Yes. So there was a gold rush?
0:06:07 > 0:06:09Yes, there was a gold rush.
0:06:09 > 0:06:14They thought that they were in the El Dorado. So it was the heaven.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16It was the paradise.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19The city has rebranded itself
0:06:19 > 0:06:22as an important cultural and academic centre.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25In a country where they're more proud of the present than the past,
0:06:25 > 0:06:27Ouro Preto is a dazzling exception.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37The precious metals of Minas Gerais
0:06:37 > 0:06:40lie beneath outstandingly beautiful countryside,
0:06:40 > 0:06:43and there's an ongoing struggle to balance the claims
0:06:43 > 0:06:45of the environment and the economy.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48My journey takes me
0:06:48 > 0:06:50through the Serra do Cipo National Park,
0:06:50 > 0:06:54which exists to protect 30,000 square kilometres
0:06:54 > 0:06:56of high plateau habitat,
0:06:56 > 0:07:00with rare birds, mammals and 2,000 species of plants.
0:07:00 > 0:07:01THUNDER RUMBLES
0:07:02 > 0:07:04But, as I'm to find out today,
0:07:04 > 0:07:07mining is not the only threat to the environment.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12The rain belts down as our vehicle slithers along a sodden dirt track.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15Yet the trees seem to have been stripped by fire.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20A minor cataclysm's happened here, as I discover
0:07:20 > 0:07:23when I reach a house that only just survived.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28- Hello.- Flick, is this your house? - This is my house.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30Flick Taylor, a resourceful New Zealander,
0:07:30 > 0:07:34has lived in the national park most of her adult life.
0:07:34 > 0:07:35She's passionate about nature,
0:07:35 > 0:07:40but only a day or two ago it very nearly killed her.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44There was four days of fire right around us, and it was, yeah,
0:07:44 > 0:07:48I can actually say it was the most frightening experience of my life.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52I actually spotted it about 10 kilometres away,
0:07:52 > 0:07:54sitting out on my veranda with my computer,
0:07:54 > 0:07:56and it was very, very hot, very, very dry -
0:07:56 > 0:08:02it hadn't rained for two months, and it just slowly came down.
0:08:02 > 0:08:07And so the next morning it was already here at my neighbour's,
0:08:07 > 0:08:10and then it jumped the road and it came roaring down -
0:08:10 > 0:08:12it was a living hell.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14I could see it coming, and what do I do?
0:08:14 > 0:08:18So I got my little garden hose out and I'm watering it down
0:08:18 > 0:08:22and thinking, going through my mind, "What the hell am I doing?"
0:08:22 > 0:08:25You know, I'm playing with fire, basically.
0:08:26 > 0:08:31And, you know, the reason I'm here is trying to conserve the nature,
0:08:31 > 0:08:34and here I am, a victim of it.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37So there were all those questions in my mind.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39So you're actually beginning to be a bit sort of defeatist?
0:08:39 > 0:08:42You don't look the sort of person who gets easily...
0:08:42 > 0:08:45I was those days, but then I thought,
0:08:45 > 0:08:47"No, this is... I just love it so much."
0:08:50 > 0:08:54Flick first came to Brazil in the 1960s as an exchange student.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56She fell in love with the country,
0:08:56 > 0:08:59and shipped the family treasures all the way from New Zealand
0:08:59 > 0:09:02to create the most elegant of log cabins.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08Having survived the fire, she has returned with renewed resolve
0:09:08 > 0:09:11to the fight that really matters to her.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13Our big problem is the mining here.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17They are building the biggest duct in the world.
0:09:17 > 0:09:19It goes to the port in Rio,
0:09:19 > 0:09:23and they're about to bring 9,000 men
0:09:23 > 0:09:27into this little historical city right close.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31It's changed everything overnight -
0:09:31 > 0:09:36socially, economically, culturally, historically,
0:09:36 > 0:09:42because they're pulling down old colonial farms and everything.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48Flick has got a battle on her hands.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50The gold may have run out, but iron ore,
0:09:50 > 0:09:53the black in which the gold was first found,
0:09:53 > 0:09:56now underpins Brazil's economic boom.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59TRAIN HORN BLASTS
0:10:01 > 0:10:03And most of it is here in Minas.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08A series of huge, man-made craters
0:10:08 > 0:10:11has been scoured out of the surrounding plateau,
0:10:11 > 0:10:13like this one, dug by Vale,
0:10:13 > 0:10:16the world's second largest iron ore producer.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33Everything here is larger than life,
0:10:33 > 0:10:38including the trucks that carry the excavated rocks up to the surface.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44When I'm in the cab, it's like being on the bridge of a ship.
0:10:58 > 0:11:03Dagmar, my driver, brings up 150 tonne-loads of rock each trip.
0:11:06 > 0:11:1012 million tonnes of iron ore were produced here last year,
0:11:10 > 0:11:11much of it going to China.
0:11:16 > 0:11:21At present, production goes on 24 hours a day, seven days a week,
0:11:21 > 0:11:24but world demand is beginning to wobble.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27Another iron ore train leaves for the coast,
0:11:27 > 0:11:31but Brazil's mining industry might soon have to start slowing down.
0:11:39 > 0:11:40Away from the mining operations,
0:11:40 > 0:11:44the Brazilian outback remains delightfully eccentric.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47I've been directed to a small farm in the hills
0:11:47 > 0:11:49to see something rather remarkable.
0:11:51 > 0:11:56I'm told one of your cows has five legs, is this possible?
0:11:57 > 0:11:59- TRANSLATION:- Yes, it has five legs
0:11:59 > 0:12:01and two reproductive and digestive systems.
0:12:03 > 0:12:05When that calf was born,
0:12:05 > 0:12:07all the neighbourhood knew about it.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10It became famous. Nobody had ever heard
0:12:10 > 0:12:14anything like this in the area. That's why I called her Surprise.
0:12:14 > 0:12:15Surprise, oh, yeah.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20The ever-cheerful owner of the mutant cow is Josaire Branco.
0:12:22 > 0:12:27Born and bred in this remote spot, he is a subsistence farmer,
0:12:27 > 0:12:31producing everything he needs - from chickens to coffee to milk and beef.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38Yes, my father built the house you see in the back there,
0:12:38 > 0:12:39where he then raised his family.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43I only built this house ten years ago.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47We all grew up in the old house. My father was from a German family
0:12:47 > 0:12:49and my mother from an English family.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53Did you go to school around here?
0:12:53 > 0:12:56Or what sort of education did you have?
