The composer, musician and immortal of the Brazilian Academy of Letters (ABL), Gilberto Gil, participated in the launch of two tourist itineraries of the Literary Routes Project of the Brazilian Company for International Tourism Promotion (Embratur). Guided by cell phone applications in more than one language, walks through Rio de Janeiro will take tourists to pages of books, chronicles, poetry, curiosities and songs by exponents of 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 highlighted the importance of using technology to inform and connect people.
“Our destiny is to inform the world of a new way of looking at language and coexistence between people. And Brazil must set an example for the world of harmonious coexistence in society. And we all have the instrumental, which are new technologies”, said the composer, via the internet.
According to the president of Embratur, Marcelo Freixo, Rotas Literárias promotes a new look at 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 little of our history, Cartola, Noel [Rosa], get to know the music, and learning more about Gilberto Gil”, he said.
According to Freixo, the work on developing literary tourism using 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 from our literature. With their cell phone in hand, people will be able to walk along the two literary routes and discover what our literature is about on the streets of our city,” he added.
Machado de Assis route
Developed by the digital platform QMTL – in partnership with the cultural communication platform Ouça a Cidade -, the Rota Literária Machado de Assis uses a cell phone application with georeferencing to take tourists along a playful itinerary in the Old Center of Rio. Part of the Brazilian Academy of Letters, which is located on Avenida Presidente Wilson, tourists discover the capital of Rio de Janeiro 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 Literário route, a route that covers a greater number of writers. The technology company developed the initiative in partnership with the Senac-trained Rio tourism guide 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 Real Conselho Português de Leitura, with a coffee break at the iconic Confeitaria Colombo, once frequented by big names.
Source: Agência Brazil