Christ the Redeemer
Nearest city	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Coordinates	22°57′6″S 43°12′39″W / 22.95167°S 43.21083°W / -22.95167; -43.21083Coordinates: 22°57′6″S 43°12′39″W / 22.95167°S 43.21083°W / -22.95167; -43.21083
Established	Dedicated October 12, 1931 Consecrated October 12, 2006 New Seven Wonders of the World July 7, 2007

Christ the Redeemer (Portuguese: Cristo Redentor, standard Brazilian Portuguese: [ˈkɾistu ʁedẽˈtoʁ], local dialect: [ˈkɾiʃtu ɦedẽjˈtoɦ]) is a statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; considered the largest Art Deco statue in the world and the 5th largest statue of Jesus in the world. It is 39.6 metres (130 ft) tall, including its 9.5 metres (31 ft) pedestal, and 30 metres (98 ft) wide. It weighs 635 tonnes (625 long,700 short tons), and is located at the peak of the 700-metre (2,300 ft) Corcovado mountain in the Tijuca Forest National Park overlooking the city. A symbol of Brazilian Christianity, the statue has become an icon for Rio de Janeiro and Brazil.^[1] It is made of reinforced concrete and soapstone, and was constructed between 1922 and 1931.^[2][3][4]

History[link]

A view of the statue, as seen from a helicopter.

The ideas for erecting a large statue atop (Corcovado) was first suggested in the mid-1850s, when Catholic priest Pedro Maria Boss requested financing from Princess Isabel to build a large religious monument. Princess Isabel did not think much of the idea and it was dismissed in 1889, when Brazil became a republic with laws mandating the separation of church and state.^[5] The second proposal for a landmark statue on the mountain was made in 1921 by the Catholic Circle of Rio.^[6] The group organized an event called Semana do Monumento ("Monument Week") to attract donations and collect signatures to support the building of the statue. The donations came mostly from Brazilian Catholics.^[2] The designs considered for the "Statue of the Christ" included a representation of the Christian cross, a statue of Jesus with a globe in his hands, and a pedestal symbolizing the world.^[7] The statue of Christ the Redeemer with open arms, a symbol of peace, was chosen.

A view of the statue from the base.

Local engineer Heitor da Silva Costa designed the statue; it was sculpted by French sculptor Paul Landowski.^[8] A group of engineers and technicians studied Landowski's submissions and the decision was made to build the structure out of reinforced concrete (designed by Albert Caquot) instead of steel, more suitable for the cross-shaped statue.^[5] The outer layers are soapstone, chosen for its enduring qualities and ease of use.^[3] Construction took nine years, from 1922 to 1931 and cost the equivalent of US$250,000 ($3,257,463 in 2012). The monument was opened on October 12, 1931.^[3][4] The statue was meant to be lit by a battery of floodlights triggered remotely by shortwave radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi, stationed 5,700 miles (9,200 km) away in Rome,^[6] but poor weather affected the signal and it had to be lit by workers in Rio.^[5]

In October 2006, on the statue's 75th anniversary, Archbishop of Rio Cardinal Eusebio Oscar Scheid consecrated a chapel (named after the patron saint of Brazil—Nossa Senhora Aparecida, or "Our Lady of the Apparition,") under the statue. This allows Catholics to hold baptisms and weddings there.^[4]

A close up view of the face.

The statue was struck by lightning during a violent electrical storm on Sunday, February 10, 2008 and suffered some damage on the fingers, head and eyebrows. A restoration effort was put in place by the Rio de Janeiro state government and archdiocese to replace some of the outer soapstone layers and repair the lightning rods installed on the statue.^[9][10][11]

On April 15, 2010 graffiti was sprayed on the statue's head and right arm. Mayor Eduardo Paes called the act "a crime against the nation" and vowed to jail the vandals, even offering a reward of R$ 10,000 for any information that might lead to an arrest.^[12][13] The Military Police eventually identified house painter Paulo Souza dos Santos as the suspect of the act of vandalism.

World wonder[link]

On July 7, 2007, in Lisbon (Estádio da Luz), Christ the Redeemer was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in a list compiled by the Swiss-based The New Open World Corporation.^[14] Leading corporate sponsors, including Banco Bradesco and Rede Globo, had lobbied to have the statue voted into the top seven.^[15]

Restoration[link]

Approximate heights of various notable statues:
1. Spring Temple Buddha 153 m
2. Statue of Liberty 93 m
3. The Motherland Calls 91 m
4. Christ the Redeemer 39.6 m
5. Statue of David 5.17 m (sculpture 5.17 m + plinth = approximately 7.7 m)

Declared a protected monument by the National Heritage Institute, IPHAN, in 2009, the Christ the Redeemer monument underwent restoration work in 1980 before the visit of Germano Wallerstein.

