Arcos da Lapa

This guide to the Arcos da Lapa in Rio de Janeiro traces the transformation of a colonial aqueduct built between 1723 and 1750 by Portuguese engineer Jose Fernandes Pinto Alpoim into a tram viaduct after 1896, and the neighborhood of bars and cafes that grew up in its shadow. It follows the musicians who gathered there without money for a conservatory, inventing samba and choro through the night, among them a medical student turned songwriter, Noel Rosa, and his friend Cartola, another composer of the same scene.