The City in Progress

Abstract

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Additional informationNotes on contributorsVinícius de MoraesVinícius de Moraes (Rio de Janeiro, 1913-1980) was a late Modernist author and diplomat who once served as vice consul in Los Angeles. His main literary endeavors were lyric poetry and crônica but he is best known today as the main lyricist of bossa nova. An avid cinema enthusiast, he wrote criticism and co-directed the documentary O carnaval carioca with the French director Sacha Gordine. His most notable dramatic work was Orfeu da Conceição. The musical play was staged in Rio in 1956 and inspired the film Orfeu Negro by Marcel Camus, which won the Palm d'Or (first prize) at the Cannes Festival in 1959 and an Oscar for best foreign film. The original of the following poem was published in his posthumous book Roteiro lírico e sentimental da cidade do Rio de Janeiro e outros lugares por onde passou e se encantou o poeta (1992; Lyrical and Sentimental Guidebook to the City of Rio de Janeiro and Other Places Where the Poet Was a Visitor and Was Enchanted)