Worldcrunch
SÃO PAULO — When the dam at the iron ore mine in Mariana burst more than a month ago, killing at least 15 people, it was quickly described as Brazil‘s worst ecological disaster ever. The 40 billion liters of toxic mud unleashed in the central state of Minas Gerais, destroyed houses, roads, and left many […]
Sure, I could tell you about Ouro Preto’s rich mining past, its baroque churches, its wonderful Mineralogy Museum (that both me and my grandson got to visit, 22 years apart), its failed revolution, its noble colonial architecture … but really: The word pipimóvel (“peepeemobile”) just makes me chuckle.
The Rua Conde de Bobadella in the center of Ouro Preto, in Brazil’s southeastern Minas Gerais state, hasn’t changed much since we went there 20 years ago — as this photo, taken at almost the exact same angle, shows on Wikipedia … Can’t say the same about the cars!