Christmas Lights in Belo Horizonte

The Palácio da Liberdade lit up in Christmas green light

After the sun went down and the sky was dark (and the Brazil game in the World Cup had ended), it was time to return to Praça da Liberdade to see how the Christmas lights looked.

Spectacular!

I haven't seen a lot of large, festive Christmas light displays so far in Brazil, but they have delivered in Belo Horizonte, at least in this park.

The place was fairly crowded, mostly with families with children.

The Santa photo spot is always popular. But this Santa was artificial, just a Santa-mannequin.

Unlike this Santa just quietly sitting there:

I'm guessing the above Santa was freelancing, posing for pictures with kids, since he's not in some brightly-lit display case with elf assistants to keep the line of children moving.

Some of the light displays were for viewing:

But some were for walking through.

Take your pick.

I pick green.

A church made of light:

I thought at first that this was supposed to be some Christmas gingerbread-house looking building of light, but with the cross on top, it's clearly a church, with the two bell towers. It was a popular photo spot.

The fountains, however, were the most spectacular part of the display.

The lights kept changing color, which added to the awesome-cality.

Yes, it looked so cool it deserved a new word to describe it. Awesome-cality.

Now they're blue.

Or, if you prefer, a lighter blue:

That shade of blue is more for our Jewish friends celebrating Hanukkah this time of year. Nothing wrong with inclusivity.

There was carnival food to be bought there, but nothing that I would've considered traditional "Christmas fare". No roasted chestnuts. No fresh-baked snickerdoodles. No hot chocolate. I am guessing this may be due, at least in part, to Christmas falling in the summertime down here below the equator. Who wants a hot rum punch, or even a peppermint-infused hot chocolate, on a summer night?

For dinner, I went to a nearby German (ish) restaurant: Alamanaque.

I ordered the schnitzel and the darkest beer on the menu.

Latin American countries really are not into dark beers. The darkest beer was a pale ale. That's how little Brazil is into dark beer. The schnitzel with a side order of garlic rice (very garlicky) (I approve) was tasty and very filling.

Walking Around Belo Horizonte (Daylight Edition)

Palácio da Liberdade, just on the south side of Praça da Liberdade. I wonder if that's not a coincidence.

I am now more than one full week into this vacation. My Portuguese is getting better. If I ever do get to retire, I am now 100 percent sold on the idea of doing a language immersion somewhere in the lusophonic world (which means, realistically, Brazil or Portugal) (which are two great places to choose from so why would I need more options). This trip is not quite "language immersion," but it's close.

Also, I have now reached my third destination of this trip: Belo Horizonte.

Belo Horizonte is not Brasilia. It was Brasilia before Brasilia was Brasilia. Let's unpack that sentence. The Brazilian President who was responsible for the construction of Brasilia was Juscelino Kubitschek. Before he was elected president, he once served as mayor of Belo Horizonte, itself a planned community. And who was the architect Kubitschek used for much of his "urban renewal" in Belo Horizonte? Oscar Niemeyer, the famed architect of Brasilia. So there is a lot of interesting modern architecture here, even if it was not all done by Niemeyer. You have to travel to the Pampulha neighborhood in the city's north to see the highest concentration of Niemeyer work outside of Brasilia itself. However, the building above is the curvaceous Edifício Niemeyer. Designed by Mr. Niemeyer. Just a very short stroll from my hotel.

But first, a stroll through Praça da Liberdade:

It's very beautiful city park, lined with museums. All closed! It's Monday and everything is closed Mondays. What few things are open soon will close because there is a Brazil game in the World Cup ready to be played in a few hours from this stroll.

Let's look at these fountains, again, from a very slightly different angle:

I notice, since in my tourist capacity I am on alert for things that are interesting, that the place is very nicely decorated for Christmas.

 

And I'm thinking: I need to come back here after dark when it's all lit up. Spoiler alert: I do.

This is the (closed because it's Monday) Gerdau Museum of Mines and Metal. Belo Horizonte is the Brazilian state called "Minas Gerais," which translates to "General Mines." So of course there is going to be at least one mines and metals museum in its capital city.

 

Even the ordinary fountains in Praça da Liberdade are gussied up for Christmas:

This is another interesting looking tall buildings whose name escapes me. 

I can't even cheat by looking on google maps "street view" since "street view" only shows the view you see from the street. Duh! So it doesn't show that weird crescent moon on the building's roof.

Is this the Gerdau Museum of Mines and Metals again?

No, although it is similar. This one is Bank of Brazil Cultural Center, I believe. 

Again, the park is all dolled up for Christmas.

And the surrounding architecture? Ultra modern!

But the beautiful Palácio da Liberdade is anything but modern.

There's a place for both in this world. And that place in Belo Horizonte is Praça da Liberdade, where both co-exist peacefully, side by side.

One more weird modern looking building:

The building has no "name" name. It's just Av. Bias Forte, 50, 50 Bias Forte Avenue.

Do you like it better with the rock in front?

A short stroll down Av. Bias Forte and I happen upon this park:

This is Praça Raul Soares. It is named for Raul Soares, an important figure in Belo Horizonte history from the early years of the prior century. Well, important enough to have a decent-sized park (and traffic circle) named for him.

This is the Igreja Batista. It is the remains of a Baptist church. Yes. It's not a Catholic church.

This is Igreja São Sebastião, a proper nearby Catholic Church.

Anyway, the city is starting to close up around me. Literally. The city is shutting down with only bars and restaurants open as the Brazil/Korea game will be starting soon in the World Cup. I will leave you for now with these sidewalk waves:

Why? At first I thought they were a gift to the city's skateboarders, but you wouldn't put cobblestones on a skateboard ramp would you? I'm guessing that because this is the sidewalk in front of the Edifício Niemeyer, the sidewalk is mimicking the curves of the building. Whatever the reason it's a cool bit of non-conforming urban design.