Archive for April, 2011
The Body Complex
Apr 30th
The opening of the first open-air gym in Complexo do Alemão, inside the community’s Espaço Habitacional Poesi (Poesi cultural center), has attracted much attention. One of the initiatives of the partnership between Afro Reggae, a well-known Rio NGO, and Santander bank, the gym has stainless-steel equipment, and a team of trained professionals to assist residents in their exercises.
However, hype created from the venture is another sign of the media’s ignorance regarding life on the urban periphery. Pride in one’s body and health, one of the hallmarks of Rio de Janeiro, crossed the Rebouças tunnel and arrived in Penha almost a More >
A Man Turned Juice
Apr 29th
A portrait of Valnei Succo by Samuel Lima, both of whom are participants in the RioOnWatch project and new writers on favela.info being trained in CatComm‘s community journalism course.
A Graffiti artist and MC in pursuit of a Catalan course, MC Succo is a 23-year-old Flamengo fan, born and raised in the favela Faz Quem Quer, Rocha Miranda in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro. His given name is Valnei, by his mother’s own creation, joining his father’s name, Valdir, with his uncle’s, Lucinei. “My sister also got a similar, mixed name: my mother’s name, which is Lucilene, with her father’s name, Josemir. More >
Thamyres’ Maturity
Apr 28th
A portrait of Thamyres Gonçalves, written by Saulo Araujo, both of whom are participants in the RioOnWatch project and new writers on favela.info being trained in CatComm‘s community journalism course.
A student in a local teaching school and aspiring journalist, 16-year-old Thamyres Gonçalves has a relatively quiet life compared to other girls her age. However, the responsibilities borne by this young woman from Sepetiba (in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro) extend far beyond what others have faced.
Going to parties and dances is not Thamyres’ preference; she rather enjoys her family activities. “I’m not a big going out person, I’m more of a homebody.” The teenager, in More >
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Verdejar: Alemão’s Fountain of Love
Apr 28th
Member of the Urban Agriculture, Agroecology, and Economic Solidarity Movements, Luiz Poeta exudes love, peacefulness, and wisdom through his social activism. We visited him on a sunny afternoon at the center of his own organization, Verdejar (Becoming Green), located along one edge of Complexo do Alemão, a large group of favelas in Rio’s North Zone and site of a large police and military operation last November. Verdejar has an organic garden, an environmental park, and activities with local school children, all projects stemming out of its urban agricultural and ecological center.
Founded in 1997, Verdejar members began by meeting weekly in More >
Forced Evictions on Largo do Campinho – Part 2
Apr 11th
This is part 2 of a two-part article about a community of 60 families on Largo do Campinho, about half of whom have already been evicted to make way for the Transcarioca BRS (Bus Rapid Service) project. For part 1, click here.
Valnei Lima da Silva lives with her husband and two daughters, Taynara (10) and Nayara (17). Valnei, originally from Ceará, a state in Brazil’s Northeast, jokes about her husband’s thick accent, since he’s from Curitiba, in Southen Brazil. Nayara is in her last year of high school, and Valnei fears they’ll be forced to move to Cosmos where they believe More >
