The Afro-Rio Walking Tour
Some important preliminary information:
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Rio locations 13
Largo da Carioca: Your tour begins here
Largo da Carioca is the heart of downtown Rio de Janeiro. See map
Palácio das Velas: The Candle Palace
Getting here: See map
The Black Church: The Church of Our Lady of the Rosary and Saint Benedict Black Brotherhood
While the original Black Brotherhoods were founded in 1640 within Saint Sebastian Church on Castelo Hill, they were eventually evicted and given a plot of land to construct their own church. The…
The Black Museum: Museu do Negro
The Black Museum is permanently closed. This page remains as a tribute to its memory.
The Imperial Palace
Getting here: See map
Tempeh Restaurant: Vegan Buffet
2022 UPDATE: I'm so very sad to tell you that this amazing restaurant is listed as "Permanently Closed" and the vacant building is listed for sale/rent. I wish the wonderful people who created Tempeh all the best, I thank them for all the nurishment they've given me over the years, and hope they can regroup and reopen!
Candelária Church: Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Candelária
This church is one of the oldest sites in Rio de Janeiro, dating back to 1609. It is also the site of the Candelária massacre which caused Michael Jackson to refuse to perform in Rio de Janeiro during his Dangerous World Tour. See map
Saint Rita of Cascia Church
Getting here: See map
The Salt Stone: Gamboa - Little Africa
Of the estimated 10 million stolen Africans, about two-thirds disembarked in Brazil and likely half of them climbed these stone steps to face — depending on where they ended up and what type of work they were made to do — an average life expectancy of 4 to 7 years. The longest life-expectancy was about 15 years on a coffee plantation. Getting here: See map
The Valongo: The Valongo Wharf (1811-1831)
Getting here: See map
Citizenship Action Cultural Center
Across the street from the Valongo Wharf memorial, you can visit this 19th century warehouse engineered by one of Rio de Janeiro's towering Afro-Brazilian heroes. This construction was the first…
The Cemetery: Institute for the Research and Preservation of the Memory of the New Blacks
When a nation is built on twin genocides, the first logistical problem is where to bury the dead.IPN, The Research Institute and New Blacks Memorial is closed to the public until March 2022 due to renovation. This is the largest known slave cemetery in the entire Atlantic project. See map
José Bonifácio Cultural Center: MUHCAB The Museum of Afro-Brazilian Culture and History
The José Bonifácio Cultural Center, which houses the MUHCAB, is open to the public Thursdays through Saturdays from 10:00am until 5:00pm, in accordance with Covid-19 protocols. See mapTour curated by: Sadakne Baroudi