Traffic light juggler

I do not know when the traffic lights jugglers appeared in Curitiba, but certainly for years they spread throughout the city. After them, came the homeless people, who clearly do not have the same intimacy with juggling.

The juggler of the photo (gifted by the way) was photographed by me at the corner of Rua Barão do Serro Azul with Rua Treze de Maio. In gratitude for my coins, he told me: "muchas gracias hermano". It seems that a reasonable number of Argentines and Uruguayans jugglers are working on the streets of Brazil.

Walking at Barigui Park

At Barigui Park you will find people who are there for running, biking, playing ball with their kids, making a barbecue, see a show or simply walking with no other commitment beyond appreciating the beauty of the park, the city in the distance, see some animals and enjoy a quiet moment, just like this boy patiently taking his sister for a little walk.

Car keeper

The person leaning against the tree, supposedly watches over the cars that are parked at Jardim Ambiental of Alto da XV District, likely to attend bars and restaurants of the region. I made the shot from inside the parking lot of Positivo School.

Running at Barigui Park

I made this picture on a Saturday morning and realized that many people go to Barigui Park early in the morning to walk or run. I imagine that living nearby, there would be no better option for exercise.

The outer track of the park has around 5100 meters, while the inner track has 3100 meters. Both have sections on asphalt (mostly) with some patches of grass.

Useful tips:
· Arrive early on weekends (before 9 am would be ideal) because it gets really crowded;
· Hydrate yourself. If you do not take liquids from home, there are stalls selling water, coconut water and sugarcane juice;
· It is always open;
· There is a free parking lot;
· The access to toilets is charged;
· There is a dedicated bike path;
· There are exercise equipments;

South Africa, here we come!

The short and discrete period that the Brazilian Soccer Team was concentrated in Curitiba, has left to the city a new decoration of the Flower Street, an exhibition at the Memorial of Curitiba (which I intend to visit), the Cable Car with the colors of the Brazilian flag and a new monument next to the clock of the Boca Maldita, presenting the escalation of all Brazilian Soccer teams of the past that have won the World Cup.

The team has left Brazil to South Africa and next month, Brazil will stop to follow the World Cup. No doubt there is no other event that could mobilize the Brazilians as the World Cup can and there is nothing cooler than follow the games in the company of friends (since Brazil plays well and win of course!).

The man and his stick

The man in this picture, leaning on his stick, was helping to organize the traffic in Morretes, hoping of course, a tip of the tourists. I caught him in a moment he was watching something. He looks pretty menacing.

The Brazilian Soccer Team at Curitiba

The Brazilian soccer team is at Curitiba for the pre-season prior to departure for the World Cup in South Africa. The players and the coach Dunga arrived at Curitiba on July, 21st. The Brazilian team will stay in Curitiba until Wednesday, when they will head to South Africa.

The city of Curitiba has prepared a series of actions to mark the passage of the Brazilian Soccer Team in town. The fountain of Santos Andrade Square was painted to resemble the Brazilian flag. The Boardwalk of the Flower was decorated with green and yellow lanterns and streamers were hang on 141 street poles reminding the years that Brazil was champion. All the flowers of the Flower Street were replaced with yellow flowers.

Not only flowers at Flower Street

This Sunday I walked the entire length of the Flower Street because I heard it was fully featured with flowers and elements of communication (yellow and green), in allusion to the achievements of Brazil in World Cups. It was quite nice actually, as I will show in coming posts.

One situation however caught my attention and I must say that caused some discomfort. In some parts of the street, groups of homeless people occupied parts of the sidewalk and one of them was a little hostile (they want no photographs).

A research published in 2008 by the Ministry of Social Development, reported that 2,776 people lived on the streets of Curitiba. This research, conducted in late 2007, was applied to people living in public spaces, abandoned buildings, churches, shelters and hostels. According to the survey, almost 90% is not supported by government programs, but 72% of them exerted some paid work (the most cited activity was the collection of material for recycling). Regarding the reasons for being on the streets, the major reasons were: involvement with drugs, including alcohol (36%), unemployment (30%) and family conflicts (29%). At that time the Foundation for Social Action (FAS) of the City of Curitiba didn’t agree with those numbers, because at that time they have conducted themselves a research that pointed a population of 1,100 people living under these conditions on the streets of Curitiba. The FAS has programs for this population aiming their literacy and professional training and also circulates through the streets of Curitiba, collecting and taking homeless to the shelters.

The sentinel

Every time I drive at Silva Jardim Avenue, I see at the top of the building of the Fifth Battalion of Supplies of the Army, a sentinel on a watch tower on the corner with Conselheiro Laurindo street. At the day of the picture, I saw for the first time, the sentry moving through the roof.

This huge area of the army in downtown area of Curitiba was bought by the UTFPR (Federal Technological University of Parana). It is a total area of 15.650 square meters where the university plans to grow in a future no longer than 10 years.

