{"id":17535,"date":"2014-08-28T10:32:38","date_gmt":"2014-08-28T13:32:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=17535"},"modified":"2014-10-25T09:24:40","modified_gmt":"2014-10-25T12:24:40","slug":"arts-culture-integration-at-hanging-garden-festival-in-babilonia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=17535","title":{"rendered":"Arts, Culture & Integration at Hanging Garden Festival in Babil\u00f4nia"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Saturday August 23 over 4000\u00a0revelers gathered at the top of Morro da Babil\u00f4nia<\/a> in Rio\u2019s South Zone for the Hanging Garden<\/span><\/a>\u00a0festival, an annual celebration which aims to\u00a0promote the dissemination of inclusive arts and culture. This year’s edition\u00a0included poetry, political debates, a\u00a0forr\u00f3<\/em> band,\u00a0funk\u00a0<\/i>DJs and singers<\/a>, passinho<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>dancers,\u00a0rap MCs and a diverse range of art\u00a0installations.<\/p>\n

The event took place in over four different areas of the Babil\u00f4nia community, each with its own roster of musical acts and artistic interventions.<\/p>\n

The Hanging Garden events are produced collaboratively<\/a> by Babil\u00f4nia residents and young artists from other parts of Rio de Janeiro and was idealized and produced by the young artist Dandara Catete, 22, and her partner and cultural producer, \u00c1lvaro Maciel, 28. The first event was held in a house in Cosme Velho in 2011 as an opportunity for artists to promote their work outside the confines of gallery walls by integrating art into the bucolic scenery of one of the city\u2019s most beautiful communities. As of last year it came to occupy Morro da Babil\u00f4nia, under \u00c1lvaro’s suggestion, who was born and raised in this favela.<\/p>\n

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This year\u2019s event centered on the theme of coexistence and integration of arts and culture between the favela and the asfalto<\/i> (formal city).<\/p>\n

It began with a debate about how different ideologies and models of integration\/segregation manifest themselves in Rio de Janeiro. Speakers included Cavi Borges, who directed City Of God \u2013 10 Years Later<\/span><\/a><\/em>, Adair Rocha, lecturer at Rio’s Pontifical Catholic University specializing in resistance and heritage in Afro-Brazilian history, and Andr\u00e9 Constantine from favela activism group Favela N\u00e3o Se Cala<\/span><\/a>. The objective was to find new ways to integrate favela communities into the social fabric of the city through arts and culture initiatives–whilst protecting community heritage from the threat of\u00a0gentrification<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Different from public sector or even NGO programs often felt to be imposed on communities without their\u00a0consent or participation<\/a>, the Hanging Gardens festival\u00a0had inclusivity and community woven into its production.<\/p>\n

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One of the art installations was a collaborative piece between<\/span>\u00a0Ex\u00edmia Design<\/a>—which\u00a0use non-conventional materials to create jewelry and accessories\u2013<\/span><\/span>and the<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Warrior Women of Babil\u00f4nia<\/a>,\u00a0a community\u00a0group that promotes female empowerment through vocational arts<\/span>. The two groups worked together to create\u00a0<\/span>an installation that encapsulates the history of the community in order to inspire future generations.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The diversity of the event was exemplified\u00a0in its musical roster. The acts included Babil\u00f4nia-born rappers, funk and passinho acts from other carioca communities alongside Brazilian\u00a0poets, live bands from all over the city and DJs playing international dance music.<\/p>\n

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Entry to the not-for-profit event<\/a> was free for all of guests, and food and drink vendors were all from Morro da Babil\u00f4nia.<\/p>\n

The interaction between favela residents, asfalto<\/em> residents and foreigners\u00a0at the Hanging Garden event could serve as inspiration for sustainable integration of historically neglected\u00a0communities with the formal city. Such an event facilitates access to the favela in a manner that promotes respect, discovery and community, boosts the local economy and avoids the voyeurism and exploitation\u00a0associated with many\u00a0events in South Zone favelas<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Babil\u00f4nia residents,\u00a0non-resident\u00a0Brazilians and foreigners were interviewed on whether the event achieved its objective of promoting integration and coexistence:<\/p>\n

