Archive for November, 2012
Foreign Invasion of the Favela
Nov 30th
For original article in O Globo click here (or here for the full version).
The sound of Portuguese spoken with an accent is just one of the undeniable signs that foreigners have arrived in the favela. And the “gringos” are here to stay. Hailing from many countries around the globe, these newcomers have passed up life on the “asphalt,” as the formal areas of the city are known, in favor of settling in favelas. More affordable housing, along with improved safety following the establishment of Pacifying Police Units (UPP, by the Portuguese acronym), are leading More >
Zumbi Vive! Celebrating Afro-Brazilian Awareness in Providência
Nov 28th
Afro-Brazilian Awareness Week concludes in Rio this coming Friday with ZUMBI VIVE!, an event full of theater, music and festivity in Morro da Providência, Brazil’s first favela which celebrates 115 years this month and heart of the possibly the most significant region in Afro-Brazilian history.
Known as ‘Little Africa’, the Port Region of Rio de Janeiro which includes Providência, Morro de Conceição, Morro do Pinto and the neigborhoods Santo Cristo, Gamboa and Saúde, is considered one of the most historically and culturally rich regions in the city, particular in the history of Brazil’s people of African descent, which according to last year’s More >
Funk and FLUPP: The Future of the Favela Party
Nov 27th
“There is no more pleasure over there on the Hill of Pleasures [Morro dos Prazeres]…” This line, from the composition by the songwriter and poet Paulo César Pinheiro, comes from the song ‘Nomes de Favela [names of the favelas]’, a typical samba sung with a mouth full of life and eyes full of tears.
Pinheiro’s song harks back to a time when making samba in Brazil was associated with being different. Today, people generally consider funk carioca, or just funk [a dance music style popular in favelas that developed from Miami Bass], and its practitioners to be in that position, regardless of More >
A History of Favela Upgrades Part II: Introducing Favela-Bairro (1988-2008)
Nov 26th
If you see paved streets in a favela, such as these in Acari, they may well have been installed by the Favela-Bairro upgrading program.
This is Part 2 of a three-part series on the History of Favela Upgrades in Rio. Click for Part 1 and Part 3.
Walk into a favela in Rio today and you may see railings and poured concrete staircases amid the more organic alleyways and not-quite-symmetrical homes. Unless there are workers scrambling around—or taking a coffee break—in blue jumpsuits and hard hats, these infrastructure features were likely installed by the Favela-Bairro (Favela-to-Neighborhood) upgrading program of 1994 to 2008.
Before Favela-Bairro, infrastructure upgrades in Rio More >
After the House Was Torn Down
Nov 24th
For original story in Portuguese in Pública, click here.
“They don’t destroy just the house. They destroy that person’s entire life, their plans, and projects,” states Elisângela Sena, 38, who has experienced the drama caused by Rio de Janeiro’s planning of future mega-events. Resident of Pavão-Pavãozinho, located in the South Zone between the wealthy neighborhoods of Copacabana and Ipanema, Elisângela witnessed her house literally fall to the ground in 2010. Two years later her story became a documentary, and she is still waiting for a new house, indemnities, follow-up from an aide of the Municipal Housing Secretary, and a phone call from More >
