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  • [ March 5, 2026 ] ‘Valongo’s New Blacks Cemetery’ Trilogy Reveals Deep Roots of Structural Racism and Urban Inequality in Rio [BOOK REVIEW] by Community Contributors
  • [ February 28, 2026 ] Meet the CIEPs: In Rio de Janeiro, An Ahead-of-Its-Time Education Policy Turns 40 Having Resisted Decades of Dismantling *Highlight
  • [ February 20, 2026 ] Brazil Elections 2026: Favela Communicators Fight Misinformation and Digital Vulnerability #CommunityMedia
  • [ February 15, 2026 ] Violent Rains Ravage Rio de Janeiro’s Favelas—Causing Floods and Landslides Ahead of Carnival—Show #VoicesFromSocialMedia #CommunityMedia
  • [ February 13, 2026 ] Queens from the Favelas: Meet Homegrown Rhythm Section Queens Upholding Black, Peripheral and Female Leadership in Rio’s Carnival *Highlight
Homefavela culture

favela culture

*Highlight

‘Badalados and Badaladas’: City of God’s Famous ‘Bate-Bola’ Carnival Clowns [IMAGES]

By Jota Marques • Translation by Sharonya Vadakattu • March 3, 2019

Clique aqui para Português  Horror or revelry? There is a bit of both in the history of the emergence of carnival clowns known as bate-bolas (“ball-hitters”). At once scary and performative, historians date their origins to the […]

Civil Society

Collective Action for Waste Management Discussed in Favelas of Complexo do Alemão

By Daisy Longden • March 1, 2019

Clique aqui para Português  On Saturday, February 23, community-based social and cultural development organization Instituto Raízes em Movimento (Roots in Movement Institute) hosted the event “Waste: Policies and Challenges,” bringing together local residents and guest speakers to address […]

*Highlight

A Feast on Watermelon Rinds and Banana Peels: Favela Orgânica [PROFILE] #SustainableFavelaNetwork

By Laura Bunn • January 30, 2019

Clique aqui para Português Initiative: Favela Orgânica Contact: Facebook | Website | Email Year Founded: 2011 Community: Babilônia and Chapéu-Mangueira, South Zone Mission: Valuing and sharing the food cycle through respect and love for what nature gives us […]

*Highlight

‘Intimate Favela’: Portraits of the Inner Lives of Favelas and Their Residents [IMAGES]

By Antoine Horenbeek • January 28, 2019

Clique aqui para Português For the project “Intimate Favela,” realized in collaboration with Catalytic Communities,* photographer Antoine Horenbeek was an overnight guest at the homes of individuals and families living in a few of Rio […]

Favela Culture

Teatre-Se: Young Women in Theater and Leadership in the PPG Favelas [PROFILE] #SustainableFavelaNetwork

By Shawn Provost • January 26, 2019

Clique aqui para Português Initiative: Teatre-se: Theater and Young Women’s Leadership in Cantagalo and Pavão-Pavãozinho Contact: Facebook | Email Year Founded: 2014 Community: Cantagalo and Pavão-Pavãozinho (known collectively as PPG) (South Zone) Mission: Teatre-se is a group […]

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RioOnWatch’s anti-racist reporting series won silver in the 2022 inaugural The Anthem Awards, in the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion category among Best Local Awareness Programs.
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About

In May 2010, Catalytic Communities launched what was originally Rio Olympics Neighborhood Watch (hence RioOnWatch), a program to bring visibility to favela community voices in the lead-up to the 2016 Rio Olympics. This news site, RioOnWatch.org, grew into a much-needed and unique reference featuring favela perspectives on the urban transformation of Rio. With diverse and deeply interlinked articles by a mix of community reporters, resident opinions, solidarity reporters, international observers, and academic researchers, we work to engender a more accurate picture of favelas, their contributions to the city, and the potential of favela-led community development in Rio and around the world.

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Special Thanks

Fundação Heinrich Böll Brasil
World Habitat
Fideicomiso de la Tierra Caño Martín Peña
Pastoral de Favelas
Center for CLT Innovation
Global Land Alliance
Ecocity Builders
Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation
SDSU Behner Stiefel Center
The Rio Times
Forum Grita Baixada
Beto Paixão Graphic Design
Architecture Museum of Vienna
Yale School of Architecture

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  • Violations
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    • Government Neglect
  • Organizing
    • Community Organizing
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    • Participation
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  • Content Map
    • by Community Contributors
    • by Int’l Observers
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      • Energy Justice Series
    • Event Reports
    • Video Stories
    • Photo-Essays
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