Botafogo (local/standard alternative

Brazilian Portuguese Brazilian Portuguese (' ), also Portuguese of Brazil (', ) or South American Portuguese (') is the set of varieties of the Portuguese language native to Brazil and the most influential form of Portuguese worldwide. It is spoken by almost all of ...

pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood (''

bairro A ''bairro'' () is a Portuguese language, Portuguese word for a Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter or a neighborhood or, sometimes, a district which is within a city or town. It is commonly used in Portugal, Brazil, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, ...

'') in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of Mundo Novo, Dona Marta (which separates it from Laranjeiras) and São João (which separates it from Copacabana). The word Botafogo also refers to a Latin American ballroom dance move, named so because the area of Botafogo is where it originated.

Etymology

Nicola Antonio Facchinetti - Enseada do Botafogo

Botafogo was named after João Pereira de Sousa Botafogo (1540–1627), who was responsible for the

galleon Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships first used as armed cargo carriers by European states from the 16th to 18th centuries during the age of sail and were the principal vessels drafted for use as warships until the Anglo-Dutch War ...

''Botafogo'''s artillery. Because of that, he received the nickname "Botafogo" and included it in his

family name In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

. When he went to live in Brazil, the Portuguese Crown granted him the land known today as Botafogo. The name literally means "set it on fire" in Portuguese (a reference to the ''Botafogo'' galleon's artillery power). In the mid-19th century,

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

speakers also called it Boto Fogo.

Attractions and amenities

Botafogo's beach is within Guanabara Bay, sheltered from the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

Ocean by the

Urca Urca is a traditional and wealthy residential neighborhood with nearly 7,000 inhabitants (2000 census) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Although most of the neighborhood dates from the 1920s, parts of it are much older. What is now called the Forte Sã ...

peninsula and Sugarloaf Mountain. Attractions include the Home of

Ruy Barbosa Ruy Barbosa de Oliveira (5 November 1849 – 1 March 1923), also known as Rui Barbosa, was a Brazilian polymath, diplomat, writer, jurist, and politician. Born in Salvador, Bahia, and a distinguished and staunch defender of civil liberties and ...

, the Museu do Índio — which explores the culture and history of the major indigenous peoples of Brazil — and the

Villa-Lobos Heitor Villa-Lobos (March 5, 1887November 17, 1959) was a Brazilian composer, conductor, cellist, and classical guitarist described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music". Villa-Lobos has become the ...

Museum. The Public Archive for the State of Rio de Janeiro (APERJ) is also located in Botafogo.

Sports

Botafogo is the home of

Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood ('' bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of ...

, a multi-sport club whose football team is one of Brazil's biggest.

Infrastructure

The neighborhood is served by Botafogo/Coca-Cola Station on the Rio de Janeiro Metro.

Education

The Deutsche Schule Rio de Janeiro (Escola Alemã Corcovado) is located in Botafogo.Home page (Portuguese)Home page (German)
Deutsche Schule Rio de Janeiro. Retrieved on May 3, 2015. "Rua São Clemente 388 - Botafogo - CEP: 22260-000 Rio de Janeiro - RJ - Brasil"

References

{{Authority control Neighbourhoods in Rio de Janeiro (city) Beaches of Rio de Janeiro (city) Guanabara Bay