Today’s post is 1750 words, 47 photos, a 9 minute read. Enjoy!
Hi everyone,
Thanks for all the likes and comments on the first six posts from Brazil. It’s a beautiful and interesting country and culture, so glad I had a chance to experience this part of the world. If you missed any of the posts in this series click here, here, here, here, here, and here.
This week I’ll take you to Belo Horizonte, Brazil. While there we’ll visit Mariana and Ouro Preto, two World Heritage Sites featuring colonial history and architecture.
The Trail to Belo Horizonte
When I left you last week, we’d spent the full day touring the area around Iguazú Falls. After dinner at the Hotel Continental, we gathered up our gear and hit the hay early. Our wake up time was 2:30 AM! The bus was picking us up at 3:30 for transport to the airport for our 6 AM flight on GOL, a Brazilian regional airline. 
The first leg of our GOL flight took us to São Paulo. It’s the largest city in Brazil, South America, and the Western Hemisphere with over 34.5 million people in the extended metro area. On the way, I took this photo of the sunrise in the east.
And this photo as we were coming in for a landing in São Paulo. 
We transferred to another plane that took us to Belo Horizonte in an hour and 15 minutes. We (eight members of the Friendship Force of Wisconsin-Madison) were there for a home stay with the Friendship Force Club of Belo Horizonte.
I’ve written about Friendship Force in past posts. Here’s a quick refresher: Friendship Force is an international organization made up of 300 clubs in 60 countries. The mission is to promote global understanding across barriers that separate people. Its members promote peace and harmony by forging new friendships across borders through home hospitality. Members go on journeys to learn about different cultures and countries on a person-to-person level. Mutual understanding flourishes when hosts open their homes to visitors from other cultures and countries, share meals, conversations, and daily routines. For more information, click here for more information about Friendship Force International, and here for more information about the Madison club.
In 2024, the Madison club was assigned journeys to two clubs in Brazil. Prior to departure, we learned more about Brazil, its people, languages, cultures, values, religion, politics, commerce, and environment. We communicated with our hosts through email and WhatsApp. Some of the hosts didn’t speak English so we used a translation app to send and receive messages in Portuguese.
We were met at the airport by the Club’s Journey Coordinator, Clea. Since the airport is about 45 minutes outside of the city center, the Belo Horizonte Club arranged for a small bus to transport us to a meeting point. There we would meet our hosts for the five nights we would be in the city.
Meet Diana (pronounced De ana), our home host, and her dog Pretinha. Diana is a widow of about two years and lives in a lovely house with four bedrooms and four bathrooms. Below is a photo of the entry to her house. We noted that she has a security system as well as a high wall with concertina wire on the top. With this she feels safe in her home.
As we entered Diana’s house, we noticed the beautiful flowering plant with the US and Brazilian flags. A nice and friendly welcome.
After a lunch of fish and rice, we rested for a couple of hours and prepared for the welcome dinner. I took this photo from the front porch of Diana’s house as we were leaving. Diana doesn’t drive. Every time we needed to be some place, she would call a taxi. Many of the taxi drivers know her on a first name basis. The cost of a one-way ride was about R$17-21 or about $4 USD. 
Welcome dinner was held in the Automotive Club of the State of Minas Gerais. The elegant building is 100 years old with traditional architecture and furnishings. The initials of the motor club were embroidered into the cloth napkins and other places in the dining room.
From the open window, I took this photo of the intricate carvings of the building next door. Much of the traditional architecture represents the time when Brazil was ruled by Portugal.
At the dinner, we met members of the Belo Horizonte Friendship Force Club and enjoyed a delicious meal. The program was lead by Clea, the Journey Coordinator.
After the dinner, we taxied back to Diana’s. The next morning, we were up at 6 AM for coffee and breakfast before departing for the pick up point at 7:30 AM. There we meet the English speaking guide Maria Paulina and the friendly bus driver Wenta.
Mariana and Ouro Preto
Our destination today were the cities of Mariana and Ouro Preto, a distance of about 120 kilometers from Belo Horizonte. These cities are designated World Heritage Sites for their colonial Baroque architecture and historical value.
Mariana was founded by the Portuguese in 1696, although it is widely known that indigenous peoples lived in the area long before the colonizers arrived. After its founding, it served as the first capital of the State of Minas Gerais. Gold is what made Mariana and Ouro Preto famous. Gold was discovered around this time, setting off a gold rush that lasted for several decades. It’s estimated that over 1200 tons gold was extracted during this era, most shipped to Portugal. What stayed in Brazil ended up decorating the many churches built by the Catholic missionaries.
