Copacabana - Rio de Janeiro

Copacabana is, since July 6, 1892, a district of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is located south of the city. The district encompasses therange of the same name, the 4.5 km long, one of the most famous beaches in the world. Copacabana is one of the most famous districts of the city. It is first called Sacopenapã. But in 1754 a Benedictine monk,Antonio de Desterro Malheiro, when he was in distress off the coast of Brazil promised that if he comes out alive, he donneratthe name of his village where he will fail . In the mid-nineteenthcentury, the area was renamed after the construction of a chapelhousing a replica of the Virgin of Copacabana, a small village on Lake Titicaca in Bolivia.

The area is lively and full of good restaurants, cinemas, banks,synagogues (this district includes much of the Jewish communitycarioca) shops and theaters. From the 1960s, the famousCopacabana grown and attracts more residents that the area can hold. It forms a microcosm uniting families of different social classes in a small space between the sea and the mountains.

Copacabana has one of the most beautiful and famous beaches on the planet, half-moon extending over 4.5 km, from Leme to theArpoador. It is nicknamed Princesinha do Mar (Little Princess of the Sea). Copacabana is one of the tourism icons of Rio de Janeiro, as the Corcovado or Sugar Loaf.

In the middle of Copacabana Beach is the oldest luxury hotel inSouth America, Copacabana Palace, built according to plans by a French architect. The Eve of New Year's Eve, a giant fireworks display is shot in front of about two million people gathered anddressed in white. As tradition dictates, at midnight, flowers are thrown into the sea in 2006, the Rolling Stones gave a concertthere in front of 1.7 million people.

In 2006, a major brand of Brazilian hut, Cabana created Cup(Copa Cabana) which annually honors the finest cabins, basedon criteria such as originality, materials, and the insertion of thecabin in the nature.