0:12:58 > 0:13:01I went to the school round here for five years,
0:13:01 > 0:13:05but, to be honest, I didn't learn much, and what I learned, I forgot.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09I've worked on the farm since I was eight,
0:13:09 > 0:13:11working in the fields and stables.
0:13:11 > 0:13:16All my life, I've provided for my family by working on the farm.
0:13:16 > 0:13:20I was never an employee. I never had a boss and never worked in the city.
0:13:20 > 0:13:26I have an OK life now - it's not full of riches, but of tranquillity.
0:13:28 > 0:13:30Good man.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34From the simplicity of Josaire's farm,
0:13:34 > 0:13:37I'm off to one of the fastest-growing cities in Brazil -
0:13:37 > 0:13:41the state capital of Minas, Belo Horizonte.
0:13:41 > 0:13:42Reflecting the mineral
0:13:42 > 0:13:45and agricultural abundance that surrounds it,
0:13:45 > 0:13:47it's grown from provincial backwater
0:13:47 > 0:13:50to the sixth-biggest city in the country.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52The huge central market is filled
0:13:52 > 0:13:56with everything you could ever want, and lots of it.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58Cheese.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01Cheese again.
0:14:02 > 0:14:04Lot of cheese shops.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07Actually, I have to say, it's not a very interesting observation,
0:14:07 > 0:14:09but I've never seen so many cheese shops in one area
0:14:09 > 0:14:13in my entire life. There's another one there and there.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15It all looks a bit the same, you know,
0:14:15 > 0:14:19kind of that rather whitey cheese, but I think they eat it here
0:14:19 > 0:14:21with coffee and all sorts of stuff.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28Coffee continues to be a big money earner for Brazil.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30It's taken so seriously
0:14:30 > 0:14:32that this city has its own academy of coffee,
0:14:32 > 0:14:35dedicated entirely to its preparation and dispensation.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40Its hyperactive owner is Bruno Souza.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45And this is from my favourite farm, my dad's farm.
0:14:45 > 0:14:46Your dad's farm? Ah, yes.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50We only produce 25 bags of this coffee a year.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52This is the best, as far as you're concerned,
0:14:52 > 0:14:54- not just cos it's your dad's? - You know what?
0:14:54 > 0:14:57This is different. They call this coffee Sweet Tooth.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00It's very sweet. My wife hates this coffee.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03Hmm. So coffee's really important to Minas still?
0:15:03 > 0:15:07Yes. It's the biggest. Only for the iron.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10- Oh, right. Only iron ore's bigger?- Yeah.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13Now, they are increasing because the prices. It's very high.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16I never see coffee this price in all my whole life.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18- Really? It's the highest at the moment...?- The highest.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20That it's ever been in the world market?
0:15:20 > 0:15:23Can I ask you, Bruno, how many cups of coffee do you drink a day?
0:15:23 > 0:15:27Probably one and a half litres a day.
0:15:27 > 0:15:29- One and a half litres?- Yes.
0:15:29 > 0:15:33- What, litres? Really? - Yes. Almost one of those a day.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36Plus four or five espressos.
0:15:36 > 0:15:38- To get you in the mood for the litre?- Yes!
0:15:38 > 0:15:40Do you sleep well?
0:15:40 > 0:15:41Yes, like a baby.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47- Yeah, look, look at this.- Yeah.
0:15:47 > 0:15:48Here.
0:15:53 > 0:15:54That's it.
0:15:54 > 0:15:58'Having qualified as a taster, I'm now to be retrained as a barista.'
0:15:58 > 0:16:01This is how we call the Ferrari of the espresso machine.
0:16:01 > 0:16:03This is an Italian machine.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06They have hundreds already.
0:16:06 > 0:16:08THEY READ IN ITALIAN
0:16:08 > 0:16:12- Made in Florence. - Made in Florence.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14MUSIC: The Coffee Song by Frank Sinatra
0:16:14 > 0:16:17# Way down among Brazilians coffee beans grow by the billions
0:16:17 > 0:16:21# So they've got to find those extra cups to fill
0:16:21 > 0:16:25# They've got an awful lot of coffee in Brazil
0:16:27 > 0:16:32# A politician's daughter was accused of drinking water
0:16:32 > 0:16:36# And was fined a great big fifty dollar bill
0:16:36 > 0:16:40# They've got an awful lot of coffee in Brazil... #
0:16:48 > 0:16:51This is better, you can see by the colour.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54OK. Cheers. Here's to my first proper espresso cup.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01Hmm. It's not bad. Not bad.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06Oh, yes. A heart.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08Not too frothy.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13Creamy, adds a little bit of richness to it.
0:17:17 > 0:17:18Bit of pomegranate, possibly.
0:17:21 > 0:17:23Or is it guava?
0:17:23 > 0:17:24I think a hint of guava.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28Just got to know the words, that's the thing, got to know the words.
0:17:30 > 0:17:31- Thank you.- You're welcome.
0:17:31 > 0:17:33I won't be able to have a coffee anywhere in the world
0:17:33 > 0:17:35- apart from this room! - No, you can't!
0:17:37 > 0:17:40Bidding farewell to the streets of Belo Horizonte,
0:17:40 > 0:17:45I head south to the one Brazilian city everybody knows.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54A city of six and a half million, Rio de Janeiro is celebrated
0:17:54 > 0:17:56across the world for the beauty of its setting.
0:17:59 > 0:18:03In the early days, the Portuguese narrowly defeated the French
0:18:03 > 0:18:04for control of the city.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06Their victory paid off.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09Boosted by the export of gold from the interior,
0:18:09 > 0:18:12Rio grew to become, for 125 years,
0:18:12 > 0:18:14one of the great capital cities of the world.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19Its wide bays, long beaches and forested slopes
0:18:19 > 0:18:21make it a seductive playground,
0:18:21 > 0:18:24which its inhabitants, known as Cariocans,
0:18:24 > 0:18:29modestly call cidade maravilhosa, the marvellous city.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38The classic features of Rio are the granite peaks
0:18:38 > 0:18:41that rise from the heart of the city,
0:18:41 > 0:18:42too steep and too sheer to build on.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46Which is what they thought until 1931,
0:18:46 > 0:18:50when one of the most iconic statues in the world was raised
0:18:50 > 0:18:53on Corcovado, Hunchback Mountain.
0:18:54 > 0:18:58It's known as Cristo Redentor, Christ the Redeemer.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01Soon they'll be celebrating the 80th anniversary
0:19:01 > 0:19:05of the triumphant unveiling of what has become the symbol of Rio.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12I'm meeting up with Bel Noronha, great-granddaughter of the man
0:19:12 > 0:19:18in charge of designing and building the statue, Heitor da Silva Costa.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22Was he a very religious man, your great-grandfather?
