Before I visited Brasilia,

I knew next to nothing about it.

I just knew it was the new capital of Brazil

Built somewhere in the middle of the country.

That its plan and architecture was eclectic...

But no more than that.

I had never heard of Juscelino Kubitschek,

The "bossa nova" president

Under whose tutelage the city was established;

Nor of Lucio Costa, the brilliant city planner,

Nor of the heroic artists, nor of the tireless workers.

Yes, Oscar Niemeyer I'd heard mentioned

But I had no knowledge really of what greatness

He's accomplished; not even that he's Brazilian!

...I accepted an invitation suddenly from out of the blue,

An invitation to visit Brasilia.

And now I know about Brasilia,

Not nearly enough but enough to know

That it's a place where you feel alive! Impassioned!

By its innovative ways, its buildings of epic grandeur;

By the ebullient energy and humanistic spirit

Of the beautiful brasilienses: gracious, delightful, spontaneous!

The sky is sapphire blue in Brasilia, the earth carnelian red;

Bold buildings soar in the brightest of whites!

Not shy pastels, but primary colors, making a statement!

The shapes, the curves, the four-leaf clover roads, the bridges of fantasy,

The pyramidal, the concave and convex, the rounded U.F.O.-like buildings,

The Cathedral like hands in prayer holding the miracle within.

I know about Brasilia now.

I know where it gleams like a dream of a mythical city.

I can tell you how to get there.

You'll be glad you came.