in fact, on the small beach ' praia de fora ', located between the sugar loaf (pão de açúcar) and the morro cara de cão, estácio de sá officially founded the city on march 1st 1565, and named it são sebastião de rio de janeiro, as são sebastião was also the title of portugal's king at the time.

for many years rio would only be known as 'são sebastião', and the current name rio de janeiro would only became widely used in the eighteenth century, when rio when became the crucially important shipping port for all gold and trades from minas gerais, in the interior of brazil. 

music and block parties pop-up every corner of rio, with many in the districts of santa teresa and lapa.