Our first stop was at the Cathedral-Basilica of Our Lady of Assumption in the heart of Mariana. It was built in the 18th century when the gold money was plentiful. The interior (don’t have any photos) is a work of art and contains a pipe organ that dates from the mid-1700s. It’s still in use. 
In Mariana, two other examples exist. The sister churches are across the street from each other. The Church of St. Francis of Assisi was completed in 1763 and is known for its rich interior, wood carvings, and paintings.
In front of the St. Francis of Assisi Church in the city center stands the Pelourinho, the Pillory, a symbol of the power of the colonizers during the 18th century. This is where slaves and criminals faced their public punishment under the watch of the officers of the Portuguese military. It was where power and control over people and resources were exerted.
Across the street is the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, another historic church. It was completed in 1851 and also is known for its history and beautiful interior. We were not able to enter the church at the time of our visit.
Across the street from the churches was the old city hall now a museum. Maria Paulina led us on a brief tour of some of the more important exhibits. She told us that Mariana was named after the wife of King John of Portugal, Queen Maria Ana of Austria. We watched a film for several minutes with Maria Paulina providing some interpretation.
Our stomachs let us know it was lunch time. We were dropped off at Restaurante Lua Cheia. The food was buffet style, it was fresh, delicious, and plentiful.
After filling our bellies, we had a few minutes to walk around. I snapped a few photos of some of the interesting and colorful buildings near the restaurant plus a few street scenes.
After the bus picked us up near the restaurant we drove to a high spot in the city. There we viewed the unfinished Church of St. Peter of the Clergymen. Construction began in 1753 but progress was slow. The towers and interior were unfinished in the year 1820 when the project was abandoned. In the early 1920’s the towers were completed in a style different from the original plans. But the building was never consecrated as a church.
We did enjoy the views of the city from the parking lot. Note the red tiled roofs, it reminds me of scenes from Europe.
Ouro Preto
Ouro Preto is one of Brazil’s most beautiful and well-known colonial cities. Just 20 km from Mariana, Ouro Preto was the second capital of Minas Gerais until the late 1800s when the capital moved to Belo Horizonte.
We arrived in the city center, Tiradentes Square. It was here that Tiradentes, a revered revolutionary met his fate at the hand of the Portuguese Crown. The large building is the Museum of the Inconfidence formerly an official meeting place and prison. The square is popular with tourist groups.
We walked to our next stop, the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi. Construction for this church began in 1766 incorporating the Baroque style with Rococo embellishments. While the exterior attracts some attention, the interior is stunning. I likened it to the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican. The ceiling was painted by Mestre Ataide, a highly respected painter and sculptor. Of note, he was married at age 46 to a woman 20 of mixed race. Legend has it that she was not allowed to enter the church because of her race. In his painting of the Virgin Mary in this church, Mestre Ataide used the physical characteristics and features of Brazil’s mixed-race population. He was known to use bright colors in his paintings as seen in the photos below. Ataide was a member of religious brotherhood that brought together difference races but also owned three black slaves.
Thanks to the gold barons, there is plenty of gold used throughout the church. It was a quite beautiful and well maintained.
Near the church was a craft market that featured soapstone, a soft stone plentiful in the area. There were several artisans at work during the time of our visit.
On the main square in Ouro Preto, I noticed these protest signs and what looks like an encampment. The first banner in the photo below publicizes a public hearing to be held that week in the city hall. The second banner says: “We want the lands for the people to live in.” The movement is an attempt by Afro-Brazilian civil rights activists to assert their cultural heritage and challenge racial inequality in Brazil. Chico Rei is a legend about an African King from Congo that was captured and sold into slavery in Brazil to work in the gold mines. While working in the mines, he secretly hid gold dust and flakes in his hair that he sold to purchase his and his families’ freedom. He eventually bought the gold mine of his enslaver. This story lacks primary source evidence to confirm the life of Chico Rei but he remains an influential figure in Brazilian history. 
It was a good day learning about the history and culture of the Belo Horizonte area. My last photo of the day was taken on the porch of Diana’s house.
Join me next week for more stories and photos from Belo Horizonte Brazil.
Now for the five senses plus one.
See – lots of churches with lots of gold, traffic to and from Mariana and Ouro Preto
Hear – the wheels turning on the bus, motorcycles beeping
Touch – soapstone
Smell – food cooking at the restaurant, exhaust fumes
Taste – good food especially liked the baked orange, a special variety
Learned – learned that Mariana was the first capital of the State of Minas Gerais, Ouro Preto the second, and Belo Horizonte the third and current capital.
Until next week, happy travels!
Tom
PS: Click here for a link to the post about my book “Farm Boy.” Contact me if you are interested in purchasing a copy. Thanks to all have plunked down your hard earned dollars and read the book. TM