at a glance

tijuca is a neighborhood located in the north zone (zona norte) of rio de janeiro - the bairro (neighborhood) is bordered by alto da boa vista, andaraí, grajaú, vila isabel, maracanã, praça da bandeira, estácio and rio comprido.

tijuca is one of the most well-known and historic neighborhoods of rio de janeiro - the bairro's name is said to come from the indigenous tupi word 'ty yuc' which, means stagnated water or swamp, refering to the area's many lagoons.

in order to develop the uncultivated land, mem de sá allowed for jesuit monks to use and explore the region. the territory handed to them was vast and the small parcel represented by tijuca was used for the growth of sugarcane.

the monks built a church near these plantations, the são francisco xavier, which still exists to this day - in the middle of the 18th century the jesuits were expelled from the country and their possessions were sold to several smaller proprietors.