Brazilians bid farewell to architect Niemeyer in his native Rio

Rio de Janeiro - The city of carnivals, Rio de Janeiro, has today transformed into the site of a great mourning event. A coffin containing the remains of the world-renowned architect Oscar Niemeyer was flown in from Brazil's capital, Brasília, overnight. This evening (at 10:00 PM CET), he will be buried in the cemetery in his hometown neighborhood of Botafogo.
     Since the morning, people have been coming to pay their respects to the creator of the architectural concept of the Brazilian metropolis at the City Palace, which the authorities in Rio have made available for this purpose. Niemeyer's relatives, who spent the night by the coffin, were reportedly touched by the warm reception that the deceased architect received on Thursday from crowds of his fans in the capital.
     "He had a passion for Rio de Janeiro. Although he designed Brasília and loved it, his city was Rio," explained the architect's grandson Carlos Oscar Niemeyer, who worked for 13 years in his studio, to the Brazilian server UOL regarding the choice of burial place.
     Niemeyer passed away on Wednesday at the age of 104. Prior to that, he had been hospitalized for nearly a month in a hospital in Rio, where he was battling kidney problems and pneumonia. After his death, his remains were flown to Brasília, where they were displayed in the temple he designed on Thursday. From there, the coffin headed back to his hometown.
     In the capital, which emerged half a century ago in the middle of the jungle, he designed, among other things, the government quarter. Additionally, he also created a number of buildings in his birthplace, including the Museum of Modern Art and a stadium known as Sambadrom, where samba parades are held during the carnival.