Leblon (
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
:
/leˈblõ/) is a neighborhood of
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. It is also the name of the local beach. The neighborhood is located in the
South Zone of the city, between
Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas
Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon (Portuguese: ''Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas'') is a lagoon in the district of Lagoa in the Zona Sul (South Zone) area of Rio de Janeiro. The lagoon is connected to the Atlantic Ocean, allowing sea water to enter by a can ...
, Morro Dois Irmãos and the Jardim de Alah channel, bordering the
Gávea
Gávea is an affluent residential neighborhood located in the South Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It borders São Conrado, Leblon, Lagoa and Jardim Botânico neighborhoods and is famous for its high concentration of artists. PU ...
,
Ipanema
Ipanema () is a neighbourhood located in the South Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between Leblon and Arpoador. The beach at Ipanema became known internationally with the popularity of the bossa nova jazz song, "The Girl from Ipane ...
,
Lagoa, and
Vidigal neighborhoods. It is regarded as a very affluent area, having the most expensive price per residential square meter in
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
.
Leblon began as a
quilombo
A ''quilombo'' (; from the Kimbundu word , ) is a Brazilian hinterland settlement founded by people of African origin, and others sometimes called Carabali. Most of the inhabitants of quilombos, called quilombolas, were maroons, a term for e ...
of escaped slaves created by a Portuguese abolitionist landowner.
Etymology
The neighborhood is named for Carlos Leblon, a
whaling
Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution.
It was practiced as an organized industry ...
empresario
of French origin who possessed a
chácara in the region since 1845. Before the area was urbanized it was known as ''Campo do Leblon'' (Leblon's Field).
Early history
The Quilombo of Leblon was a quilombo (settlement of escaped African slaves) that existed at the end of the 19th century in the present-day region of
Clube Campestre da Guanabara and surroundings from what is now Rua Timothy Da Costa to Morro Dois Irmãos (in English "Two Brothers Hill") 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 ...
.
The creator of the quilombo was the Portuguese
José de Seixas Magalhães,
who dedicated himself to the manufacture and trade of suitcases.
and pod bags on Rua Gonçalves Dias, at the center of the city. His bags were made in a factory with
steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...
. In addition to the luggage factory, Seixas also owned a
farm
A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...
in Leblon where he cultivated flowers with the help of
slaves
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
fugitives. Seixas hid the fugitives in the Leblon farm with the help of the main
abolitionists
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people.
The Britis ...
from the capital of
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
, many of them members of
Abolitionist Confederation. The Seixas flower farm was known as the "quilombo Leblon", a name that referred to the former owner of the region, the Frenchman Carlos Leblon. It was in the Quilombo do Leblon that Seixas cultivated his famous
camellia
''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are more than 220 described species, with some controversy ...
s, which were the symbol of the abolitionist movement.
The Quilombo do Leblon had the protection of
Princess Isabel. As a token of gratitude, Seixas regularly supplied camellias to
Isabel Palace, the princess’s residence in Laranjeiras (today, the seat of the government of the
State of Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil. It has the second largest economy of Brazil, with the largest being that of the state of São Paulo. The state, which has 8.2% of the Brazilian population, is responsible for 9.2% of ...
). The camellias of Seixas adorned the Princess’s work table and her private
chapel
A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
, where she made her prayers. In addition to the camellias, Seixas also offered the golden penalty to the Princess Regent who, later, on 13 May 1888, would be used to sign the
Golden Law
Golden means made of, or relating to gold.
Golden may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
*Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall
*Golden Cap, Dorset
*Golden Square, Soho, London
*Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershir ...
. The quilombo gave rise to the current name of the neighborhood of Leblon.
Characteristics
![Mapa de Leblon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Mapa_de_Leblon.jpg)
It is located west of
Ipanema
Ipanema () is a neighbourhood located in the South Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between Leblon and Arpoador. The beach at Ipanema became known internationally with the popularity of the bossa nova jazz song, "The Girl from Ipane ...
. In the north, it is bordered by
Gávea
Gávea is an affluent residential neighborhood located in the South Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It borders São Conrado, Leblon, Lagoa and Jardim Botânico neighborhoods and is famous for its high concentration of artists. PU ...
and, in the west, by a towering hill called Dois Irmãos, which translates as "two brothers", because of its split peak.