0:19:22 > 0:19:25No, no. No, I think he was originally ateu.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27- Yeah, atheist?- Atheist, yes.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31By the time he'd done the Cristo Redentor he was a bit...
0:19:31 > 0:19:34Not Christian, but by the time of the Cristo Redentor
0:19:34 > 0:19:37he was totally Christian, totally. Totally.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48We take the train up Corcovado Mountain to see the Redentor
0:19:48 > 0:19:50in close-up.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52During its five year construction,
0:19:52 > 0:19:56all the materials had to be brought up by cog railway.
0:19:56 > 0:20:00And this always crowded two-car shuttle is still the quickest
0:20:00 > 0:20:03and most spectacular way to get to the top.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44It is amazing. It's really simple.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46The lines are very clean and clear, aren't they?
0:20:46 > 0:20:50Simplicity for me is the most important thing.
0:20:50 > 0:20:52But the result is amazing.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55And you said that just having the head tilting forward
0:20:55 > 0:20:57- cost a lot of extra money?- Yes.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01This is one I really particularly like.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04They're just taking the scaffolding down, I presume,
0:21:04 > 0:21:09and there's the Christ almost sort of rising out of the scaffold.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12- Now what's happening here? - That's the inauguration.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14- October 1931.- Yes, 12th October.
0:21:14 > 0:21:16So there you can see a lot of people -
0:21:16 > 0:21:19there was the President of Brazil, there was...
0:21:19 > 0:21:21Yeah, what did it do for the sort of national spirit?
0:21:21 > 0:21:24Was there a national attitude towards it?
0:21:24 > 0:21:28- Or was it just Cariocan? - No, no, national, actually,
0:21:28 > 0:21:31because the money to raise the Christ came from all around Brazil.
0:21:31 > 0:21:35- OK. Yeah.- So there's people from all around Brazil -
0:21:35 > 0:21:40Minas, even the Indians, the Indians gave money for it,
0:21:40 > 0:21:43so it was really made by the whole Brazil.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46The figure has colossal strength,
0:21:46 > 0:21:49but it's a strength that lies in restraint.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51With just the fall of the robe,
0:21:51 > 0:21:54the tilt of the head, the long, shielding hands,
0:21:54 > 0:21:57its makers have created a study of compassion
0:21:57 > 0:21:59as both powerful and universal.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25The Brazilians have always had a flair for design and decoration,
0:22:25 > 0:22:29but I didn't expect to find such an example at a football ground.
0:22:29 > 0:22:33Tim Vickery, an English sports journalist, introduces me
0:22:33 > 0:22:37to the splendours of one of Rio's most famous clubs - Fluminense.
0:22:41 > 0:22:46The rooms inside take the breath away, with 100-year-old ballrooms
0:22:46 > 0:22:48and stained glass windows.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54So, Tim, how did soccer begin in Brazil?
0:22:54 > 0:22:56Well, I think we're standing in it.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59We're standing in the history of Brazilian football.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02Brazil played their first game here.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05- 1914.- Fantastic. - Against Exeter City.- Really?
0:23:07 > 0:23:10It was the first ever game played by Brazil.
0:23:10 > 0:23:12- What was the score?- 2-0 to Brazil.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15There are some reports that say Exeter walked off
0:23:15 > 0:23:18- because it was too hot.- Really?
0:23:19 > 0:23:21Was there any technical superiority
0:23:21 > 0:23:24that Brazilian players had over others?
0:23:24 > 0:23:27Were they just able to kick the ball better?
0:23:27 > 0:23:31In Brazil, one of the great things about football is this process
0:23:31 > 0:23:35whereby the guy who's been born a pawn, he becomes a king.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38He comes up with a little bit of magic.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41You've got the ball, you do a little shimmy,
0:23:41 > 0:23:45I fall on my backside. You've humiliated me.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49In that moment, you're the pawn who becomes king.
0:23:49 > 0:23:50- Tables turned.- Exactly.
0:23:50 > 0:23:54That's the moment that the crowd most responds to -
0:23:54 > 0:23:58someone who is being humiliated by this piece of individual magic.
0:23:58 > 0:24:05I think you can see, you can see these individual skills as almost
0:24:05 > 0:24:11a metaphor for the abilities that the poor kid needs to survive.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13One distinctive feature of Brazilian football
0:24:13 > 0:24:15is the manically excitable commentary
0:24:15 > 0:24:17that accompanies every goal.
0:24:18 > 0:24:22COMMENTATOR SCREAMS
0:24:23 > 0:24:24Tim takes me to a studio
0:24:24 > 0:24:28to meet one of its most accomplished practitioners - Andre Henne.
0:24:30 > 0:24:44GO-O-O-O-O-AL!
0:24:44 > 0:24:47ANDRE SHOUTS IN PORTUGUESE
0:24:51 > 0:24:54- This is the way we do it in Brazil. - Fantastic.
0:24:56 > 0:25:01- We sweat as much as the player. You should try it.- Yeah. Well, OK.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03- Let's do it.- All right, let's do it.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05ANDRE SHOUTS IN PORTUGUESE
0:25:05 > 0:25:08- Do I have to hold...? Just do it. OK.- Yeah, you can...
0:25:08 > 0:25:11I might need you to guide me in the first instance.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14- This is Neymar.- Neymar. Neymar!
0:25:14 > 0:25:18He's going to receive the ball and he's going to score. He's good.
0:25:18 > 0:25:19Yeah.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22Oh, Neymar! The ball's gone to Neymar! Neymar got the ball!
0:25:22 > 0:25:25He's gone and lofted it over the goalkeeper!
0:25:25 > 0:25:34GO-O-O-OAL!
0:25:35 > 0:25:39- Oh. I see what you mean. You've got to hit the right pitch.- It was good.
0:25:39 > 0:25:41Spurred on by his compliment,
0:25:41 > 0:25:46I rather unwisely challenge Andre to an against-the-clock contest.
0:25:46 > 0:26:02GO-O-O-O-OAL!
0:26:04 > 0:26:06Brazil! Brazil! Brazil!
0:26:08 > 0:26:1019 seconds. That was just brilliant.
0:26:12 > 0:26:13All right.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16Neymar! He's onside. He's gone through,
0:26:16 > 0:26:18and he's lofting it over the goalie!
0:26:18 > 0:26:30GO-O-O-O-AL!
