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Latest News
  • [ March 16, 2026 ] Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes Sells Off Iconic Green Spaces [REFERENCE] #InterventionWatch
  • [ March 13, 2026 ] Eight Years Without Marielle: Marielle Franco Case Revives Faith in Punishing the Guilty [OPINION] #MarielleLegacy
  • [ March 11, 2026 ] In Print and Online, ‘Fala Roça’ Newspaper Is a Comprehensive Tool for Citizenship in Rocinha, Brazil’s Largest Favela #CommunityMedia
  • [ March 5, 2026 ] ‘Valongo’s New Blacks Cemetery’ Trilogy Reveals Deep Roots of Structural Racism and Urban Inequality in Rio [BOOK REVIEW] *Highlight
  • [ 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
HomeWritersKaren Fontoura

Writer: Karen Fontoura

*Highlight

Rocinha Residents Raise Tilapia In Water Tanks in Fight Against Hunger

By Karen Fontoura • Translation by A.M. Oliver • September 29, 2025

Clique aqui para Português For the original article by Karen Fontoura published in Fala Roça, click here.  Arriving at Terreirão da Rua 1, at the top of Rio de Janeiro’s Rocinha favela and near the […]

by Community Contributors

Rio Favela Fights Blackfly Infestation Without Public Support: ‘If Other Associations Joined Us… We Could Clean the Whole River’

By Karen Fontoura • Translation by Staff • September 22, 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 […]

*Highlight

The Play ‘Pacts to Reforest the Earth’ Portrays 2040 in Rio’s Maré Favela, Where ‘All That Remain Are the Pests and the Power of Ancestral Love’ [REVIEW]

By Karen Fontoura • Translation by Kay Alvito • July 30, 2025

Clique aqui para Português Through dance, music, audiovisual and many laughs, two Black queers stage the end of humanity. Set in 2040, as the post-human era begins, the play raises the questions: what is Complexo […]

*Highlight

Water Justice in Rocinha: Chronic Water Shortages, a Constant Battle

By Fernando Gomes, Karen Fontoura, Rodrigo Silva • Translation by Hannah McKenzie • January 16, 2024

Clique aqui para Português This is the first in a series of articles on water justice in the favelas resulting from the course “Climate Justice in Community Journalism: From Pitching to Writing.” The course, conducted […]

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.
A Project of

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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Awards

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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