Leblon in popular culture
Leblon is known for being a very wealthy and cosmopolitan neighborhood, with a lively nightlife across its bars, restaurants and nightclubs. Leblon has been either referenced or depicted in the following media:
In television:
* ''
Viver a Vida
''Viver a Vida'' (literally: Living Life, English title: ''Seize the Day'') is a Brazilian telenovela broadcast by Globo from September 14, 2009 to May 14, 2010. It is written by Manoel Carlos in collaboration with Ângela Chaves, Cláudia Lage, ...
'', a
telenovela
A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...
produced by
Rede Globo
TV Globo (, "Globe TV", or simply Globo), formerly known as Rede Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air Television broadcasting, television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto Marinho on 26 April 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Gr ...
, aired from September 2009 to May 2010;
* ''
Páginas da Vida
''Páginas da Vida'' (English: ''Pages of Life'') is a Brazilian telenovela produced and broadcast by Globo from 10 July 2006 to 2 March 2007 in 203 episodes.
It stars Regina Duarte, LÃlia Cabral and Fernanda Vasconcellos in the lead roles.
LÃ ...
'', a telenovela produced by Rede Globo, aired from July 2006 to March 2007;
* ''
Mulheres Apaixonadas
''Mulheres Apaixonadas'' (English: ''Women In Love'') is a Brazilian telenovela which originally aired on Rede Globo from 17 February 2003 to 10 October 2003 with a total of 203 episodes. It was created by Manoel Carlos and written by him with Ma ...
'', a telenovela produced by Rede Globo, aired from February to October 2003;
* ''
Laços de Familia'', a telenovela produced by Rede Globo, aired from June 2000 to February 2001;
* ''
Por Amor'', a telenovela produced by Rede Globo, aired from October 1997 to May 1998;
* ''
História de Amor
História de Amor is a Brazilian telenovela produced and displayed at the time of 18 hours by TV Globo, July 3, 1995 to March 2, 1996, in 209 chapters.
It was written by Manoel Carlos, in collaboration with Elizabeth Jhin, Marcus Toledo and Mar ...
'', a telenovela produced by Rede Globo, aired from July 1995 to March 1996.
In music:
Leblon has been the subject of many songs, such as
* "Falso Leblon", "Choque de Ordem", "Haiti", "O namorado" and "O quereres" by
Caetano Veloso
Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso (; born 7 August 1942) is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo, which encomp ...
;
* "Óculos" by
Paralamas do Sucesso
Os Paralamas do Sucesso (also known simply as Paralamas) is a Brazilian rock band, formed in Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro, in the late 1970s. Its members since 1982 are Herbert Vianna (guitar and lead vocals), Bi Ribeiro (bass), and João Barone ...
;
* "Inverno" by
Adriana Calcanhotto
Adriana Calcanhotto (born October 3, 1965) is a Brazilian singer-songwriter. Her melancholic songs are often categorized in the MPB genre. She began her professional career in 1984 and released her first studio album in 1990.
Career
Born from ...
;
* "Sexo, amor, traição" by
Luciana Mello;
* "Andar, andar" and "Tesoura do desejo" by
Alceu Valença
Alceu Valença (born July 1, 1946) is a Brazilian singer, musician and songwriter.
Alceu Valenca was born in countryside Pernambuco, Northeast Brazil. He is considered the most successful artist in achieving an aesthetic balance between traditi ...
;
* "Aquilo bom (garotas do Leblon)" by
Elba Ramalho
Elba Ramalho (born August 17, 1951, in Conceição, ParaÃba) is a Brazilian songwriter, performer, poet and actress. She is sometimes called "The Queen of Forró".
In addition to her successful solo career, Elba has collaborated with a number ...
;
* "Daqui pro Meier" by
Ed Motta
Eduardo "Ed" Motta (; born August 17, 1971) is a Brazilian MPB, rock, soul, funk and jazz musician. He is the nephew of late singer-songwriter Tim Maia.
Career
Son of Luzia Motta, sister of Tim Maia and Antonio Motta, from an early age listened ...
;
* "Balanço Zona Sul" by
Tito Madi
Chauki Maddi (18 July 1929 – 26 September 2018), better known by his stage name as Tito Madi, was a Brazilian singer and composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western class ...
;
* "Completamente Blue" by
Cazuza;
* "Virgem" by Marina Lima;
* "Tardes no Leblon" by Alberto Rosenblit.
See also
*
Rua General Urquiza
References
External links
{{Authority control
Neighbourhoods in Rio de Janeiro (city)
Beaches of Rio de Janeiro (city)