0:26:31 > 0:26:34- Ten seconds.- About that.- Yeah. You're a champ.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36You're a champ.
0:26:49 > 0:26:53The classic images of Brazil are nearly all the classic images
0:26:53 > 0:26:56of Rio - Sugar Loaf Mountain, the Christ statue,
0:26:56 > 0:27:00the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02Am I going to see these images relentlessly replayed
0:27:02 > 0:27:07over the next few years as Rio hosts first the World Cup in 2014,
0:27:07 > 0:27:10and then the Olympics in 2016?
0:27:11 > 0:27:13And the image of Rio as a colourful,
0:27:13 > 0:27:17glamorous, fun city, not particularly on a day like today,
0:27:17 > 0:27:18they're real enough,
0:27:18 > 0:27:22but there's another side to it, and that's the lawlessness
0:27:22 > 0:27:25and violence that spills down from some of the favelas,
0:27:25 > 0:27:27the shanty towns,
0:27:27 > 0:27:30where over a million of the poorest people in Rio live.
0:27:31 > 0:27:35The big story in the city at the moment is how to heal the divisions,
0:27:35 > 0:27:37how to make the city one, how to wrest power away
0:27:37 > 0:27:40from the drug barons in the favelas
0:27:40 > 0:27:42and give it back to the people who live there.
0:27:43 > 0:27:45If this is successful,
0:27:45 > 0:27:49it will have profound implications for the future of the city.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52It's a mixture of construction and ruin at the same time, but
0:27:52 > 0:27:56every time you come here you see construction being done,
0:27:56 > 0:27:59intensively, you know, it looks like...and in Brazil...
0:27:59 > 0:28:01'The latest project of Vik Muniz,
0:28:01 > 0:28:04'a Brazilian artist with an international reputation,
0:28:04 > 0:28:07'is to set up an art school in a beautiful location
0:28:07 > 0:28:09'overlooking Ipanema beach.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13'But there's a twist to the tale.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16'This hillside location is already occupied by a rambling,
0:28:16 > 0:28:19'unpacified favela called Vidigal.'
0:28:21 > 0:28:22When I started coming to Rio...
0:28:24 > 0:28:25..you're, like, in San Tropez
0:28:25 > 0:28:28surrounded by Mogadishu from outsides,
0:28:28 > 0:28:31and then you really...to be in a place,
0:28:31 > 0:28:34you have to be in the city as a whole.
0:28:34 > 0:28:36So we're in one of the poorest areas of Rio,
0:28:36 > 0:28:39looking down on one of the richest. Usually, it's the other way around.
0:28:39 > 0:28:43Yeah, in Rio you have this geographic inversion
0:28:43 > 0:28:47where the rich lives on the lower part, you know, near the beach,
0:28:47 > 0:28:51and the poor people occupy most of the hills around the city.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54It's interesting to think that most people who live in the rich areas,
0:28:54 > 0:28:55like Ipanema Lis Blanc,
0:28:55 > 0:28:58they've never seen it from here. They've never come up here.
0:28:58 > 0:29:02If you go down to the south side and ask the rich people down there
0:29:02 > 0:29:07how many times they've been to their maid's house or their nanny's,
0:29:07 > 0:29:09they've never done it, you know.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12They don't know where they live - they don't know anything about them.
0:29:12 > 0:29:16It's completely...it's very dogmatic, how these two...
0:29:16 > 0:29:19That's a big thing to break down, though, isn't it?
0:29:19 > 0:29:22I mean, that's going to take a long time.
0:29:22 > 0:29:24You know, the authorities are rushing
0:29:24 > 0:29:26toward some kind of closure about it
0:29:26 > 0:29:29because of the Olympics and the World Cup,
0:29:29 > 0:29:34but I think what's happening right now in the next six years,
0:29:34 > 0:29:38it would have taken 25 years to happen otherwise.
0:29:38 > 0:29:41Most of the people who live in the favelas,
0:29:41 > 0:29:44they've been stigmatised by the crime and the drug traffic,
0:29:44 > 0:29:48you know, the violence. The crime only comes from, like,
0:29:48 > 0:29:51a tiny percentage of the people who live here.
0:30:01 > 0:30:02It's on the beaches of Rio
0:30:02 > 0:30:05where the various sides of the city meet as equals,
0:30:05 > 0:30:10where the gap between the favelas and the favoured almost disappears.
0:30:12 > 0:30:16We were up there on that little headland under the two peaks,
0:30:16 > 0:30:18in the poor looking down on the rich,
0:30:18 > 0:30:20and now we're in amongst the rich.
0:30:20 > 0:30:23Now, this is the most expensive square metre
0:30:23 > 0:30:25in the southern hemisphere,
0:30:25 > 0:30:28- is Ipanema here and Lis Blanc, you know.- OK, yeah.
0:30:30 > 0:30:34But interestingly, even though this is the richest area,
0:30:34 > 0:30:37it's actually one area where these two worlds collide,
0:30:37 > 0:30:40you know, the people come down to the beach
0:30:40 > 0:30:42and the beach is like...
0:30:42 > 0:30:45Even with cellphones, if you don't come to the beach,
0:30:45 > 0:30:49you don't know where to go after, you have to leave the beach,
0:30:49 > 0:30:52so the entire... everything that happens
0:30:52 > 0:30:55in Rio happens around the concept of where you stay on the beach.
0:30:55 > 0:30:59And the beach itself is kind of... I mean,
0:30:59 > 0:31:05it's segregated in certain ways, isn't it? Areas of influence?
0:31:05 > 0:31:11It has a conventional map that shifts and changes with time,
0:31:11 > 0:31:14but here we are, we are at Arpoador,
0:31:14 > 0:31:17this part here is mostly visited by...
0:31:17 > 0:31:21it's where I go to the beach, it's like artists,
0:31:21 > 0:31:27actors, intellectuals and writers, and if you drift a little bit south
0:31:27 > 0:31:30you get Posto 9, like communists,
0:31:30 > 0:31:33and before that there's the gay area,
0:31:33 > 0:31:35and this was the artists' area,
0:31:35 > 0:31:38the gay artists stay sort of in between...
0:31:38 > 0:31:41Gay artists, intellectual communists can stride the beach.
0:31:41 > 0:31:45Oh, yeah, and after that is the really good-looking people,
0:31:45 > 0:31:49you know, like teenagers and so on, so every place, you know,
0:31:49 > 0:31:51for people to know where you are,
0:31:51 > 0:31:55and then if you start a conversation in a bar,
0:31:55 > 0:31:59it basically starts like this, "Where do you stay on the beach?"