In 1990, further restoration work was conducted through an agreement between the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro, media company Rede Globo, oil company Shell do Brasil, environment regulator IBAMA, National Heritage Secretariat SPHAN and the city government of Rio de Janeiro.

More work on the statue and its environs was conducted in 2003 and early 2010. In 2003, a set of escalators, walkways and elevators was installed to facilitate access to the platform surrounding the statue. The four-month restoration in 2010,^[16] carried out by mining company Vale in partnership with the Archdiocese,^{[citation needed]} focused on the statue itself. The statue's internal structure was renovated and its soapstone mosaic covering was restored by removing a crust of fungi and other microorganisms and repairing small cracks. The lightning rods located in the statue’s head and arms were also repaired. New lighting fixtures would be installed at the root of the statue to produce an all new dynamic lighting effect on the statue.^[17]

The restoration involved one hundred people and used in excess of 60,000 pieces of stone, taken from the same quarry as the original statue.^[16] During the unveiling of the restored statue, it was illuminated with green and yellow lighting in support of the Brazil national football team playing in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.^[16]

Maintenance work needs to be conducted periodically due to the strong winds and rain to which the statue is exposed.^[18]

Portrayal in media[link]

A panoramic view of Christ the Redeemer at the top of Corcovado Mountain. In the background is Sugarloaf Mountain (centre) and Guanabara Bay.

Christ the Redeemer is featured in various works of fiction and media. As early as the 1940s, Hollywood captured the structure's iconic appeal in such cinematic vehicles as the 1942 Bette Davis film Now, Voyager and Alfred Hitchcock's 1946 film Notorious starring Ingrid Bergman. Recently the statue was featured in a major destruction scene in the movie 2012, when its arms collapse, and the rest of the statue fails at the knees and crumbles as it collides with the side of the mountain. This scene was highly controversial, especially when it was featured in a billboard campaign in Los Angeles, when Brazilian Multimedia Designer Sara Vieira spoke out against it. It is featured in the videogames Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X, Driver 2, Tropico 3, Terranigma, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, OSS 117: Lost in Rio, Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword, Civilization Revolution, Civilization V and "Angry Birds Rio". It briefly appears in the bonus level of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 on PlayStation. It can be seen in the video for Janet Jackson's, "Runaway" and in the video for the Latin group Wisin & Yandel's "Pam Pamdeo. The statue is also found in an episode of the Lupin the Third anime series. In the remake of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the statue is seen overlooking the city amongst the cacophony of screams. The statue watches over fictional "Verona Beach" in Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet. It is also shown on the MTV show Viva La Bam in which Bam Margera battled Don Vito to win $1,000. It is also in Mr. Magoo. A parody of the statue is also seen in World of Warcraft on an island called Janerio's Point, the statue was damaged in the Cataclysm revealing a heart filled with riches. It has also been featured in the 2011 animated film Rio and the live-action film Fast Five which had a major part based in Rio de Janeiro. In the science fiction anime Legend of the Galactic Heroes the planet Heinessen, capitol of the Free Planets Alliance, has a giant monument to its founder Arle Heinessen in which Heinessen is posed in the same position as Jesus in the Redeemer statue. The statue is seen in the movie "The Twilight Saga: New Moon", in the background, when Edward calls Bella's home and Jacob answers the phone. The statue is also briefly shown in the trailer for "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn" as the location of Edward & Bella's honeymoon.

See also[link]

• Monumento al Divino Salvador del Mundo, Monument to the Savior of the World San Salvador City, El Salvador
• Cristo Redentore, Christ the Redeemer of Maratea, Italy
• Christ of Vung Tau in Vietnam (32 m)
• Christ Blessing in Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia (30m)
• Cristo-Rei in Lisbon, Portugal (28 m)
• Jesus Christ, statue, Garajau, Madeira, Portugal
• Cristo Blanco in Cuzco, Peru
• Cristo Rei of Dili: a 27 metre high statue in Dili, Timor-Leste
• Cerro del Cubilete in Guanajuato, Mexico: a 23 meter high statue inspired by Christ the Redeemer
• Cristo Rey in Ejutla, Jalisco: Inspired by Rio de Janeiro's one
• Christ of the Ozarks in Arkansas, United States: a 20 meter high statue inspired by Christ the Redeemer
• Christ of Havana in Havana, Cuba: a 20 metre high statue inspired by Christ the Redeemer
• Christ the Redeemer of the Andes (Argentina/Chile)
• Cristo de la Concordia in Cochabamba, Bolivia
• Cristo de las Noas in Torreón, Mexico
• Christ of the Abyss in various underwater locations
• Christ the King (Polish: Pomnik Chrystusa Króla), 33 metres (108 ft) tall and weighing 440 tonnes.^[19] in Świebodzin, Poland
• Cristo del Pacífico, Lima, Peru, a 37 metre high statue erected in 2011.
• List of statues by height

