 During his time in rural Brazil, Meireles learned the beliefs of the Tupi people which he later incorporated into some of his works in order to highlight their marginalization in, or complete disappearance from, Brazilian society and politics.Installations which contain allusions to the Tupi include "Southern Cross" (1969–70) and "Olvido" (1990).Meireles cites Orson Welles' 1938 radio broadcast "War of the Worlds" as one of the greatest works of art of the 20th century because it "seamlessly dissolved the border between art and life, fiction and reality."