Rio de Janeiro ("River of January", English pronunciation:
/ˈɹiːoʊ deɪ ʒəˈnɛəroʊ/; Portuguese pronunciation:
[ˈxiu dʒi ʒaˈneiɾu]), commonly referred to simply as
Rio, is the capital city of the
State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of
Brazil and the third
largest metropolitan area and
agglomeration in
South America,
6th largest in the Americas and the main tourist destination in the Southern Hemisphere.
The city was the capital of Brazil for nearly two centuries, from 1763 to 1815 during the
Portuguese colonial era, 1815 to 1821 as the capital of the
United Kingdom of Portugal, and from 1822 to 1960 as an independent nation.