Posts tagged sports
UPP Brutality as Vidigal Fights to Save Only Recreational Space
Dec 29th
Like in a country town, the news in Vidigal at first travels in whispers. So it was with the information about the location of the UPP’s (Pacifying Police Unit) new base: “They are saying it will be in the square in Alto.” But it wasn’t until December 11th that the residents’ fears were confirmed: in a meeting at the Residents’ Association for the Village of Vidigal (AMVV), Captain Fabio and Lieutenant Dantas officially announced that the only recreational space in the community would be given up for a police base with an auditorium.
While they hurried to mobilize, contacting the appropriate authorities More >
Rocinha “Wakes Up” with Capoeira
Apr 12th
Located at the Rocinha Sports Center, Manel Costa runs his ‘Acorda’ (Wake Up) capoeira school, where he trains over three hundred students from the community of Rocinha.
The group started in October 2004 and has been growing, expanding their work to various communities, training students in the Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance and music. Manel and his teachers run classes in the communities of Rocinha, Berimbau, Maculele and Samba de Roda and also have branches in the cities of Petrópolis and the state of Minas.
Along with capoeira, the Acorda school runs youth tutoring, foreign language classes, theater classes, More >
Futevôlei Instructor Gerson on the 2014 World Cup & Access to Sports in Vidigal
Mar 2nd
An interview with ex-professional footballer Gerson, who played for Botafogo along with other lower-league teams.
Gerson went on to make the natural progression in becoming a football coach and then began offering foot-volley lessons on Rio’s famous Ipanema beach.
Gerson offers his views on the sporting opportunities within his local community of Vidigal and what is politically holding back progress in this area.
He also explains his opinions on the forthcoming 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Describing how the tournament will affect the communities, suggesting a way in which children from the communities could have more access to one of the biggest sporting More >
Acceleration Program Hits the Brakes in Rocinha
Sep 8th
The Brazilian Federal government´s Growth Acceleration Program (Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento, or PAC) was launched in 2007, with the stated mission of aiding economic growth through a substantial investment in infrastructure. In Rio de Janeiro, among other things, the program urbanizes favelas by improving sanitation, housing, transportation, and access to utilities.
In the case of Rocinha, Rio’s (and the Americas’) largest favela, PAC set ambitious goals: to build an Olympic-standard sports complex and health clinic; replace the passarela, or footbridge, at the community’s entrance; widen main thoroughfares Rua 1, Rua 2, and Rua 4, to allow greater access between neighborhoods; More >
