{"id":34446,"date":"2016-12-23T11:47:49","date_gmt":"2016-12-23T14:47:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=34446"},"modified":"2016-12-23T11:53:49","modified_gmt":"2016-12-23T14:53:49","slug":"the-big-christmas-feast-in-the-favela","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=34446","title":{"rendered":"The Big Christmas Feast in the Favela"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Christmas<\/a><\/p>\n

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

For the original article by Cleber Ara\u00fajo\u00a0in Portuguese\u00a0published by Ag\u00eancia de Not\u00edcias da Favela\u00a0click here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Running around, trips to the supermarket, the search for fresh fruit, preparations in the kitchen, shouting about what\u2019s missing and that someone needs to go quick to buy it before everything shuts. In the kitchen, many hands prepare the treats that\u2019ll be enjoyed on the most anticipated night of the year. The seasoning for the chicken or turkey was done the day before. Nothing\u2019s complete without the potato salad, cassava flour, lentils and barbeque. The touch of luxury from the tablecloth reserved just for this day. The beautiful glasses and cups come out of the box and decorate the table. New clothes bought especially for this day are put on. Meanwhile, the young ladies spend the day at the beauty salon because their look for the night must be impeccable, from hair to nails.<\/p>\n

As the afternoon goes on, the stress and running around increases. It\u2019s time to check the poultry\u2019s roasted because there\u2019s still the ham joint to go in the oven straight after. There\u2019s an abundance of fruit of great range: from grapes to peach, watermelon to dried fruits, there\u2019s a little of everything\u2013even nuts and little coconuts, so chic! Everyone in the family feels great satisfaction in coming together to make all this happen. It\u2019s a synergy that infects everyone. It can only be the Christmas spirit.<\/p>\n

We can\u2019t forget the main event, the superstar of this night here in the favela: the barbeque. Christmas night isn\u2019t complete without it as it\u2019s the nibble for the unexpected visitors who stop by. There\u2019s no way to be without some\u00a0wing, sausage, thigh, garlic bread and molho \u00e0 campanha<\/em>\u00a0at the front of the house. At 6pm the charcoal is lit and there\u2019s already dithering at the grill\u2026! The barbeque is our starter. It\u2019s there at the front door or on the roof terrace to keep the dinner table impeccable. The preparations have been made throughout the day and can only be sampled after midnight. This is how it is in the favela.<\/p>\n

After a whole day of activity, it\u2019s time for queues for the bathroom and final preparations. The final details of the table on display, checking if the beer and sodas are ice cold, if the wine is ready to be opened. Soon the first visitors arrive shouting \u201cIs there anything ready there yet?\u201d And it\u2019s one of those who shamelessly grabs a piece of rabanada<\/em>\u00a0and a cold beer before leaving and going to the next house\u2026 It\u2019s all part of it.<\/p>\n

Around 9pm, with the barbeque in full flow, there\u2019s garlic bread on demand, lots of sausage and drinks. Across the whole favela there\u2019s only music and fun, kids setting off firecrackers, adults lighting fireworks into the air. Everyone\u2019s caught up in it. Then what most impresses me begins: the doors stay open and everyone comes and goes, always tasting something and giving blessings. There are many groups who spend the whole night just making visits. There are those who can\u2019t do the full traditional Christmas feast but even so, do what they can even if it\u2019s just sharing dinner with the neighbor. The important thing is that no one is left out.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s still the secret santa to come. With gifts in hand, everyone confesses amongst themselves. There\u2019s that moment of pardon. The annoyance only comes when someone intrudes quarreling.\u00a0That\u2019s when things heat up\u2026 But there\u2019s always someone who reminds us: \u201cHey, it\u2019s Christmas! You can sort this out tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

So much joy, fun and peace: on the night of the Christmas feast in the favela, everyone eats, everyone hugs and has\u2013even if only for one night\u2013a good time. Here everything\u2019s left behind. Everyone anticipates the moment to hug and forgive. I really wish every day was like it is at Christmas…<\/p>\n

Cleber Ara\u00fajo Santos, 40, is a resident of Complexo do Alem\u00e3o<\/a>\u00a0who\u00a0showcases the favela in in its many forms and moments through social media. He shares daily content through the Complexo Alem\u00e3o Facebook page<\/a> and through the Facebook profile of\u00a0Mariluce Mari\u00e1<\/a>, a local artist who paints in the community<\/a> and has a stall at the Palmeiras cable car station.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas For the original article by Cleber Ara\u00fajo\u00a0in Portuguese\u00a0published by Ag\u00eancia de Not\u00edcias da Favela\u00a0click here. Running around, trips to the supermarket, the search for fresh fruit, preparations in the kitchen, shouting […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":34447,"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":[1288,1328,1268,1330,1365],"tags":[2328,219,32,221,37,520],"writer":[1790],"translator":[1962],"illustrator":[],"photographer":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-34446","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-highlight","8":"category-by-community-contributors","9":"category-favelaculture","10":"category-translation","11":"category-whats-a-favela-2","12":"tag-christmas","13":"tag-collective-action","14":"tag-complexo-do-alemao","15":"tag-favela-culture","16":"tag-north-zone","17":"tag-solidarity","18":"writer-cleber-araujo","19":"translator-felicity-clarke"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34446","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\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34446"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34446\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/34447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34446"},{"taxonomy":"writer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwriter&post=34446"},{"taxonomy":"translator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftranslator&post=34446"},{"taxonomy":"illustrator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fillustrator&post=34446"},{"taxonomy":"photographer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fphotographer&post=34446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}