Pampulha Modern Ensemble in the context of Iate Tênis Clube

Belo Horizonte is the sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.4 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the 13th-largest city in South America and the 18th-largest in the Americas. The metropolis is anchor to the Belo Horizonte metropolitan area, ranked as the third most populous metropolitan area in Brazil and the 17th most populous in the Americas. Belo Horizonte is the capital of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil's second-most populous state. It is the first planned modern city in Brazil.

The region was first settled in the early 18th century, but the city as it is known today was planned and constructed in the 1890s to replace Ouro Preto as the capital of Minas Gerais. The city features a mixture of contemporary and classical buildings and is home to several modern Brazilian architectural icons, most notably the Pampulha Complex. In planning the city, Aarão Reis and Francisco Bicalho sought inspiration in the urban planning of Washington, D.C. The city has employed notable programs in urban revitalization and food security, for which it has been awarded international accolades.

Joaquim Maria Moreira Cardozo (August 26, 1897 – November 4, 1978), known as Joaquim Cardozo, was a Brazilian structural engineer, poet, short story writer, playwright, university professor, translator, editor of art and architecture magazines, designer, illustrator, caricaturist, and art critic. He was a polyglot, knowing about fifteen languages.

Cardozo moved to Rio de Janeiro in 1940 and worked with the architect Oscar Niemeyer on some of his major works, including on the Pampulha Modern Ensemble which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Other works include the Monument to the Dead of World War II. Niemeyer described Cardozo as "the most cultured Brazilian there was".