It is Saturday, sunny, though a little chilly in the shade; in Rio’s beautiful sunshine, it is warm, with a blue sky.

I’m alone, Yasmin went back early to her mother’s yesterday morning, to have a coffee in a cafe in Flamengo with her friends.

In the morning, after posting a blog, I did a full exercise workout. Floor and kettlebell exercises at home in the flat, then downstairs to skip at the back of the condominium in the car park with some ab aerobic exercises, and then to the pool for 30 lengths.

I don’t consider 30 lengths a lot. I know friends who can do more than double, but for me, for now, it’s enough. I didn’t have lunch, and in the early afternoon I went to an open day or open doors at Fabrica Bhering.

The Bhering factory is an old chocolate factory that went out of business more than 50 or 60 years ago. It was abandoned or unused for decades, and in the last 10 or 15 years, the family has reactivated the factory as a cultural centre with an alternative, rustic vibe, featuring shops, galleries, clothing brands, art studios, an artisanal chocolate factory, a brewery, a coffee supplier, thrift shops, and anything considered alternative.

On an open day, the factory is open to the public, with live music, exhibitions, food trucks, and all the studios and galleries open for visitors.

Before the pandemic, there was a very nice alternative home store that sold everything for the home, with exceptionally good taste, but it was too overpriced. The simplest of kitchen utensils were 10 times the normal price in a normal High Street shop, and of course, it didn’t survive. It was impossible for it, and it closed.

Until today, I thought the open days after COVID were much weaker than before. They were slower. The place had not fully recovered, with far fewer visitors and many of the old galleries, artists and studios from before had gone. However, today seemed a little different. It seemed more organised, with many more people than at other times.

Just as you enter, there is a ramp that leads you up to the main courtyard of the factory. On the way up, there are some shops and galleries, a beautiful studio shop that specialises in leatherwork and bags, a restaurant, and a studio that creates steel and metal sculptures from scrap.

Halfway up, on the left, next to an enormous industrial chimney, there is a small beer house that specialises in craft beer, particularly IPA (Indian pale ale).

It was impossible for me not to walk past and continue up without buying an IPA. I bought a large 500 ml cup and continued into the main courtyard, where part of it was covered, like a large garage, or like the style of railway station roofs over platforms from the last century. At the back, there was a stage with a band playing classical Brazilian MPB, rock, and pop.

In the middle, underneath, there were tables and chairs, and around 3 sides of the square-shaped space, there were lines of stands selling all types of typical Brazilian street food and drinks. The whole area was heaving with people, some dancing or enjoying the music, but most were, more importantly, eating and drinking. To the right of the courtyard is the entrance to the main factory building.

As you enter, there is a long, wide corridor with shop units and galleries on each side as you walk down.

The whole place is made up of remnants, remains of what once was a large chocolate factory. Dirty, badly painted, cracked windows, marks and scratches on the walls, exposed metal and unused machinery everywhere holding up the skeleton of what it once was.

I entered the gallery, where I knew the owner, a Frenchman, I think, a little older than me. He has his own work, which I’m not a fan of. The last time I came, I liked one of his paintings, but I thought the others were too rudimentary, too simple.

This time, he was also exhibiting a French photographer, a woman who had shot in both Nice, France, and Rio, which are officially sister cities for some reason. I did not like her work either, but that is just my taste.

On the opposite side, facing the gallery, there was another, smaller gallery selling some very interesting, extremely simple prints of well-known Brazilian personalities, including Machado Assis, the writer; Tim Maia, the singer; and Garrincha, the famous footballer from the Botafogo team, whom I support.

After sifting through the prints, I bought one of Garrincha for only 100 Reais. The artist and gallery owner kindly signed it for me. I asked them to pack it for me, and I would pick it up later on the way out.

I continued to slowly go up all five or six floors of the factory until the rooftop. I took a slow walk around and visited some galleries that I thought were interesting, but I had seen them so many times before that there was not much new to see.

On the rooftop, I took some photos of the port area, the bay, Gamboa, and Santa Cristo, then made my way down to the ground floor. In the main hall, I picked up my print, and on the way out, I bought another IPA, a ‘saideira’, one for the road.

It was good to see people returning to the Fabrica. Unfortunately, like so many things in Brazil, it has not grown, improved or expanded as it should have.

It is just about the same as it was 10 years ago. And this is how Brazil is, and how many people’s lives, jobs, and businesses have either stagnated or worsened over the years. Brazil and Rio were much better in the past. The only difference today is that we have the internet and streaming, which distract us from the true reality and decadence. For sure, there are exceptions, but in general it’s bad.

Rio is still a beautiful and very special city, but it is not at the level it was when I arrived 30 years ago:

• Public safety: Comparable to the Gaza Strip or worse, with 75% of Rio’s residents under the control of organised crime and narco-trafficking.

• Corruption: At record levels, with new scandals emerging every day, week, and month.

• The economy: A record low, and it is only getting worse.

• Investment: It’s just a joke.

And all because of two ignorant, perverse and dishonest people, 220 million people have to suffer.

AM and L#la

After leaving Fabrica Bhering, I popped into Guarabira’s for a beer, picked up some food at the supermarket next door, and was home by 5 p.m.

I relaxed a little after drinking 2 IPAs and a beer at Guarabira’s. I am getting older. My tolerance for alcohol is not what it was 20 or even 10 years ago. Later in the evening, I read a little and decided to work on the computer only tomorrow.

Be kind and be happy, and if you can’t be happy, still be kind, but not naïve!

In bed by 10 p.m.

Thank you.

Thanks for reading this blog post. Please explore my other posts and share your thoughts in the comments section.

Richard

Photos by Richard George Photography

The post A Day at Fabrica Bhering | Alternative Culture in Rio first appeared on The Long Gringo.