The angels of the Jerusalem Fountain

Sorry for repeating the subject of another post, but this close-up picture of the angels of the Fountain of Jerusalem at the end of Avenida Sete de Setembro in Curitiba, had a background much better than the original post, making the composition more vivid.

Repeating the Psalm 127 written at the bottom of the monument:

"Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain."

Art at Boca Maldita

Saturday is the day of outdoor art at the “Boca Maldita” in Curitiba, as well as recreational activities and sports. The frameset of this photo, being enjoyed by pedestrians, mainly depict the symbol tree of Curitiba, the Araucaria.

Sunday at the Botanical Garden

Sunday in Curitiba is a very nice day to visit the Botanical Garden for a walk, taking pictures or just to see people. On this day, many couples rest under the trees, parents and children play freely, people walk on the paths and trails and children everywhere enjoy the contact with a bit of nature.

From the window

meus pensamentos

cruzam os teus

como aviões no ar

da janela

os corações acenam

sem saber se vão voltar

Alice Ruiz

The girl who was talking through a window, with a young man on a bicycle on a sidewalk in the town of Morretes, kindly allowed me to photograph her with the boy sitting on the parapet. On the contrary to what she told me, she is very photogenic.

About Alice Ruiz, an important poet of Curitiba, a specific post should be planned.

The Geese of Barigui Park

In the three groves of the Barigui Park, consisting of primary forest and native forest, several native or migratory animals seek shelter, such as egrets, cavies, lapwing, tico-ticos, skunks, thrushes, biguatingas, cavies, capybaras , agoutis, marmosets, opossums, and these friendly geese who kindly allowed me to portray them here.

In addition to sheltering animals, the Barigui Park is also the largest area of natural preservation closest to Curitiba’s downtown. Its forests help regulate air quality while its huge lake, with 230,000 m2, helps control the floods of Barigui river, which was formerly so common at the lower part of Curitiba.

Barigui Park, like other parks in Curitiba, is part of a municipal policy of preservation of the valleys. The goal is to avoid siltation and pollution of rivers by monitoring, protecting riparian and prevent the illegal occupation of its banks, making these areas open to the public in the form of parks.

Source: Municipality of Curitiba

The barber of Morretes

Yesterday I went to Morretes for a hands on photography class. Since Morretes (small town 50 km away from Curitiba) is overrun on weekends by tourists coming by car, train and buses from all places, the city becomes very interesting to shoot, due to the tourists, its people and its architecture.

Walking the streets, I came across a scene and a professinal that is extremely rare to find in a big city like Curitiba: a barber in action. All elements of the picture seem to refer to the past: the barber, the customer, the barber shop and everything that composes it. At some point in human history, the barbers were gradually replaced by hairdressers and their new techniques.

Jewish Cemetery of Curitiba

In the early 20s, members of the Jewish community tried to build their own cemetery, but they were discouraged by the mayor at the time, Joao Moreira Garcez, arguing that there was already the Municipal Cemetery. After negotiations between Solomon Guelmann and Archbishop of Curitiba, in 1926, the City built at Agua Verde district, the Jewish cemetery next to the existing Christian cemetery.

Winged lion of Via Veneto

The photo shows a sculpture at the top of a structure that marks the beginning of Via Veneto, which leads to the Santa Felicidade, a stronghold of Italian gastronomy in Curitiba. The sculpture was commissioned by former Mayor Rafael Greca. The plaque at the base of munumento brings some explanations, but can not find the photo I took the board to bridge the information here. When I find, I'll update the post.

Curitiba's outdoor gyms

The photo shows the outdoor gym at Arthur Bernardes Avenue at Santa Quiteria district. The text below explains this great initiative of our municipality.

Curitiba has won seven more outdoors gyms that are working in parks, plazas and leisure centers all over the city. Now there are 12 gyms installed and until September, the city will have 130 spaces for gymnastics outdoors.

"These are equipment to improve physical condition and, consequently, the quality of life and health, helping to prevent diseases," says Mayor Luciano Ducci.

The equipment of the academies are installed through a partnership of the City with the company Assix Advertising, which won the open call. For five years, the company will be responsible for implementation, maintenance, preservation and production of graphic materials (sheets and brochures) of the academies.

Train departing

The photo shows a train leaving the central station of Curitiba. From there departs trains of passengers and cargo. For not being an area controlled by the municipality, the stations, the adjacent areas and the rails, most of the time do not match with the urban landscape.

The Mercês Church

The engineer José Muzilli projected the Mercês church, being approved by the Capuchin superior on February 6th, 1925. The Friars lost no time and on June 26th, 1926, began the foundations of the church. The cornerstone was blessed on September 26th, 1926 by D. Friar João Braga, then the Archbishop of Curitiba.

On September 15, 1929, the archbishop blessed the new and present church of Nossa Senhora das Mercês. The opening party took place on September 29th, 1929.

