at a glance

located in the zona oeste of rio, curral falso is a small sub neighborhood of santa cruz, which was among the first areas within the modern rio de janeiro to be occupied by the portuguese colonizers.

little time after the war against the french the local landlord, martim afonso de sousa, gave a strip of land to one of the several key figures of the conflict, cristóvão monteiro.

this man would one day become an important member in the rio de janeiro's city hall - at this time, though, he had become the first owner of the lands which would later comprise the prominent santa cruz ranch.