Ouro Preto is a "historic" city located in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. In imperial times
(Brazil has been a colony of the Portuguese Empire), the region of Ouro Preto has been exploited
in its mineral resources. The most valuable of these resources was gold (ouro in
Portuguese means gold).
That region of Brazil was the wealthier of the country at that time. Where there is money, there
is politics. Ouro Preto was the very center of national political decisions at the time there was
gold in its mines. Because of this brief but strong political influence, Ouro Preto and
its neighbouring cities are known as "historic cities" of Minas Gerais. Mariana and
São João del Rey are other cities of the same region with similar backgrounds.
The money also atracted many artists (it is always like that, don't you think ?), among them the
famous Brazilian sculpturer Aleijadinho. Despite his very good reputation, the works of
Aleijadinho wouldn't deserve a place at Louvre. He happened to be the best Brazilian sculpturer
at his time in that region, which doesn't necessarily means he was that much skilled. If you have
already visited the Sistine Chapel in Rome,or the various museums in Paris and London, you can
get really frustaded with Aleijadinho's work. It is important to mention that according to
Brazilan patterns of art appreciation and regarding the fact Aleijadinho was handicaped
(actually "Aleijadinho" means "Little Handicaped Fellow"), we can say his job is OK. I mean, you
hear so much of his fame in Brazil that you create an expectation that is not fulfilled
by an average work of art.
A really interesting thing to notice in the region is the enormous quantity of churches.
Almost one in every block ! The reason is that Brazil was a Portuguese colony, and they had
to pay the Portuguese crown 1/5 (one fifth) of the gold exploited there. The only way for
Brazilians keeping their gold in the country was constructing churches and decorating it
with gold. Because the Catholic Church had a big influence at that time, the gold was
not confiscated from them. That explains why there are so many churches and why they are
all golden inside. By the way, the Brazilian revolution for independence began to rise
in Ouro Preto, headed by a somebody called Tiradentes (meaning "Tooth Puller", because
he was a kind of dentist).
One day the mines were exhausted and the gold was over. Then, the political influence of the region was vanished, along with
the wealth. Today, the region of Ouro Preto is mainly of tourism and historical interest.
What to See and Where to Go
The most impressive is the great amount of churches and their golden insides. Brazilians also
admire the old architecture of the buildings, which are really rare in modern cities.
On the other hand, the same architecture is definetly not that attractive to Europeans for obvius reasons.
There are some deactivated mines to be visited and a museum about Brazil's independence.
Some pictures from Ouro Preto:
Praça Tiradentes - Tiradentes Square
Hints
Unless you have specific and strong interest in visiting Ouro Preto and its neighbouring cities,
do not go there. There is not anything really amazing to be seen. Moreover, none of the
cities is well conserved. There had been thefts, burglars, drowns and fires in many old
buildinds, even those protected by Unesco.
Brazilian girls from that region can be very receptive, specially to foreigners. They are not
prostitutes, instead they are mainly easy going college students.
