Posts tagged 2016
Voices of Vila Autódromo: Barrão, the Fisherman
May 16th
Paolo Roberto Ferreira Mezes, known by all as Barrão, moved to Vila Autódromo sixteen years ago. After learning to fish and dedicating himself to the craft, he brought his wife and two young children to the peaceful, lakeside favela in Rio’s West Zone to turn the craft into a living. He decided to swap his home in Vila Valqueire for his brother’s abandoned waterfront property in Vila Autódromo. That way, Barrão was able to fish from his own backyard. In the years following the move, Barrão and his wife welcomed two more children, and they began fostering a loyal client base More >
Evictions, Gentrification & Displacement: Three Short Docs on the Forces Shaping Rio Today [VIDEOS]
May 9th
Right now in Rio, favela residents across the city are being forced out of their homes and communities. Tens of thousands of families are having to leave their self-built homes, often of decades, due to direct state intervention where residents are told they are being removed for mega-event developments or because they are in “risk areas,” or due to the more subtle forces of real estate speculation and gentrification whereby residents can no longer afford to live in their own communities. Both types of eviction mean residents must move out to peripheral, underserved areas of the city, where land is cheaper, new favelas More >
Voices of Vila Autódromo: José Arimateia, the Baker
Apr 23rd
In 1986, the newlywed José Arimateia moved to Vila Autódromo to buy his first home and to start a family. He moved from his parents’ house in a neighboring community, Vila Sapê, though he was born in Paraíba. He and his wife, Maria das Dores Catanduba de Andrade, were the first of their families to move to Vila Autódromo, a small favela in Rio’s West Zone, which they chose for its safety and peacefulness. Now, 27 years later, their success and happiness have drawn a dozen family members to move to their beloved community.
When José first moved to Vila Autódromo, he More >
Colônia Juliano Moreira in the Dark Over TransOlímpica, Public Works & Compulsory Crack Treatment
Apr 5th
“There’s a total lack of transparency on the part of the authorities with Colônia and its residents. We want answers,” asserts Juliana Moura Marques, resident of Colônia Juliano Moreira in Jacarepaguá and member of the community’s E-Colônia movement.
For the last few months, the group has been calling for explanations from the City government over the change in route of the TransOlímpica BRT highway to pass through the neighborhood, abandoned public works and the proposed use of the community’s historic psychiatric hospital for the compulsory treatment of crack addicts. They organized a meeting for this purpose on Friday March 22nd, yet no one from More >
‘The City is Ours!’ A Protest for Rio’s Public Spaces
Mar 24th
Last Saturday, March 15th, a few hundred spirited citizens gathered in unity to protest the wave of privatization that is accompanying Rio’s preparations for next year’s World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games, in a march from Praça Saens Peña in Tijuca to the Maracanã stadium.
The event, named ‘The City is Ours!,’ was organized by the Popular Committee for the World Cup and Olympics, an organization created to chronicle and redress the violence, abuses and illegalities in the run-up to the events. As the band began playing, brightly-colored facepaint, stickers, t-shirts and pamphlets circulated, journalists interviewed and took notes, and banners with More >
