Step through the Arcos do Telles, Step back in timeIf Located at the end of Rua dos Mercadores in downtown Rio de Janeiro, the Arcos do Telles is one of Rio’s oldest architectural landmarks. Also known as the Telles Arch, this stone gateway once graced the home of the Telles de Menezes family. Originally constructed in 1743, the home was destroyed by fire in 1790. Only the Arcos do Telles remained. Directly beyond the Arcos do Telles is the Travessa do Comércio, a narrow winding pedestrian alley and the childhood home of Hollywood movie star Carmen Miranda. Just a short walk from the Praca 15 de Novembre, the area surrounding the Telles de Menezes home was a bustling and wealthy quarter in the mid to late 1700’s. The home originally graced by the Arco do Telles, was ordered built by Telles de Menezes, a land judge, shortly after the construction of the House of the Government in the Plaza of the Paco presently known as Square VX. It is written, however, that the fire which claimed many lives and destroyed many important documents reduced not only the architecture to rubble but had an extremely negative impact on the area as well. According to written reports, shortly after the fire, the quarter fell into decay and was quickly taken over by prostitutes and criminals. It is actually rumored that the alley directly beneath the Arcos do Telles also became the home of the first witch in Rio de Janeiro. According to the folklore, this woman, known as the Barbarous Witch of the Pleasures, arrived in Brazil with her husband in approximately 1788. She quickly became enamored of another young man, however, and was said to have murdered her husband to allow herself the opportunity to pursue this relationship. Shortly thereafter, however, she also murdered the lover during a fit of rage. To provide for herself, she turned to prostitution and became one of the most well known and beautiful prostitutes beneath the Arcos do Telles. Aging and possibly suffering from the effects of syphillis, it is said that some 20 years later, the woman turned to the black magic redolent in Brazilian culture for a cure. The potion she was given promised youth and beauty, however required the ingrediants of certain grasses and the blood of still alive children. Some believe the woman sold her soul to the devil for the potion while others simply believe it took all the wealth she had accumulated. It was at this point in history that the woman is said to have begun abducting and murdering orphans as well as the children of the slaves and beggars that lived in the area. The population of Rio de Janeiro responded by locking their children indoors when they weren’t in the company of adults. Although it is believed that the body of a woman found floating next to the Plaza to the Paco in 1830 was actually that of the witch, others were not convinced and many believe the urban legend of Brazil that she still wanders the alley in the dark of night and her frightful laughter still echoes beneath the Arcos do Telles. Today, the Arcos do Telles provides entrance to a bustling pedestrian mall that is lined with the oldest 2-story townhomes in Rio de Janeiro. These homes have been converted into elegant bars and restaurants and the narrow cobblestone lane is often so congested with tables and patrons that it is difficult to move through. The Travessa do Comércio is also the home of the oldest botequim in Rio de Janeiro which is located directly across the street from #13 – the home in which Carmen Miranda spent her childhood. Although in the early days in Brazil, the botequim would have actually been known as a botica, a small grocery that supplied necessary items to those living in the neighborhood as well as a glass of beer, wine or coffee, the majority have been transformed into small bars and restaurants and no longer offer grocery supplies.
The Arcos do Telles is conveniently located near other historic
places to visit including the Imperial Paco, the Square XV, the
Casa Franca-Brasil and the Cultural Banco do Brasil. If your visit
to the Arcos do Telles leaves you with an appetite, you may want
to lunch at the Cais do Oriente, an extremely popular restaurant
in Brasil. |