I wasn’t sure what Brasília, the ultra-mod (by 1950s standards, anyway) capital of Brazil, would have in store to fulfill my insatiable thirst for kitsch.
Brasília isn’t necessarily known as a tourist hotspot, but for modernist and brutalist architecture lovers such as myself, it’s a mecca on the South American continent. Luckily enough, however, Brasília’s souvenir game was quite strong, especially for my recently found, new-age collector habits.
Brasília is located near the geographical center of Brazil, surrounded by vast farmlands stretching in every cardinal direction. Construction of the model city began in 1956 and its central core was completed in only 41 months. Oscar Niemeyer was the city’s head architect, and is responsible for most of the city’s architectural highlights. But that’s for another post.
Let’s talk about souvenirs, shall we?
Brasília Shopping – Overview
There are two main concentrations of souvenir shops located right along the Eixo Monumental (or Monumental Axis), Brasília’s main thoroughfare. The first is located directly outside the Cathedral of Brasília, where more informal sellers set up shop. The kitsch on offer here is of the more traditional variety – scale models of the Eixo Monumental’s more famous buildings like the Congreso Nacional (National Congress) and Cathedral, as well as trinkets made from locally sourced gemstones and crystals. At first I was unsure of why there were so many rocks and stones for sale, but all became evident upon stumbling down a particularly fruitful internet rabbit hole.
Power Crystals in the Brazilian Heartland
Mining is big business in Brazil, with gemstones in particular having significant historical importance. Minas Gerais, the state immediately east of Brasilia, is particularly known for its rich deposits of precious rocks and crystals, with some stones like tourmaline and topaz having formed a large proportion of the region’s economy at points in its early colonial history. Another interesting fact, Minas Gerais is known as the heartland of traditional Brazilian cuisine – much like Emilia-Romagna in Italy. Other parts of the nation are known for other stones – Rio Grande do Sul for quartz, for example.
This interested me in particular because, well, I am prone to err on the hippie side of things. Less than a month prior, David and I had spent an immersive new age weekend with a good friend, during which we learned all about the various healing powers of crystals. Have I lost you yet? I’ll end this hippie tangent by saying that we’ve fully bought in to the healing crystal industrial complex.
Shopping in Brasília – Souvenirs outside the Cathedral of Brasília
While the string of shops outside the Cathedral of Brasília is great for a stop during your tour of the Esplanada dos Ministérios (the Esplanade of Ministries, to the east of Brasília’s central metro station), the real souvenir junkies will want to head west of the station, to the aptly named Feira Hippie da Torre de TV – in English, the TV Tower Hippie Market.
Brasília’s TV Tower Hippie Market
The Feira Hippe da Torre de TV is the go-to spot in Brasília to fulfill all of your trinket dreams. Much of what is on offer there is similar to what can be found at the market outside the Cathedral, but in much larger quantities and of greater variety. Many of the shops are devoted to the selling of various gemstones and crystals, and prices are very reasonable. So reasonable, in fact, that I didn’t find the need to barter whatsoever. South American customs around pricing are different than those in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East in that most shops operate on fixed prices – a notable exception would be at the San Telmo Sunday antique market in Buenos Aires. That said, when buying anything, it’s likely that vendors will give you a small discount or gift to thank you for your patronage. In addition to the common Brasília kitsch mentioned above, the TV Tower Hippie Market is a great place to find souvenir t-shirts, postcards, and larger items, such as handmade furniture and hammocks.
One of my favorite shops in the Feria Hippie da Torre de TV sold various crafts made by indigenous tribes of the Brazilian hinterlands – the Amazon region, as well as those bordering Peru and Bolivia. I bought a souvenir plate there with a to die for design – but sadly was broken during my 32 hour transit home from Paraguay a week and a half later. The Feira Hippie da Torre de TV is most active on weekends, but when I visited on a Friday nearly half of the stalls were open. I also recommend stopping for a bite at the market’s food court, where hawkers compete for your appetite with foods from around the vast nation. More often than not, you’ll enjoy your meat sweats with live samba music pulsating from a nearby stage.
Note: While many of the shops at the Hippie Market will accept credit cards under duress, you can likely obtain a small discount for using cash while saving the vendor a fee from the credit card companies.
Church Gift Shops in Brasília
Another less conventional spot to look for gifts is at gift shops located inside the city’s many churches and cathedrals. While I can’t vouch for the shop at the central Cathedral of Brasília, I did visit the shops in both the Santuário Dom Bosco and the smaller, Niemeyer-designed Nossa Senhora de Fátima Church, conveniently located a short walk from the Estação 108 Sul metro station. Churches will have your typical icons for sale (I particularly like collecting Rainbow Jesuses from Catholic churches around the world), as well as a great variety of postcards. Being Brasília, most of the churches were designed in the modernist style, and these postcards are great gifts for the concrete-architecture connoisseur in your family or group of friends. Or just for me. As in, please, send me your concrete architecture postcards.
Design-Inspired Shopping in Brasília
Brasília is also a world-class design city, despite its outward appearance as a sea of concrete slabs. There are several shops around the city that sell tiles featured on Brasília’s various landmarks, the most famous being those gilding the outside of the Nossa Senhora de Fátima Church. One of the places to purchase these is the gift shop at the Cultural Center of the Bank of Brazil, a great place to spend a few hours, featuring cafes, open spaces, and an impressive gallery. Another design-focused gift shop that I did not visit is BSB Memo, just north of the Eixo Monumental.
Shopping for Incidentals in Brasília
Should you need to pick up any incidentals while in Brasília, there are a few places you can go. If you’re just after some new skivvies because you aren’t keen on doing laundry (or, like me, conveniently left supplemental socks and underwear on your bed back at home), you can pick up some cheapies at the makeshift market outside of Brasília’s Central Metro station. I paid 10 reais (about $2.50 USD) per pair of underwear there – I also saw some deals for 5 pair of socks for 10 reais. Quality of said socks, however, is dubious. Caveat emptor.
For a more traditional shopping experience, you can head to one of the city’s many malls. I was staying in the Águas Claras neighborhood, and did some laps through the aptly named Águas Claras Shopping. I picked up a Brazilian sunga (I don’t know why I thought I’d need a swimsuit in landlocked Paraguay…) and some other items there. If you’ve got a real case of mall madness, you can head to the Shopping metro stop (about halfway between Central Station and Águas Claras), and have your fill. I did not visit this mall. I’ve been to Mall of America once before and felt no need to relive its Brazilian incarnation.
Brasília Shopping Map
Brasília Shopping Wrap-up
In all, despite not being at the top of everyone’s list when visiting Brazil, Brasília has plenty of fodder for the souvenir shopper. Whether getting in touch with your inner hippie at one of the city’s many power crystal purveyors (Amazonite is particularly good for dealing with emotional distress and chakra balancing, in case you were wondering) or just looking for a t-shirt to commemorate your stay, one certainly won’t have any issue finding great kitsch with which to stuff your suitcase – or, in my case, the extra suitcase you have to buy to truck all your loot home!