Seejay Beats, rapper from Babil\u00f4nia<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\"Seajay<\/a><\/em><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is one of the best cultural events in Rio de Janeiro. This is the most authentic type of event you\u2019ll see. Many other favela events are really artificial. As you can see, there are loads of foreigners here and I think it\u2019s really achieving its objective, which is to make sure that outsiders can get to understand what favela life is like and we can showcase our culture and our reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tatika BBking, rapper from Babil\u00f4nia<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve lived in this community for about eight years. This is the best event in South Zone. This mix of people is perfect. We\u2019re getting to experience\u00a0bits of their culture and they are experiencing bits of ours. It\u2019s really important because we are boys from the favela and we have things we want to say. It\u2019s important that Rio de Janeiro, and the world, gets to know about our movement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fabiana, 33, retail assistant from Babil\u00f4nia
\"Fabiana\"<\/em><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cThis event is great. It\u2019s the best party in the community. People here get to meet different types of people, we get to experience different types of events, different types of music. Usually here all people listen to is funk, funk, funk, so it\u2019s good to have different types of music, dance\u00a0and culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marie, 22, student from France<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cThis place is\u00a0cool. I like that the event is in a favela because beforehand I was scared to come. But it\u2019s pretty calm. Before I came I had a really negative image of favelas. I thought it would be dangerous and poor. That\u2019s what we see and hear about favelas, that negative idea. In Europe, the negative image is everywhere. It\u2019s an event so obviously there are loads of tourists. I would want to go to a favela in the daytime to see what it\u2019s actually like.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marcelo, 40, and Cristiano, 15, father and son from Morro da Babil\u00f4nia<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Marcelo: \u201c<\/i>I\u2019m from Bahia but I moved to this community years and years ago. This event is nice. The mix of people is really good. All these outsiders are welcome here in Chap\u00e9u Mangueira<\/a> and Babil\u00f4nia, all of you! We are all nice, humble people and it\u2019s great to host foreigners here. Everyone is calm and respectful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cristiano: \u201c<\/i>The event is amazing, really cool. We don\u2019t have any problems with the gringos<\/em> here. Everyone here is respectful and just having a good time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Farrouk, 23, Franco-Algerian student living in a Babil\u00f4nia<\/i><\/b>\u00a0hostel<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\"Farrouk\"\u201cI live here because\u00a0of the amazing view and because it\u2019s cheap. I\u2019m not really enjoying the event to be honest. I\u2019m not really liking the atmosphere. I think it\u2019s better for foreigners to get to know the culture by living with a family rather than coming to an event like this. Parties can isolate people and they don\u2019t really allow interactions. I wouldn\u2019t say I feel integrated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marcelo, 39, Babil\u00f4nia resident<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI was born here. This event is awesome. Loads of new people from\u00a0different cultures. The mix of people from the community, all the gringos and people from outside is excellent. It all adds up to make a quality event. Come here, all of you, we welcome you with open arms! Don\u2019t stay down there, come up here for the best culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aline, 21, student from\u00a0Leblon<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/i>I\u2019m really enjoying it here. It\u2019s the first time I\u2019ve been here but I really like its objectives. It\u2019s a cultural showcase. There\u2019s art and music but I think it\u2019s lacking a bit of spectator participation. I want to find out a little bit more about the works of art here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maria, 22, student from\u00a0Engenh\u00e3<\/span>o<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\"Hugo,<\/em>\u201c<\/i>I think the mix of different people is really interesting… It\u2019s really cool to turn the community into something like this. Even outside the event, it\u2019s good to have diversity in the culture, the food, and everything else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hugo, 23, student from\u00a0Copacabana<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cMy only reservation is that there are collateral effects of events in favelas, especially here in Babil\u00f4nia and Vidigal<\/a>, which cause\u00a0gentrification in the favela. It\u2019s like outsiders come in to enjoy\u00a0other people\u2019s space, but they end up occupying it because their presence causes the cost of rent to rise. They can sometimes push people out<\/a> of their own neighborhoods. It\u2019s a bit complicated because this city is really unequal so people are getting pushed out to the periphery.\u201d<\/p>\n

Larissa, 22, student from\u00a0Botafogo<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI think that with favela events, not just this one in particular, there is always a lack of integration of outsiders and the favela residents. This one has quite a few local people taking part, but the majority of similar events<\/a> you don\u2019t really see much interest from locals. Usually people just come to the event, then leave the favela, and that\u2019s it. They don\u2019t interact or speak to the people who live there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hugo, 36,\u00a0street vendor from\u00a0Rocinha<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/i>I don\u2019t speak their language but it\u2019s nice to chat with new and different people from other places. It\u2019s a positive thing. They bring benefits to the communities here. I think they get a bit exploited here actually.\u00a0They come and spend a lot of money. Here in Babil\u00f4nia, or in any other community in Rio, we don\u2019t have problems with anyone. We respect other people and they respect us. Outsiders are welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Saturday August 23 over 4000\u00a0revelers gathered at the top of Morro da Babil\u00f4nia in Rio\u2019s South Zone for the Hanging Garden\u00a0festival, an annual celebration which aims to\u00a0promote the dissemination of inclusive arts and culture. […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":17465,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1267,1333,1268,1271,1329],"tags":[396,504,320,427,221,501,65,576,197,1370,1472,318,156,458],"writer":[1364],"translator":[],"illustrator":[],"photographer":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-17535","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gentrificationwatch","8":"category-event-reports","9":"category-favelaculture","10":"category-favelaqualities","11":"category-by-international-observers","12":"tag-art","13":"tag-culture","14":"tag-dance","15":"tag-economy","16":"tag-favela-culture","17":"tag-funk","18":"tag-gentrification","19":"tag-integration","20":"tag-morro-da-babilonia","21":"tag-music","22":"tag-passinho","23":"tag-performing-arts","24":"tag-south-zone","25":"tag-street-culture","26":"writer-ed-bentsi-enchill"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17535\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17535"},{"taxonomy":"writer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwriter&post=17535"},{"taxonomy":"translator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftranslator&post=17535"},{"taxonomy":"illustrator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fillustrator&post=17535"},{"taxonomy":"photographer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fphotographer&post=17535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}