NY Times Declares Rio Beach More Miami-esque Than Miami

By Kyle Munzenrieder in Media Watch

Fri., Oct. 23 2009 @ 3:22PM

Flickr Photo Download_ Beachscape, Barra da Tijuca.jpg

NOT MIAMI!

Apparently Miami is no longer "Miami" enough to be the premier Miami-esque area in the world. Read between the lines of this New York Times travel piece, entitled "Rio Hot Spot With Miami Vibe," and you'll learn that the Barra da Tijuca area in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro is the new Miami.

Barra da Tijuca has the bad:

To some, Barra da Tijuca is Rio de Janeiro's hottest new neighborhood, blessed with beautiful rock formations and a beach blanketed with some of the planet's sexiest bodies. To others, it is a Brazilian version of the worst of Miami, full of traffic jams and tacky shopping malls.

And the "good":

Night life in Barra can feel even more Miami-like than Miami, with thumping techno emanating from clubs dotting its main drag.

Do you hear that? More Miami-like than Miami? How is that even possible? It's like this entire city has turned its own reputation into a giant, fake, uber-branded, easy-to-stereotype dreamland that can't even live up to its own hype. Oh wait -- that's exactly what's happened.