0:31:59 > 0:32:03That is very revealing, you know, it tells a lot about you.
0:32:03 > 0:32:05- Oh, that would say everything about you, yeah.- Yeah.
0:32:05 > 0:32:09Who decides these things? I mean, how do they do it?
0:32:09 > 0:32:11I mean, supposing the communists
0:32:11 > 0:32:14wanted to move in on the very, very beautiful people's area?
0:32:14 > 0:32:16They will have to change their ideology!
0:32:16 > 0:32:18THEY LAUGH
0:32:26 > 0:32:29The policy of pacification, designed to wrest control
0:32:29 > 0:32:33of the favelas from criminal gangs, is spearheaded
0:32:33 > 0:32:36by a crack paramilitary force called BOPE,
0:32:36 > 0:32:38a special operations battalion.
0:32:39 > 0:32:43They're trained to be very nasty, and such is their reputation
0:32:43 > 0:32:47that the drug barons usually disappear rather than take them on.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53I'm here at their training base to talk to Captain Melissa Nevez,
0:32:53 > 0:32:57one of only six women in the elite squad.
0:32:57 > 0:33:00Captain, in the pacification programme,
0:33:00 > 0:33:02at what point do BOPE intervene?
0:33:02 > 0:33:08- TRANSLATION:- BOPE is the first force to go into the community,
0:33:08 > 0:33:12it takes back the neighbourhood and gives it back to the state.
0:33:14 > 0:33:18During this process BOPE confiscates drugs and guns
0:33:18 > 0:33:21from the gangsters and makes the place free from drug trafficking.
0:33:22 > 0:33:26It tries to forge a relationship with the local community.
0:33:26 > 0:33:27It listens to the community,
0:33:27 > 0:33:29organises events like football competitions
0:33:29 > 0:33:35and gets involved with them. We try to make the community free again.
0:33:35 > 0:33:40When you go into a favela with BOPE,
0:33:40 > 0:33:44how are you received by the people in the favela?
0:33:44 > 0:33:47How do they react to you and BOPE?
0:33:48 > 0:33:52When they see me and the other women members of BOPE,
0:33:52 > 0:33:54people are really surprised.
0:33:54 > 0:33:56They think there are no women in BOPE.
0:33:56 > 0:33:58It's good to soften the tough,
0:33:58 > 0:34:01aggressive image people have of the force. I think it's good for BOPE
0:34:01 > 0:34:05to have female members, it conveys a new image to the community.
0:34:07 > 0:34:09It shows we work with the community,
0:34:09 > 0:34:11we're not just about confronting them.
0:34:11 > 0:34:15Also the kids, they come running up to us. It's heartening to see.
0:34:17 > 0:34:21So there we are, motto of the special forces, Va E Venca!
0:34:21 > 0:34:24Go and win. And that's what I intend to do.
0:34:33 > 0:34:36The removal of the drug gangs is only the first step.
0:34:36 > 0:34:40What matters most is to stop them returning.
0:34:40 > 0:34:43There are many barriers to be broken down
0:34:43 > 0:34:47before the people of the favela can feel part of, not apart from,
0:34:47 > 0:34:48the rest of the city.
0:34:49 > 0:34:53In the favela called Tabajaras, something unusual is happening.
0:34:53 > 0:34:57A celebration is being held for the opening of a community centre.
0:34:57 > 0:35:01But here's the paradox, the building they're using
0:35:01 > 0:35:03was once the centre of the drug barons' operation.
0:35:08 > 0:35:10As a symbol of how much has changed,
0:35:10 > 0:35:13the police band has turned up to kick off proceedings.
0:35:42 > 0:35:45The favelas have a rather forbidding aspect
0:35:45 > 0:35:48and they have a fearsome reputation, bad places,
0:35:48 > 0:35:52places you don't go to, a distinct feeling of us and them.
0:35:52 > 0:35:55People like ourselves wouldn't have been allowed in here
0:35:55 > 0:35:58a few years ago, it would just have been out of the question,
0:35:58 > 0:36:02far too dangerous, but also to find that the people we've met today
0:36:02 > 0:36:05starting these projects, the way they look at the people here
0:36:05 > 0:36:08is that as, you know, these are the people who live here.
0:36:08 > 0:36:12The people in the favelas are not social problems,
0:36:12 > 0:36:15they're human beings, and that must be, you know,
0:36:15 > 0:36:18the first step on the way to any reconciliation.
0:36:31 > 0:36:36Here in one of the largest favelas in Rio, the Complexo Do Alemao,
0:36:36 > 0:36:40were fought the fiercest battles between drug gangs and police.
0:36:47 > 0:36:51After pacification, the city poured in funds to improve
0:36:51 > 0:36:55the infrastructure, most notably in a cable car system.
0:36:55 > 0:36:59This unites the favela and links it to the rest of the city
0:36:59 > 0:37:01through colourful, state of the art stations.
0:37:12 > 0:37:17Victor, from the mayor's office, takes me for a ride.
0:37:17 > 0:37:19How much difference does this make in travel time
0:37:19 > 0:37:22- to the people who live up on the hill?- A huge difference,
0:37:22 > 0:37:24because sometimes people could take, like, 40 minutes
0:37:24 > 0:37:27- to get to the top of the hill... - 40 minutes just to get...
0:37:27 > 0:37:2940 minutes, an hour, depending on the person.
0:37:29 > 0:37:31Now it's 10, 15 minutes at most.
0:37:34 > 0:37:37The city hall has a huge project in Complexo Do Alemao.
0:37:37 > 0:37:41We are building housing, we are bringing asphalt to the streets,
0:37:41 > 0:37:44we are bringing business, we are also helping people
0:37:44 > 0:37:46to establish new business, of course,
0:37:46 > 0:37:49through developing employment here.
0:37:49 > 0:37:51Sewage system, water systems, so the idea really
0:37:51 > 0:37:53is to integrate the favela,
0:37:53 > 0:37:56integrate Complexo Do Alemao to the rest of the city,
0:37:56 > 0:37:59because Rio is a marvellous city, but the favelas are not.
0:37:59 > 0:38:01So we have to make it as marvellous as the city.
0:38:01 > 0:38:04- It's a lot of work to do, isn't it, really?- Look around.
0:38:12 > 0:38:14How much does it cost to use?
0:38:14 > 0:38:17People who live in Complexo Do Alemao don't pay anything,
0:38:17 > 0:38:21it's free for them, they can use the cable car system
0:38:21 > 0:38:24twice a day, but people from...tourists, for example,
0:38:24 > 0:38:26have to pay for every trip.
