Copacabana was invented in the 19th century, more specifically around 1890. The name of those large sandy areas previously called Sacopenapã was defined in the 18th century, with the construction of a small church dedicated to a saint, protector of the Peruvian and Bolivian communities surrounding the Titicaca Lake, called Our Lady of Copacabana.
At that time, ' Copacabana ' was an inhospitable and unexplored corner due to Rio’s topography, since the hills from Urca until Botafogo formed a natural lock, and access was only possible through a depression between the hills. In 1892, a new access was created-Real Grandeza tunnel- (now Túnel velho), enabling a fast occupancy of that neighborhood. The arrival of electric trams and the opening of a new tunnel (Túnel Novo) in 1904, provided conditions for the growth of that area, which is now a dream site ideal for leisure, with the popularization of the sea bath.
Following the construction of the luxurious Copacabana Palace in 1923, the new lift and elevators technology and concrete cement constructions, the landscape was occupied by buildings over eight floors high – a great wall that, decades later, would significantly reduce the air flow in the area, generating a new concept of very small flats and kitchenettes.
Between the fifties and sixties, the bohemia meeting point witnessed the birth of a new rhythm in one of its alleys, as much Brazilian as international: bossa nova. It is in the swing of the waves forming its legendary boardwalk of Portuguese stones, where Copacabana’s Rolé takes place.