On the morning of Tuesday, the 18th, a group of pilgrims climbed Monte Cardoso Fontes, located on the banks of the Grajaú-Jacarepaguá highway, in the Southwest Zone of Rio de Janeiro, to perform religious practices in the Tijuca Forest. The faithful were dressed differently from the usual: men in formal attire and women in long dresses or skirts and veils, wearing leather shoes, ballet flats or flip-flops, indicating they were not there for sports hikes, but for prayers. The article mentions that the pilgrims carried gestures, praises and even exotic tongues during the climb.
The newspaper O GLOBO conducted a week-long investigation traveling through different areas of the Tijuca National Park to understand how these spaces were being used for religious practices. The article's title references both evangelical prayer mountains and druidic rituals, suggesting that different religious traditions use the forest to connect with the sacred.
The article also briefly mentions other events in Rio de Janeiro during the same period, including a bus accident on the Serra de Petrópolis that is under investigation and resulted in 10 deaths, as well as an increase in violent deaths in areas disputed between criminal factions, although these topics are not developed in the available excerpt.
