1500 Gallery / Julio Bittencourt
Ramos
Piscinao de Ramos, or "Ramos Swimming Pool," is an artificial salt-water lake located in the district of Ramos, north of Rio de Janeiro. It is a recreational area consisting of the lake and surrounding beach, sports courts, bike paths and palm trees specially imported from the Northeast of Brazil. It was inaugurated in 2001 by the State Government of Rio de Janeiro and Petrobras (Brazil's national oil company), and to much controversy: many of Rio's inhabitants understood it to be a blatantly political act aimed at winning votes from the outskirts of the city. Despite its intended purpose of providing access to coastline recreation while avoiding exposure to the highly polluted waters of nearby Guanabara Bay, since its opening the park has been plagued by serious issues of contamination. Furthermore, as almost everywhere else in Rio, public security is a serious concern: the immediate vicinity of the complex is surrounded by 15 different favelas, dominated by competing criminal factions that are involved in drug-trafficking and operate as de facto governments within each of those communities. Although the issue of violence still plagues the communities surrounding the Piscinao, for the last few years the park itself has been temporarily free of such problems, at least in and around the lake. Illegal militias formed by off-duty police have "cleared" the area around the pool and it has become much less dangerous. Despite being crowded, noisy, and polluted, the lake is nonetheless known for its many eccentric characters and the intense display of beachside enjoyment for which Brazil is famous worldwide.
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