The Brazilian River of January

Rio de Janeiro means River of January

At one point, Rio de Janeiro was really the capital of Brazil until 1960. Two of the city's most popular nicknames are the simple "Rio" and the much longer "A Cidade Maravilhosa" (which means The Marvelous City in English.)  Rio has many famous landmarks like the Sugarloaf Mountain (with its cable-car system); the giant Christ the Redeemer statue on top of Corcovado mountain; and the massive Maracana football stadium.

You may have also heard of the Copacabana Palace Hotel which contributed to Rio's wild party city reputation. Nowadays, the new capital of Brazil is Brasilia which took over in 1960.