Rio de Janeiro is the second largest Brazilian City as well as of South America. It is the third largest agglomeration and metropolitan area in South America. It is Rio de Janeiro´s state capital, having been Brazil´s capital for almost two centuries during the Portuguese colonial era from 1763 to 1822. It became an independent nation from 1822 to 1960. It is the Portuguese Empire´s former capital and is commonly called just ‘Rio’ with a nickname ‘The Marvelous City’ or ‘a cidade maravilhosa.’ Rio de Janeiro is famous for its samba music, carnivals, hotel-filled tourist beaches like Ipanema and Copacabana and the giant statue of Jesus Christ. And also known for "Christ the Redeemer" which can be found on top of Corcovado Mountain, this statue has been proclaimed in one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Also an attraction of Rio is the Sambodromo which is a gigantic permanent parade stand used in the carnivals, Sugarloaf Mountain with its cable cars and Marcana stadium, one of the largest football stadiums in the world. The Tijuca Forest and the forest in Parque Estadual de Pedra Branca are successively the largest and the second largest urban forests in the world and can be found in Rio.