The belfry of the church with its 52 meters and over a thousand meters above sea level, was inaugurated in 1949 and became an architectural novelty because it was built separately from the church. The tower was inaugurated without the bells, which came 11 years later, cast in Bassano del Grappa, Italy. After many customs difficulties, the bells arrived in Curitiba on April 6, 1952, being blessed by the Archbishop Manuel da Silveira D'Elboux. On June 8, 1952, when Fr. Nereus J. Bassi was the pastor of the church, the bells rang for the first time.

Night view of the Castle of Batel

I have taken my daughter to a party at the Castle of Batel, and I could not resist taking a night picture of it.Having completed its construction in 1924 by grower and honorary consul of the Netherlands Luiz Guimaraes, the Castle of Batel was bought by Moses Lupion, former governor of Paraná, in 1947, the year it was listed by Heritage. It was considered a suitable location for hosting events in 2002.

Sanepar Water Tank of Alto da XV District

The photo shows the decorated trench of the Victor Ferreira do Amaral avenue under Nossa Senhora da Luz avenue at Alto da XV district. I the right side of the picture, behind the trees, we can see the water tank of Sanepar, which since 1993 houses an Eco-museum of Sanitation in the Metropolitan Region of Curitiba. It is a space dedicated to preserving the memory of sanitation and disclosure of ideas of environmental conservation. In this space, much frequented by middle school students, visitors can know in practice, treatment of water, sewer and participate in activities of environmental protection.

Four towers

From the top of the arches of the ruins of São Francisco in Curitiba, the picture shows four towers, which are from the more distant to the closest one: the tower of the Curitiba memorial, the tower of the Ordem Church, the tower of the Rosário Church and the tower of the First Presbyterian Church . In the midst of all this part of the crafts fair stalls.

Today in Brazil we celebrate the Mother's Day. Congratulations to all the mothers of the world.

Sad!

Yesterday was a particularly sad day for me and my family. Sinister strangers came into my house during the day and took everything of value they found in electronics, cash and personal belongings. Revolting to know that the fruit of the work of everyone at home was simply stolen by strangers and even more outrageous is to live with the idea that these people passed freely through the intimacy our home. Thank God the damage was just material and as we conquered them one time, we will achieve even more working harder. As they say, I'm Brazilian and I never give up! But for now, I'm sad!

Smile!

This craftsman was on a such happy conversation with a friend that caught my attention. I made the picture and he asked if I was photographing him or his work. I replied that I tried to photograph his joy.

The orange sky of Curitiba

Again I was surprised by the sky as seen from the living room window of my house. This tone is closer to the orange that is said to be quite common in the pictures of the sky in Curitiba. It seems that something was torched.

The São Francisco Ruins and the airplane

The photo shows in addition to the airplane on a panoramic flight over Curitiba, a partial view of the São Francisco ruins of the never completed church of Sao Francisco de Paula. In 1811 the main chapel and the sacristy was parcially built, but in 1860 the stones that would finish the construction were used to complete the tower of the old Cathedral.

Some say that a certain pirate (!) had a treasure hidden in tunnels in this region. The site has an amphitheater and space for trade under the bleachers, forming what is called "Arcades of the Ruins".

Curitiba Convention Center

The old Vitoria Movie Theater at Barão do Rio Branco street, was the biggest movie theater of Curitiba (with 1800 seats) in a project of Lothair Seigert of November 20, 1964, was closed in January 1987 after 23 years of existence. It was acquired by the State Government in order to host the Convention Center of Curitiba. It has 8426 square meters of construction, divided into three blocks and four auditoriums, two with 184 seats, one with 215 and another with 900 seats.

The last grocery store in downtown

In Curitiba, the big supermarket chains (national and international) have suffocated the small groceries, forcing them to shut their doors forever. Rare are those who resist and persist in their small business. Those brave ones are special because their grocery stores are humanized, personal, where you and the owner of the establishment are know each other by name.

The fruit stand of the photo is probably the only one I know in downtown. It is located at Alameda Dr. Carlos de Carvalho, between the Voluntários da Pátria and Ermelino de Leão Streets. I was passing by car at Carlos de Carvalho and I saw the girl shooting the grocery store and I believe, its owner. So, I photographed the photographer and the object of her interest. The colorful fruit stall always made it a little nicer this stretch of street.

Osório Square and the Asa Building

This photo was taken from the rooftop on the Voluntários da Pátria street at Curitiba Downtown. From that point we can observe the Osório Square and Asa Building, where I lived with my parents for over 12 years. Talking about my parents, they are coming to our home today for a Sunday barbecue lunch.

Theme day: Statues

This is a picture of a statue known as the “Drooling Horse” (the official name is “The Memory Fountain”). It is said to be the most popular street work of art in Curitiba because 18,000 people watch it every Sunday. The visit to the statue is not intentional since all those people are there for the Largo da Ordem crafts fair, but anyway, it makes the Droolong Horse very popular. The sculpture was created by the artist Ricardo Tod in 1995.

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