0:38:34 > 0:38:38At one of the shiny new stations, Victor introduces me to Raul,
0:38:38 > 0:38:40a young man who knew the bad times.
0:38:41 > 0:38:47Raul, what was life like in the Complexo Do Alemao before?
0:38:51 > 0:38:55- TRANSLATION:- Life before pacification was really hard.
0:38:55 > 0:39:00We had to live between the guns, drug dealers and drug consumption.
0:39:00 > 0:39:03All this is changing now, which is not saying that things are perfect,
0:39:03 > 0:39:06but they seem to be heading in the right direction.
0:39:06 > 0:39:09People overall seem happy about these changes,
0:39:09 > 0:39:13and the cable car is certainly a welcome bonus for the community.
0:39:14 > 0:39:17I asked Raul if he'd ever carried a gun.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23I wasn't a member of the gangs proper.
0:39:23 > 0:39:25In other words, I wasn't on their payroll,
0:39:25 > 0:39:29but I had close friends with whom I hung out who were.
0:39:29 > 0:39:34So, for instance, from time to time I would hold their guns for them.
0:39:34 > 0:39:38Are there any people here who are frightened of the cable car?
0:39:38 > 0:39:41You know, going inside it?
0:39:41 > 0:39:43Kids and young people love it,
0:39:43 > 0:39:46but older people are a little bit more reluctant.
0:39:46 > 0:39:50My mum says she's afraid of it and will never set foot on it,
0:39:50 > 0:39:52but I think eventually she'll warm to the idea.
0:39:54 > 0:39:57Money's being spent here, and imaginatively too.
0:39:57 > 0:40:02But in the shadow of Alemao, another big favela, Complexo Da Mare,
0:40:02 > 0:40:04still awaits pacification.
0:40:08 > 0:40:10It's dangerous to walk into unpacified favelas
0:40:10 > 0:40:13unless you're with someone who knows the place.
0:40:13 > 0:40:17Englishman Luke Downy has worked in Mare for years,
0:40:17 > 0:40:20pioneering his own special recipe for dealing with the effects
0:40:20 > 0:40:22of drugs, poverty and violence.
0:40:22 > 0:40:25We still have very active drug gangs here.
0:40:25 > 0:40:28We have sort of war-like death statistics in this community.
0:40:28 > 0:40:32We've recorded death statistics of up to 600 per 100,000 inhabitants.
0:40:32 > 0:40:36Anything over 100 is considered to be a war situation.
0:40:36 > 0:40:38It has got better in the last few years,
0:40:38 > 0:40:41but it continues to be a major issue.
0:40:41 > 0:40:43We have young people as young as 11 and 12
0:40:43 > 0:40:45openly armed on the streets here.
0:40:45 > 0:40:48It does have a police battalion on the edge of it, behind us,
0:40:48 > 0:40:51which I believe is Brazil's only favela
0:40:51 > 0:40:54that has a police battalion right on its side.
0:40:54 > 0:40:56The presence of the police battalion
0:40:56 > 0:41:01means that it's an intensive area in terms of gunfire.
0:41:01 > 0:41:03Has it encouraged the violence, in a way,
0:41:03 > 0:41:05the presence of the police here,
0:41:05 > 0:41:08or changed the way it manifests itself?
0:41:08 > 0:41:10I think it might change the way it manifests itself
0:41:10 > 0:41:12rather than encourages it. But I think...
0:41:12 > 0:41:13FIREWORKS BANG
0:41:13 > 0:41:16So those are fireworks, which means that the police are moving around
0:41:16 > 0:41:18and they've been seen by the drug traffickers
0:41:18 > 0:41:20and they're letting off fireworks to say,
0:41:20 > 0:41:23"We've seen that you're around in the favela here."
0:41:23 > 0:41:24So it's an ongoing situation here.
0:41:28 > 0:41:31Luke's project in Mare is a boxing club.
0:41:31 > 0:41:35He's called it Luta Pela Paz, Fight For Peace.
0:41:35 > 0:41:38I boxed when I was younger. I was an amateur boxer.
0:41:38 > 0:41:40I certainly wasn't the world champion,
0:41:40 > 0:41:41but it meant a lot to me and it was...
0:41:41 > 0:41:43You were a light mid-weight champion.
0:41:43 > 0:41:47Well, I moved around a bit, only amateur.
0:41:47 > 0:41:51Then after a while I had to stop boxing because of an injury
0:41:51 > 0:41:53and I found myself back in Brazil. I'd been here before
0:41:53 > 0:41:56and I became very concerned with the kids that were openly armed
0:41:56 > 0:41:57in the favelas. I was working for
0:41:57 > 0:41:59a Brazilian development organisation,
0:41:59 > 0:42:02and I saw these kids with guns, and I was kinda like... I didn't get it,
0:42:02 > 0:42:05you know, having grown up in quite an affluent part of West London,
0:42:05 > 0:42:07I didn't understand how you could have a 12- or 13-year-old
0:42:07 > 0:42:08holding a Kalashnikov.
0:42:09 > 0:42:12These kids were not going into schools.
0:42:12 > 0:42:14For whatever reason they weren't going into social programmes,
0:42:14 > 0:42:17so I thought a boxing club would be a great way because I knew
0:42:17 > 0:42:19boxing clubs are inherently social programmes.
0:42:19 > 0:42:21You'll end up having an amazing relationship
0:42:21 > 0:42:23between your coach and the fighter,
0:42:23 > 0:42:25and that's quite a special thing when you're growing up,
0:42:25 > 0:42:27and it can be life-changing.
0:42:27 > 0:42:29They were kind of almost traditional things in London,
0:42:29 > 0:42:32weren't they, in the East End of London, you know, boxing clubs,
0:42:32 > 0:42:34because it was about using the fighting instincts
0:42:34 > 0:42:37but also discipline at the same time?
0:42:37 > 0:42:40Very much discipline. You channel your aggression,
0:42:40 > 0:42:42you get disciplined, you learn that if you don't put something in
0:42:42 > 0:42:44you're not going to get something out.
0:42:44 > 0:42:45You learn that hard work will pay
0:42:45 > 0:42:48dividends and pay results, and those are all lessons for life.
0:43:15 > 0:43:17The success of Fight For Peace -
0:43:17 > 0:43:19one of their boys is in the Olympic team -
0:43:19 > 0:43:23has attracted international sponsors. This has enabled them
0:43:23 > 0:43:26to offer not just boxing and martial arts,
0:43:26 > 0:43:28but also a commitment to education.
