AFP
Rio glamor symbol Copacabana Palace celebrates its centenary
The Copacabana Palace Hotel is an iconic hotel in Rio de Janeiro, its immaculate façade gleaming in the sun and still standing proudly facing the sea one hundred years after its inauguration. Since its opening on August 13, 1923, guests from all over the world have been wowed. Celebrities, heads of state and monarchs have visited its lavish halls, lavish suites and famous balconies that offer impressive views of the Brazilian postal city’s most iconic beach. “The Copacabana Palace is not just a hotel, it’s an institution,” its manager, Ulisses Marreiros, told AFP. Josephine Baker, Bob Marley, Freddie Mercury, Madonna, Gal Costa, Elton Senna, Walt Disney, Robert De Niro, Nelson Mandela, Queen Elizabeth II: Their faces are all on display in the gallery Portraits Redesigned for the Centenary, in the corridor overlooking the Great Room. Some of the pictures were taken at the hotel, like the one of Brigitte Bardot leaning on the large balcony, or Antonio Banderas twirling precariously on the narrow walls. According to media reports at the time, this is the pool where Janis Joplin dipped naked in 1970, leading to her expulsion from the famous spot. Decades ago, on an uninspired day, Orson Welles nearly killed some bathers by throwing a typewriter out a window. The guest book is a true relic, beautifully preserved in the tin box. White gloves are required to flip through the pages, which are filled with famous autographs such as that of ‘The King’ Pele, who scored a goal in a football goal. The book was opened exclusively for AFP in one of the most prestigious rooms: a suite of more than 100 square meters on the sixth floor, with sea views also from the bathroom. – Crème de la crème – At the end of the corridor exhibited in the portrait gallery, there is a large photograph of the hotel taken shortly after its construction. The contrast with the current landscape is striking. The property appears almost isolated, surrounded by a large expanse of sandy beach, with only a few two- and three-story houses along the shore, and has nothing to do with the row of buildings that now stand continuously on the beach – including other luxury hotels . One of the most famous hotels in the world. Copacabana Palace was designed by French architect Joseph Gire and was inspired by iconic hotels built on the French Riviera at the turn of the last century, such as the Negresco Hotel in Nice and the Carlton Hotel in Cannes . It was supposed to be inaugurated in 1922, the centenary of Brazil’s independence, but various technical difficulties delayed construction by a year. But that didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the hotel’s founder, Octavio Guinle, whose family continued until 1989, when it was acquired by the Orient Express group and became part of the French group LVMH in 2018. The Brazilian high-society businessman made Copacabana Palace a must-see, attracting Edith Piaf, Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra (Frank Sinatra) singing in his legendary Salón Dorado, or singing for the Rolling Stones on a stage set up on the beach. When Rio de Janeiro was Brazil’s capital until its move to Brasilia in 1960, the hotel was also frequented by local political elites, such as President Washington Luis, who was shot dead by his lover in one of the hotel’s rooms in 1928. After being injured, he was carefully taken to the hospital. The presidential press service later announced that he had appendicitis. – Local Flavors – “It’s a space for political meetings, artistic experiments, new talent (…) that interprets the fascinating reality of Brazil,” he explains. Historian Thiago Gomid told AFP that Prince Albert II of Monaco was captivated by its charm. “When he came, he gave me a big hug,” admits Antonio Francisco dos Santos, who has worked at the Copacabana Palace for 28 years. Eat tropical fruits, especially mango or ‘acai’, which he eats “one by one”, says the deputy manager of the Pérgula restaurant, which serves hearty breakfasts, including local flavors of tapioca (a type of cassava made from tapioca starch). Delicate cake). The pool has just been refurbished, with green umbrellas and loungers with light-colored cushion covers in tropical patterns. The exterior has also been repainted a pearly white, just like it was a hundred years ago. “We wanted to get as close as possible to the The exterior of 1923, the addition of a state-of-the-art technology(…) lighting system to the new building enhances the beauty of the building at night. ’ explains Ulisses Marreiros, whose credo is “to respect the past and inspire the future.” “lg/raa/app/dg/dbh