Onward and upward

The trip to Congonhas was great. Seeing the 0rigional statue of Daniel was even more amazing - the pockmarks left by wind and time lent weight to the aura of both strength and conviction, as well as love and compassion. This statue is, for me, the greatest work of Baroque art I have seen in Brazil. Here he is:




The rest of the church was fantastic - in little stone rooms Aleijadinho had carved extraordinary wooden scenes from Christs crucifixion, and in a side room, people had sent in thousands of ex votos - tributes to the church for perceived miraculous healing. There were crude pictures of people sick in bed, and even an elaborate drawing of a bus crash!

I've had a lot of fun in Minas, but I've had my fill of religious and colonial art for now. I'm gonna head up north to this hippie community around Chapada Diamantina, near Lencois, and see what I can see! Yep, that's a journey of 1500km in one day on a whim folks!