by Community Contributors

The Story of Dona Pascoalina, Midwife and Healer of Morro do Borel

By Igor Soares • Translation by Aaron Scott • November 30, 2025

Clique aqui para Português This article marks Brazilian Black Awareness Month 2025 and is part of RioOnWatch‘s series on Memories of Favela Power, which documents and celebrates the history of Rio de Janeiro’s favelas through […]

In Rio, 2nd Sustainable Favela Festival ‘Favelas at the Center of Climate Solutions’ Engages 1300 and Launches ‘COP30 Letter From the World’s Informal Settlements’: ‘Nothing That Impacts Us, Without Us!’

By Bárbara Dias • Translation by Staff • November 11, 2025

Clique aqui para Português Bringing together 1,300 people on Saturday, October 18, at Fundição Progresso in Lapa, downtown Rio de Janeiro, the 2nd Sustainable Favela Festival featured 140 activities in a rich exchange of […]

‘When Man Wipes Out All the Rivers, He’ll See That You Can’t Eat Money.’ Heavily Polluted Waterways in Rio Favelas Paint a Picture of Persistent Neglect and Demise of Historic Fishing Community

By Amanda Baroni Lopes • Translation by Staff • October 28, 2025

Clique aqui para Português This article is part of a series created in partnership with the Behner Stiefel Center for Brazilian Studies at San Diego State University, to produce articles for the Digital Brazil Project on environmental justice in the favelas […]

In Rio de Janeiro, Century-Old Communities on Governor’s Island Speak Out Against Threats of Forced Eviction by the Brazilian Air Force

By Fernanda Delatorre • Translation by Sylvia Schiller • October 20, 2025

Clique aqui para Português The possibility of forcibly evicting the Maracajás, Rádio Sonda, and Estrada do Galeão No. 92 favelas, located near the Tom Jobim (Galeão) International Airport where tourists visiting Rio land each day, […]

‘Maré’s Specials’ Combats Ableism and Guarantees Rights to Over 700 Atypical Families in Rio de Janeiro’s Largest Favela Complex

By Ramon Vellasco • Translation by Hannah McKenzie • October 15, 2025

Clique aqui para Português In Complexo da Maré, a group of 16 favelas with 140,000 residents in Rio de Janeiro’s North Zone, the Especiais da Maré project (Maré’s Specials, in free translation) serves over 700 […]