0:43:28 > 0:43:32Luke's colleague Gabriella shows me the new creche
0:43:32 > 0:43:34and classrooms attached to the gym.
0:43:36 > 0:43:41This happens because we provide formal education for young people
0:43:41 > 0:43:46from 16 to 29 years old, and we found out that if we didn't
0:43:46 > 0:43:49have someone to watch the kids, they wouldn't be inside the class.
0:43:49 > 0:43:52- Ah, they wouldn't go to school. - Yeah. OK.
0:43:52 > 0:43:55- So...- So the mothers are really pretty young?- Yes.
0:43:57 > 0:44:00They have been out of school, without work,
0:44:00 > 0:44:04so what we do here is provide them with what they need.
0:44:04 > 0:44:05Yeah, great. Hi!
0:44:05 > 0:44:07STUDENTS: Hi.
0:44:07 > 0:44:10Good, carry on. Teach me something. I need to learn.
0:44:10 > 0:44:16We started with 75 people. Today we have 275.
0:44:16 > 0:44:18- Students?- Students studying here.
0:44:18 > 0:44:20Yeah, what are they doing today?
0:44:21 > 0:44:23STUDENT: Physics.
0:44:23 > 0:44:25- Physics.- Physics?- Yeah. - That's difficult.
0:44:25 > 0:44:28- Yeah, that was not my favourite.- It was not my favourite either, yeah.
0:44:37 > 0:44:41A world away from the ramshackle streets of Mare is the cool,
0:44:41 > 0:44:44clean, cavernous Rio Metro.
0:44:44 > 0:44:48With only 25 stations as opposed to London's 270,
0:44:48 > 0:44:52it's being rapidly extended ahead of the 2016 Olympics.
0:44:52 > 0:44:57But compared to London, there's still a luxurious feeling of space.
0:45:05 > 0:45:07The system, blasted out of granite,
0:45:07 > 0:45:10has been built within a series of enormous chambers.
0:45:10 > 0:45:15Walking through them is like being in the belly of some great beast.
0:45:18 > 0:45:21With the double whammy of the World Cup and Olympics ahead,
0:45:21 > 0:45:24running Rio has to be a considerable challenge.
0:45:24 > 0:45:27I meet the city mayor, Eduardo Paes,
0:45:27 > 0:45:30at a new high-tech control and command centre.
0:45:30 > 0:45:34He's just come a bit of a cropper opening a new cycle lane.
0:45:35 > 0:45:39You're the mayor, you've got to run Rio. What do you identify
0:45:39 > 0:45:42as the kind of the problems that are facing the city?
0:45:42 > 0:45:46What are you trying to sort of change?
0:45:46 > 0:45:49When you come to a country like Brazil,
0:45:49 > 0:45:54when you come to a city like Rio, second-largest in the country,
0:45:54 > 0:45:58there is always the issue of social differences.
0:45:58 > 0:46:01The social differences brings a lot of problems
0:46:01 > 0:46:04in the infrastructure, in health and education,
0:46:04 > 0:46:09so I would say that's the main issue that we have to face every day.
0:46:09 > 0:46:12But, you know, I think Brazil has done its homework
0:46:12 > 0:46:15in the past 20 years. Democracy's consolidated,
0:46:15 > 0:46:19institutions are consolidated, I mean, we suffer a lot, but we learn.
0:46:19 > 0:46:23Our bank system's much stronger than if you go to European countries
0:46:23 > 0:46:26or the United States' system, so we are very proud
0:46:26 > 0:46:29of what we've achieved, what we've been doing in the past few years.
0:46:29 > 0:46:31We know that it's a long way to go.
0:46:31 > 0:46:34I mean, when you talk about a country of 200 million people,
0:46:34 > 0:46:36you're saying that 30 million people,
0:46:36 > 0:46:40you know, you took from poverty and they became middle class,
0:46:40 > 0:46:41I mean, that's something to be proud of.
0:46:54 > 0:46:57Sunshine and Rio seem so inextricably linked
0:46:57 > 0:47:01in my fantasy world that a series of Atlantic depressions
0:47:01 > 0:47:06dumping wind and rain on the city seem almost like a biblical plague.
0:47:11 > 0:47:15To try and learn about how bad weather affects the Cariocan psyche,
0:47:15 > 0:47:18I've arranged to meet an American who's written a very funny book
0:47:18 > 0:47:21called How To Be A Carioca.
0:47:21 > 0:47:23She's called Priscilla Ann Goslin,
0:47:23 > 0:47:26and she's made Rio her home for more than 30 years.
0:47:27 > 0:47:32And today, it's raining, wet everywhere, dripping.
0:47:32 > 0:47:34What do Cariocans do when it rains?
0:47:35 > 0:47:37What do Cariocas do in the rain?
0:47:37 > 0:47:40They usually don't do much of anything, they get, you know,
0:47:40 > 0:47:43they will evaporate from the street pretty much.
0:47:43 > 0:47:46If you have plans to do something, you usually cancel them if you can.
0:47:47 > 0:47:48Do they get depressed?
0:47:48 > 0:47:52No, they don't get...no! No!
0:47:52 > 0:47:55- Cariocas never get depressed! - Is that so?
0:47:55 > 0:47:58Yes, it's going to be so much better when the rain stops
0:47:58 > 0:47:59- and they go back to the beach. - Yeah.
0:47:59 > 0:48:03They seem to be very keen here just on good things,
0:48:03 > 0:48:06so you've been right, as you say, they all see life as basically
0:48:06 > 0:48:09happiness, but how do they deal with the obvious things
0:48:09 > 0:48:12that aren't right, like, you know, poverty and all that?
0:48:13 > 0:48:17Oh, I think pretty much just ignore... They try to ignore it.
0:48:17 > 0:48:20I don't even know if they try to ignore it on a conscious level,
0:48:20 > 0:48:23they just don't see it, they don't focus on it.
0:48:23 > 0:48:26It's there, it's not good, therefore I won't focus,
0:48:26 > 0:48:27and they'll change the subject.
0:48:27 > 0:48:30- They'll talk about soccer, the game. - Yep.
0:48:30 > 0:48:32It's remarkable how rare you see an angry face,
0:48:32 > 0:48:35you know, there isn't this sort of bottled-up stress which you might
0:48:35 > 0:48:38get in certain cities when the trains are running late.
0:48:40 > 0:48:41Is that something you'd see?
