Among the richness in textures in tropical vegetation, and sandy touristic beaches, Rio also consists of Favelas. Favela, a term also known as slums, where communities of lower income reside in. Here in Rio, the biggest one, is favela Rocinha, it sits on a steep hill overseeing Rio. The view from the top of this favela is fascinating. You can see all the components that make up the city, Rio de Janeiro: the mountains, that dispear in the ocean, and the tall hotels/apartment buildings which create the huge gap of wealth disparity. In this time of the year, you see kids at the rooftops flying their kites. Or as they call it, kite racing. The flat roof tops of the brick, or wooden houses are often used for social gatherings, such as bbq's and dancing. According to the latest census this favela contains "over 60,000" inhabitants, however, the immensity of this favela is endless, it's more like a laberynth, so the census count numbers can be off.
The term favela comes from an itchy plant that was found in Bahia, a northern part in Brazil. During the colonial periods of the 18th Century, slave workers settled towards the mountain slopes with other people who had no land ownership, and created houses out of bricks or wood. Not to be confused, this day people of a middle class income are conformed with living in favelas, therefore not all lower-income families live within a favela, they chose to live there because this is where they settle and this is where they are satisfied living. For example, the Favela "Vidigal" is now a trendy popular site for a more middle class settlement. This is a common spot where some travelers seek to stay for an extended period of time. There are also immigrants from other Southern American countries who seek jobs in Rio, staying at Vidigal. Vigidal is known for its younger population.
Favelas, ofcourse are dangerous, and they have the reputation of being run by druglords, and having all sorts of negative conotations to them. I can agree to that opinion, but after my tour in a favela, all I can see was hope, and opportunity for so many people. Favela Rocinha was pacified last November 2011. When a Favela is pacified it means it was taken over by the police, and any druglord that runs the favela is captured and turned in to jail. Once a favela is pacified it's in a state of recuperation engaging children in educational experiences, such as art studios, excersize programs and even volunteering opportunities for people. Although, this state of recovery, is currently in transition, it does not mean the violence is completely over, it just means that there is less of it, and the best strategies of prevention are being set. One of the main faults in favelas keeping kids in violence, is the common abuse of drugs. Kids at a young age are not motivated enough to stay in school and therefore they find themselves emerging into selling and using drugs before they reach adolescence. Kids find comfort and power in holding guns and having money, rather than staying in school and working twice as hard. Meanwhile parents living in these communites are given a stipend by the government for every child they have, so, their mentaility is to keep having more kids, and not having to work.
I did not feel threatend or scared when I was on the favela tour. The only scary part was the beginning, where each tourist had to ride the motor taxi to reach the top most part of the favela before the tour began. The motor taxi is an amazing yet scary experience because you ride up in a motorcycle up a one street, with cars running both directions, along with other motor taxis, and people within the street. This was an incredible experience, because I had no expectations of what this tour was going to be like. That's one of the great beauties of Rio, you never know what you will experience or what you will find.
So here we are at the top of the favela where there is a small community center, here there is a post office box, a medical center and school all in one small central building. The people who lived in this village kept on with their daily lives, as we proceeded in a line behind the tour guide. Kids waved at us, screaming "hello my friend". The guide pointed out the electric wires that were woven together to "rob" electricity. This was how the people of the community found their source of electricity, as it was free of charge from any utility company. The piping system was the same. People also had rearranged their water piping supply to allocate them so that they get their water supply for their homes. As we walked through small tight alley ways we saw more and more small openings to stores, homes, stairs up and down each side, concrete, grafitti, balconies and all sorts of components keeping favelas together. Because there is no building permits or any type of building ordinance in these communities, a new house can touch upon another, there are no rules. Another, interesting fact about favelas is the new law permitting graffiti on the walls. It is only permitted if they are art, any type of negative words are not permitted.
Walking through this community helped me realize how, people lived happily despite their commodities somehow it worked for them, yet most people would think, that they are a working class trying to make their way up in the social class pyramid.
Another observation that really caught my attention, not in the favela but in the overall city, was the growth of their recycling habbits. At the bottom of the Favela, there was a huge yard of aluminum, here I learned that Brazil is the biggest nation in recycling aluminum cans. In small markets you will see vendors making art out of recycable materials. This idea, to me was very moving to see how local people made a living out of materials that were part of their city. Art was displayed through plates and bowls made from newspaper or magazines, bracelets made out of telephone wire, and even magnets made out of the bottom of soda cans. As you can see people in Rio are making a living, while living, and there is nothing more to it. That's what a favela is, its a place of growing opportunities, its a quality of the beauty of Rio, its a community of progressive movement, but most of all its part of Brazil's rich history and culture.
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