At the end of the 19th century, in the midst of the Rio Belle Époque, João do Rio, who became one of the most famous chroniclers dedicated to portraying urban space, realized that the stones that made up the city told no stories -- only its inhabitants did. This realization led him to direct his impressions of the city toward places, types, catchphrases, anecdotes, witty sayings, advertising signs, billboards, and shop windows. All observed by men and women who glimpsed in the
flânerie
a special way of producing urban narratives.
Image description: The image is a black-and-white photograph of a seated man. He is wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat, positioned on top of his head. The hat appears to be light-colored, but no clear details can be made out due to the image quality. The man is wearing a plaid-patterned suit, with a vest under the jacket. His right hand rests on his knee, while his left hand holds an object that appears to be a book or a notebook. The man's facial expression is serious, with his eyes looking directly at the camera. The background of the photo is blurred, suggesting that the main focus is on the man.Photograph of journalist João do Rio, chronicler of the city and author of "A Alma Encantadora das Ruas" (1908). Author unknown, 1921 - Hemeroteca Digital/Biblioteca Nacional.
The chronicler-poet used to say that to stroll is to wander through the streets with intelligence, that is, to have a critical eye for what is observed. These critical observations fed his desire to understand the carioca soul. He noted that, in wandering through the city, the carioca carried out a kind of ethnographic work, which resulted in a myriad of stories and types: street children, opium smokers, prostitutes, sellers of holy cards, tattoo artists, luxury moths. And from the description of these types he unfolded a second trait of cariocas: their love for the streets. And to walk through the streets meant discovering new things, looking for small details, falling in love with them, and understanding whether they were cheerful or sad, conservative or subversive, quiet or talkative, prejudiced or liberal, snobbish or simple.
Writing at the beginning of the 20th century, João do Rio shows us that it is not possible to understand the city's daily life without strolling through its streets. For him, the charm of Rio de Janeiro lay in the characters who moved through public space and in the enchanting soul of the streets.
Image description: This is a historic photograph of an urban street, likely from the early twentieth century, showing old commercial buildings. On the left side, we see a row of low buildings with ornate façades and rounded windows. Moving to the right, the main focus is a large three-story building with decorative balconies and an advertising sign that reads "Só com Sanoliv." The sky is clear and the horizon is slightly tilted, suggesting the photo was taken during the day. At the bottom of the image, we see people walking along the sidewalk, some of them wearing hats and formal clothing typical of the period.Intersection of Uruguaiana Street with Ouvidor Street. Author unknown, n.d. Rio de Janeiro, RJ - Brasiliana Fotográfica/Biblioteca Nacional.
