Izabela Pucu

42^nd part of the First Rio City Aesthetic Marathon (concept): 0.991 kilometers in 16:16 minutes – completed on Wednesday, April 20^th 2016, in the quarter Centro (overall map). The curator Izabela Pucu lives in Rio de Janeiro (more about her).

Why did you choose this part to represent Rio de Janeiro at the First Rio City Aesthetic Marathon?

There are many reasons to select this place. The Praça XV is a very important place for the historical and actual Rio. Here is the Paço Imperial, the Chafariz do Mestre Valentim. The place is also important for my own history because I lived many years of my life on the other side of the bay. And I often confronted this stream, this marathon against the stream when I came downtown. But I selected exactly this place because in my opinion it is very revealing in regard to the up-coming Olympic Games and other big events. 56 years ago there was built a viaduct for cars which was named „Elevado da Perimetral“. It was an absolute brutal intervention when it was built, but it was also a project of modernization of the city. And the town in its flow, with its life, with all that we perceive while walking around has brought up a peculiar world under this viaduct: There was a traditional antique market going on completely in the shade of this viaduct. There were lots of food stalls, for example the Angú do Gomes.

It was an informal life that did not belong to the modernization project, but marked Rio very much. But two years ago this viaduct was demolished to make room to a new project that raises many questions. The viaduct was a monster, but, however, had changed life. This is typical for Rio de Janeiro: it is a planned town with organically grown parts, the Favelas, the ways of life, the character of people. And when this viaduct was gone, a big passageway was built here. This is my invitation, that people from the Aesthetic Marathon may imagine, how this vivid city, the real town, the everyday town contributes to or contrasts or undermines the project of the Olympic village itself. How this living town in its everyday life will relate itself to the plan of the Olympic town. That´s it.

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