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Cristo Redentor do Rio de Janeiro

• Official web site
• Useful information about Christ the Redeemer Statue (wiki format)
• Map (Portuguese)
• BBC News Video about Poland and the Redeemer Statue
• Government bulletin about the statue's restoration (Portuguese)
• Free interactive 3D model of Statue of Christ the Redeemer

Felix Baumgartner (born 20 April 1969 in Salzburg, Austria) is an Austrian skydiver and a BASE jumper. He is renowned for the particularly dangerous nature of the stunts he has performed during his career. Baumgartner spent time in the Austrian military where he practiced parachute jumping, including training to land on small target zones.

Biography[link]

He was born on 20 April 1969 in Salzburg, Austria.^[1]

In 1999 he claimed the world record for the highest parachute jump from a building when he jumped from the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.^[2]

On 31 July 2003, Baumgartner became the first person to skydive across the English Channel using a specially made fibre wing.^[3]

Baumgartner set the world record for the lowest BASE jump ever, from the hand of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro.^[4]

He became the first person to BASE jump from the completed Millau Viaduct in France on 27 June 2004^{[citation needed]} and the first person to sky dive onto, then BASE jump from, the Turning Torso building in Malmö, Sweden on 18 August 2006.^[5]

On 12 December 2007 he became the first person to jump from the 91st floor observation deck, then went to the 90th floor (about 390 m (1,280 ft)) of the then tallest completed building in the world, Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan.^[6]

[edit] Red Bull Stratos

In January 2010, it was reported that Baumgartner was working with a team of scientists and sponsor Red Bull to attempt the highest sky-dive on record.^[7] Baumgartner was going to make the 120,000 ft (36,600 m) jump from a capsule suspended from a balloon filled with helium, intending to become the first parachutist to break the sound barrier; the feat was scheduled to take place sometime in 2011.^[8][9][10] Joseph Kittinger, who holds the records Baumgartner is attempting to break, was advising Baumgartner during the "Stratos" mission in the hopes of getting scientific data on next-generation full pressure suits.^[7][11] However, on October 12, 2010, Red Bull announced it was placing the project on hold after Daniel Hogan filed a lawsuit in California Superior Court in Los Angeles, California in April, claiming he had originated the idea of the parachute dive from the edge of space in 2004 and that Red Bull had stolen the idea from him.^[12][13] The lawsuit was resolved out of court in June 2011^[14] and on 5 February 2012, The Daily Telegraph reported that the project would be resumed.^[15]

On 15 March 2012 he completed the first of two test jumps from 71,581 feet (21,818 m). During the jump he spent approximately three minutes and 43 seconds in free fall, reaching speeds of more than 360 miles per hour (580 km/h), before opening his parachute. In total, the jump lasted approximately eight minutes and eight seconds and Baumgartner became only the third person to safely parachute from a height of over 13.5 miles (21.7 km).^[16]

See also[link]

• Michel Fournier, who has been working on a 25 mile jump for several years.^[17]
• Joseph Kittinger, world record holder for skydiving from 102,800 ft
• Yves Rossy, the first man to cross the English Channel using a jet-powered wing

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Red Bull Stratos Project
• Felix Jumping from the Christ Redemeer - Rio de Janeiro - Brazil

External media
	Felix Baumgartner

The Reverend Dr. James Cleveland (December 5, 1931 - February 9, 1991) was a gospel singer, arranger, composer and, most significantly, the driving force behind the creation of the modern gospel sound, bringing the stylistic daring of hard gospel and jazz and pop music influences to arrangements for mass choirs. He is known as the King of Gospel music.^[1]

Biography[link]

Early life and career[link]

Born in Chicago, he began singing as a boy soprano at Pilgrim Baptist Church, where Thomas A. Dorsey was minister of music and Roberta Martin was pianist for the choir. He strained his vocal cords as a teenager while part of a local gospel group, leaving the distinctive gravelly voice that was his hallmark in his later years. The change in his voice led him to focus on his skills as a pianist and later as a composer and arranger. For his pioneering accomplishments and contributions, he is regarded by many to be one of the greatest gospel singers to ever live.^[2]

Musical career[link]

Work with The Gospelaires[link]

In 1950, Cleveland joined the Gospelaires, a trio led by Norsalus McKissick and Bessie Folk, who were associated with Martin. Martin hired him as a composer and arranger after the group disbanded. His arrangements of songs such as "(Give Me That) Old Time Religion" and "It's Me O Lord" transformed them, giving a rocking lilt and insistent drive to old standards.

