The composer, musician, and immortal member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters (ABL), Gilberto Gil, participated in the launch of two tourist routes from the Literary Routes Project of the Brazilian Tourism Company (Embratur). Guided by mobile apps in more than one language, tours in Rio de Janeiro will take tourists to the pages of books, chronicles, poetry, curiosities, and songs from prominent figures in Brazilian literature such as Machado de Assis, Clarice Lispector, Carlos Drummond Andrade, Lima Barreto, Tom Jobim, and Vinicius de Moraes.
At the launch, Gilberto Gil emphasized the importance of using technology to inform and connect people.
“Our goal is to inform the world of a new way to look at language and coexistence among people. And Brazil should set an example for the world of harmonious coexistence in society. And we all have the tools, which are the new technologies,” said the composer via the internet.
According to Embratur’s president, Marcelo Freixo, Literary Routes promotes a new vision of tourist destinations and shows the potential of innovation to improve the country.
“People can go to Rio de Janeiro to visit Sugarloaf Mountain, Christ the Redeemer, and go to the city center to see Machado de Assis, Lima Barreto, a bit of our history, Cartola, Noel [Rosa], get to know the music and learn more about Gilberto Gil,” he said.
Freixo stated that the work of developing literary tourism with technology will continue.
“There are many literary routes around the world. What we are doing here is bringing technology and information so that we can look at Rio through our literature. With the cell phone in hand, people will be able to explore the two literary routes and discover what our literature has on the streets of our city,” he added.
Route Machado de Assis
Developed by the digital platform QMTL – in partnership with the cultural communication platform Ouça a Cidade – the Literary Route Machado de Assis uses a mobile app with geolocation to take tourists on a playful itinerary in the Old Center of Rio. Part of the Brazilian Academy of Letters, located on Avenida Presidente Wilson, tourists discover the capital of Rio de Janeiro by recounting passages from the life and work of the writer and his characters. The startup used a voice generated by artificial intelligence – in Portuguese and English – as well as sound effects to guide the visitor.
Writers
The Glocal project presents the Rio Literary route, an itinerary that encompasses a larger number of writers. The technology company developed the initiative in partnership with Rio tour guide trained by Senac, Juliana Morena, a specialist in literary itineraries. In English, Spanish, and Portuguese, the audio guide, which uses artificial intelligence to provide narration in foreign languages, includes ten points starting from the Royal Portuguese Reading Council, with a coffee break at the iconic Confeitaria Colombo, once frequented by great names.
Source: Agência Brasil