Archive for July, 2011
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A Ride that Takes Courage
Jul 31st
If one happens to stumble upon Rio de Janeiro’s newest touristic hotspot, another over-the-top project provided by the PAC program, they would come across the trendy cable car that now spans the entirety of Complexo do Alemão. But they would have to make quite an effort to see deeper, past simply this attractive scenery of what is Brazil’s largest favela complex.
Certainly a medium of transport that is initially operating outside of peak transit hours, from 7:00 am until noon, cannot be considered useful to the general public. Except, of course, for the strong touristic appeal of this new installation. Furthermore, More >
Public square as a community right
Jul 28th
Last week, O Centro Loyola de Fé e Cultura from PUC University hosted the last part of a lecture series entitled “Builders and the Built – the spaces of human relations” which set out to examine the different physical spaces in which human relationships develop. In this last presentation, the theme was the Praça (public square) as a major vehicle of social interaction in the city setting. Invited to speak were Dr. Luiz Fernando Janot, a professor of architecture and urban studies at UFRJ, Roseli Franco, networks director for the NGO Catalytic Communities, and finally Cíntia Luna, president of AMUST More >
Lessons from the Pan-American Games
Jul 26th
The Pan-American Games, held in Rio de Janeiro in 2007, set several precedents for the mega-events that will be hosted by the city in the next half dozen years. Hosting the Games established Rio as safe, efficient, and welcoming enough to make it a potential venue for major sporting events, and helped win bids for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. The relatively incident-free Games improved foreign views of Rio and Brazil, amending the stereotypical image of drug wars and beach parties. They established the city as a credible center for business and real estate development as well as More >
My Heart Stayed on Jatobá Street
Jul 25th
On my first visit to Morro da Providência I met a man with several names including Seu Mangará, Mango do Forró, Manga Verde and finally José Pedro. He proceeded to begin a conversation with me about his grief over the cards which life had dealt him. He was referring to a specific time, 11 years, 5 months and 21 days ago, when his wife passed away.
José Pedro, or Mangará as he is better known, has enjoyed playing forró and attending barbeques with members of his community, even when there were drug traffickers controlling the community. He explained to me that More >
Destiny is an Unknown
Jul 24th
By the famous staircase beside which lie the many houses in 104-year-old Morro da Providência marked for removal by the Municipal Housing Secretariat (SMH), thousands live their lives full of dreams and expectations. Children, adolescents, young and elderly lovers of the community where they have built a their lives.
Walking through Providência, we met Viviane Neves, seated on the stairs with her youngest son. The young woman of 25 – a clothing saleswoman and community resident since birth – spoke a little of her career to date.
For two weeks she has been mourning her stepfather, Paulo Sergio, who died of muscular fibrosis More >