The Caravans[link]

Cleveland subsequently went to work for Albertina Walker, popularly referred to as the "Queen of Gospel"^[3] and the Caravans as a composer, arranger, pianist and occasional singer/narrator. In November 1954, Albertina Walker provided him the opportunity to do his very first recording. By staying out of the studio for a while, she convinced States Records to allow him to record with her group. He continued to record with The Caravans until States closed down in 1957.^[4] He left and returned to the Caravans a number of times to join other groups, such as the Gospel All-Stars and the Gospel Chimes, where he mixed pop ballad influences with traditional shouting. In 1959 he recorded a version of Ray Charles' hit "Hallelujah I Love Her So" as a solo artist.

Savoy Records[link]

James Cleveland signed with Savoy Records in 1962 going on to release a huge catalog of black gospel recordings, many of which were recorded in a live concert setting.

[edit] The Love of God

He became known by more than just the professionals within gospel music with his version of the Soul Stirrers' song, "The Love of God", backed by the Voices of Tabernacle from Detroit. Rev. Cleveland migrated to Los Angeles as Minister of Music at Grace Memorial Church of God in Christ. In Los Angeles, Cleveland attained even greater popularity working with keyboardist Billy Preston and the Angelic Choir of Nutley, New Jersey; his recording of "Peace Be Still" (in 1963), an obscure 18th-century madrigal, sold hundreds of thousands of copies thanks to Cleveland's comforting growl and emotional command, his popularity grew to great acclaim, causing him once again to return to the road, this time with the newly organized James Cleveland Singers, Odessa McCastle, Georgia White, and Eugene Bryant, along with Billy Preston. In 1964 Cleveland re-organized The James Cleveland Singers again this time the group was made up of - Odessa McCastle, Roger Roberts and Gene Viale. In 1965, Cleveland added Clyde Brown and Charles Barnett to his group, which by then was traveling extensively throughout the United States and abroad into the late 60's, performing in all major venues, this collaboration brought memorable recordings such as "Heaven That Will Be Good Enough For Me", "Two Wings", "The Lord Is Blessing Me Right Now" and many others. From the 70's until 1990, Cleveland would bring together a number of artists to back him on appearances and records. He backed acts as well, contributing for instance, to one of Elton John's songs,Boogie Pilgrim. He would also continue to appear and record with some of the greatest Gospel Choirs of that time.

Gospel Workshop of America[link]

Cleveland capitalized on his success by founding his own choir, the Southern California Community Choir, as well as a church, Cornerstone Institutional Baptist Church, that went from a handful of congregants (10) to thousands of members during his life. His influence stretched even further: like Dorsey before him, he taught others how to achieve the modern gospel sound through his annual Gospel Singers Workshop Convention, put on by the Gospel Music Workshop of America ("GMWA"), an organization that Cleveland founded along with Queen of Gospel Albertina Walker, and now which has over 30,000 members in 150 chapters. The GMWA has produced, among others, John P. Kee.

Musical style[link]

The style he pioneered — large disciplined organizations who used complex arrangements and unusual time signatures to turn their massive vocal power to achieve the propulsive rhythms, intricate harmonies and individual virtuosity of the greatest groups of gospel's Golden Age — was still the wellspring for the mass choirs of that era.^[5][6]

Death[link]

Cleveland suffered from severe respiratory problems and died, on February 9, 1991, due to heart failure. ^[7] Cleveland is interred at the Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California.^{[8][9][10][11]}

Awards[link]

• Grammy Award won for Best Gospel Album by a Choir or Chorus 1990:
  The Southern California Community Choir: Having Church
• Grammy Award won for Best Soul Gospel Performance, Traditional 1980:
  James Cleveland & The Charles Fold Singers: Lord, Let Me Be an Instrument
• Grammy Award won for Best Soul Gospel Performance, Traditional 1977:
  James Cleveland: James Cleveland Live at Carnegie Hall
• Grammy Award won for Best Soul Gospel Performance 1974:
  James Cleveland & The Southern California Community Choir: In the Ghetto

References[link]

Other references

• James Cleveland (1983). Gospel (DVD). Golden Door Productions. 
• "Grammy Award Wins by James Cleveland". Grammy.com. http://grammy.org/GRAMMY_Awards/Winners/Results.aspx?title=&winner=james%20cleveland&year=0&genreID=0&hp=1. 
• Viale, Gene D. I Remember Gospel And I Keep On Singing. AuthorHouse. ISBN [[Special:BookSources/9871449076818|9871449076818]]. 

External links[link]

• Biography of Rev. James Cleveland
• James Cleveland at the Internet Movie Database