Leme (ˈlemi, rudder

Rudder

A rudder is a device used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft or other conveyance that moves through a medium . On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane...

) is a neighborhood in the Zona Sul

Zona Sul

Zona Sul is an area of the city of Rio de Janeiro located between the Tijuca Massif, the Atlantic Ocean and Guanabara Bay. It is mainly made up of neighbourhoods that are located on the Atlantic coastline, as São Conrado, Vidigal, Leblon, Ipanema, Copacabana, and Leme.There are also neighbourhoods...

 of the City of Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

, next to Copacabana, Urca

Urca

Urca is a traditional and wealthy residential neighborhood with nearly 7,000 inhabitants in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Although most of the neighborhood dates from the 1920s, parts of it are much older...

 and Botafogo

Botafogo

Botafogo is a beachfront neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of Mundo Novo, Dona Marta and São João .- History :Botafogo was named after João Pereira de Sousa Botafogo, who was responsible for the...

. The neighborhood takes its name from a nearby rock formation whose shape resembles the rudder of a ship.

The hotel Le Méridien

Le Méridien

Le Méridien is an international hotel brand with a European perspective, formerly headquartered in the United Kingdom, with 130 properties. It is owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide....

 closed in 2007 and is undergoing renovations by a new operator. Every year in the days leading up to New Year's on December 31st the traditional processions honoring Yemaja

Yemaja

Yemanja is an orisha, originally of the Yoruba religion, who has become prominent in many Afro-American religions. Africans from what is now called Yorubaland brought Yemaya/Yemoja and a host of other deities/energy forces in nature with them when they were brought to the shores of the Americas as...

 begin here. The famous party of Réveillon

Réveillon

In France and some other French-speaking places, a réveillon is a long dinner, and possibly a party, held on the evenings preceding Christmas Day and New Year's Day. The name of this dinner is based on the word réveil , because participation involves staying awake until midnight and beyond...

 or New Year's Eve in Copacabana extends completely into Leme as well.

Large tracks of the award-winning film Black Orpheus

Black Orpheus

Black Orpheus is a 1959 film made in Brazil by French director Marcel Camus. It is based on the play Orfeu da Conceição by Vinicius de Moraes, which is an adaptation of the Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice, setting it in the modern context of a favela in Rio de Janeiro during the Carnaval...

 from 1959 were shot in the Morro da Babilônia

Morro da Babilônia

The Morro da Babilônia is a favela in the Leme neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro, built on a steep ridge separating Copacabana beach from Botafogo....

, a favela

Favela

A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...

in Leme.