Patriotic heart of Brazil (3)

I believe the answer is:

rio

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'brazil' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both locations as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe there's an association between them I don't understand?

'patriotic heart' is the wordplay.
'heart' says to take the centre.
The central letters of 'patriotic' are 'RIO'.

'of' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for rio that I've seen before include "old capital" , "The ... Grande borders Texas and Mexico" , "- Ferdinand, footballer" , "Flying Down to -, Astaire, Rogers film" , "... Grande, ... de Janeiro" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

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