Pantanal Escapes

This YouTube video shows the (lack of) progress on the Rondon Memorial complex near Mimoso in the Pantanal region of Barão de Melgaço. The memorial was started in 2000 - with the internal building skeleton completed, but work was subsequently abandoned and the structure has been sitting unfinished for a decade. Although the State Governor has now promised completion before commencement of the 2014 World Cup (playing games at the new Stadium in nearby Cuiabá) it remains uncertain if the now rusted metal structure can be re-used.

The controversy surrounding construction, and the abandonment of the memorial, is viewed with sadness by the locals. Marshall Cândido Rondon was born in Mimoso and is one of Brazil's greatest and most respected heroes.