The Corner

Rio

For the first time in my life I am in Rio de Janeiro. The city is dominateed by a mammoth art deco statue of Christ the Redeemer, Cristo Redentor, atop Corcavado (the Hunchback). It is not a crucifix. His arms are outspread though, as if to bless, or protect, or bless, or perhaps to warn. A powerful and somewhat ambiguous image.

Historian Richard Brookhiser is a senior editor of National Review and a senior fellow at the National Review Institute.
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