0:48:41 > 0:48:44No, you don't see it, if you go on the metro here, the subway system,
0:48:44 > 0:48:48you don't see people that are stressed and unhappy.
0:48:57 > 0:49:01But Cariocans aren't always as open as they appear to be.
0:49:05 > 0:49:07It looks like a sort of Rio stately home or something,
0:49:07 > 0:49:10but actually just something more than that.
0:49:13 > 0:49:16Hello, por favor.
0:49:16 > 0:49:19It's a love hotel. They're very popular in Brazil.
0:49:19 > 0:49:22In fact, I saw one down the street called the Windsor Love Hotel.
0:49:22 > 0:49:28And you come here with a friend or friends, for sex,
0:49:28 > 0:49:32and I'm going to find out...what happens.
0:49:49 > 0:49:54- Are you Hannah?- Hello.- Michael. - Nice to meet you.
0:49:54 > 0:49:58How nice of you to welcome me to your presidential suite.
0:49:58 > 0:50:01Yes. I'm pleased to meet you.
0:50:01 > 0:50:03Oh, we don't normally afford places like this, you know,
0:50:03 > 0:50:04not on BBC money!
0:50:04 > 0:50:06THEY LAUGH
0:50:06 > 0:50:09- You like what you see?- Yes.
0:50:09 > 0:50:13- Jacuzzi, pool.- Sauna.
0:50:13 > 0:50:16- Saunas.- Two of them.
0:50:16 > 0:50:18I should just say at the outset
0:50:18 > 0:50:21that this is a wholly professional liaison.
0:50:21 > 0:50:25- Oh, yeah.- We're both in the television business.
0:50:25 > 0:50:27- Yes. Yes.- You have a show?
0:50:27 > 0:50:30I have a show here for almost three years, yes.
0:50:30 > 0:50:32- Talking about sex.- Yeah...
0:50:32 > 0:50:37Talking very...it's a very open show, me and my three girls,
0:50:37 > 0:50:42- and we talk a lot.- About anything to do with sex?
0:50:42 > 0:50:46About anything. We have a theme, every day we have a different theme.
0:50:46 > 0:50:48I'm an English innocent, I want to know what...
0:50:48 > 0:50:51You're an English innocent?
0:50:51 > 0:50:53Why do people come to the love hotel?
0:50:53 > 0:50:58People come here to have sex, to have a good time together.
0:50:58 > 0:51:01- Have you ever been taken to a love hotel?- Yeah, yeah.
0:51:01 > 0:51:05Even with boyfriends, many, you don't want to stay home,
0:51:05 > 0:51:09you want to go to a different place to have a pool
0:51:09 > 0:51:12or something different to do, you know.
0:51:12 > 0:51:17When I came in I noticed that all these doors were very,
0:51:17 > 0:51:23very sort of hidden, and the doors in front of the car ports
0:51:23 > 0:51:27come down to obscure the car and the number and all that.
0:51:27 > 0:51:32So is secrecy a very important part of a place like this?
0:51:32 > 0:51:35Yeah, yeah. Always, because...
0:51:35 > 0:51:37I mean, that's the appeal, you come...
0:51:37 > 0:51:41Married, maybe some married guy comes here with a girl,
0:51:41 > 0:51:43maybe it's not his wife.
0:51:43 > 0:51:45And then if his wife comes with a guy,
0:51:45 > 0:51:49if she passes, she doesn't see his car.
0:51:50 > 0:51:54- I see that, yes. "He bought that for me last week!"- Yeah.
0:51:56 > 0:52:00In contrast to the furtive world of the love hotel is the city's
0:52:00 > 0:52:04very open attitude to the rights of sexual minorities.
0:52:04 > 0:52:08Marjorie runs an office in the state government dedicated to
0:52:08 > 0:52:11defending Rio's transvestites and transsexuals.
0:52:12 > 0:52:16Marjorie was born a man, but lives as a woman.
0:52:16 > 0:52:20In her office, she explains how she sees herself.
0:52:22 > 0:52:24Marjorie, to get it clear,
0:52:24 > 0:52:29what's the difference between a transvestite and transsexual?
0:53:17 > 0:53:19A travesti sounds bad, but I know what you mean.
0:53:19 > 0:53:22Travesti, in England... Travesty means something wrong,
0:53:22 > 0:53:25but transvestite, you're travesti.
0:53:36 > 0:53:39Before I leave the marvellous city,
0:53:39 > 0:53:42I've been invited to a little gathering on Copacabana Beach.
0:53:52 > 0:53:56It's the annual Gay Pride parade, and Marjorie has asked me
0:53:56 > 0:53:58to join her and her friends
0:53:58 > 0:54:01on the transvestites' and transsexuals' bus.
0:54:02 > 0:54:05Here, she tells me how things have changed
0:54:05 > 0:54:07in little more than 20 years.
0:54:07 > 0:54:13So, Marjorie, how many people have turned out for the parade today?
0:54:13 > 0:54:15MARJORIE SPEAKS PORTUGUESE
0:54:15 > 0:54:17- Two...- Two million. - Two million people?
0:54:19 > 0:54:20Wow!
0:54:21 > 0:54:24When did this kind of, you know... You've been
0:54:24 > 0:54:27really at the beginning of these things, when did they start?
0:54:27 > 0:54:29How long ago was the first march?
0:54:32 > 0:54:33- Right.- 20 years ago.
0:54:56 > 0:54:59So people were throwing things at the procession?
0:55:10 > 0:55:14I've been told the parade's theme is peace, and I'm to wear all white,
0:55:14 > 0:55:18which is why I end up looking like a kidnapped deckchair attendant.
0:55:35 > 0:55:36It's a great feeling to be part
0:55:36 > 0:55:39of Brazil's new spirit of sexual liberation,
0:55:39 > 0:55:43but I have to say, as a 68-year-old British heterosexual
0:55:43 > 0:55:46in khaki shorts, I feel, to quote an Eric Idle line -
0:55:46 > 0:55:49"Like a lost lamb in an abattoir."
0:55:55 > 0:55:58If travel is about looking and learning,
0:55:58 > 0:56:01Brazil is not a bad place to start.
0:56:01 > 0:56:03There's an impressive tolerance at work here.
0:56:07 > 0:56:09Next time, I'll be meeting a lot of people
0:56:09 > 0:56:14I feel I've met before in an epic landscape both natural and man-made.
0:56:14 > 0:56:19I'll be in Brazil's deep south, where European and Asian immigrants
0:56:19 > 0:56:21have created a very different culture
0:56:21 > 0:56:23from the rest of the country.