Though most famous for Carnival, golden beaches, and world-famous landmarks, the real heart of Rio de Janeiro, for those in the know, lies in its downtown, most notably in Saúde (a multicultural street mural of which is pictured here), Gamboa, and the surrounding neighbourhoods hard by the port. For it’s this area that’s steeped in a complex history that dates back half a millennium to the Portuguese colonisers’ founding of Rio and the centuries of brutal slavery which followed.

Read more in our post The Soul of Rio de Janeiro: Its ´Little Africa´ Neigjbourhoods.

Sarah Brown