FAVELA PT.1

The Favela is a major part of Brasilian cosmopolitan culture whether Brasil's wealthier natives like it or not. The people, sounds and creativity that the hillside and outskirts shanty towns exude in abundance add a different dimension to the great cities of Brasil.
I'm going to talk about the Favelas of Rio De Janeiro in particular here, simply because that's where my experience lies.

Upon arrival in the 'Cidade Maravilhosa' (marvelous city), it's hard not to notice - especially when taking the 'REAL' bus from the airport - the slums that surround the 'jewel' of South East Brasil. These are perhaps the worst of all Favelas in Rio receiving less attention from the Government and police forces. This is in large part due to their being out of sight and touching distance from the hoards of tourists that grace the wavy tiles of the Copacabana and Ipanema strips each year.



Hey asshole! Read some more...


I arrived in the Rio at around 11pm. An hour at which most tourists and even backpackers (a term that probably suited me far better) would choose the option of taxi over bus. Especially in a strange-new, somewhat infamous city far from home. Any traveller to Rio has probably heard the horror stories of Gringos, being driven by taxi drivers in to a Favela where a band of miscreants await to free them of there possessions. However, if strapped for cash, or in my case, after much banter - in Portuguese I proudly add - with the taxi drivers, a reasonable price still can't be agreed upon, a bus becomes the only option. Which isn't so bad, it's all part of the spirit of adventure and cultural experience. Besides, 5 Reais was just too damn irresistible when the guys in the yellow cars were offering 60-80 Reais at best.

Back to the matter at hand. Whilst riding the REAL bus with my rucksack firmly wedged against my face after a chubby German girl insisted on sitting next to me, I pondered over why it is that this bus journey is so cheap. Maybe an answer lies in the fact that, as opposed to taking the motorway routes into central Rio, it takes the outskirt favela route. The bus driver chose to cut the lights out on the bus at certain intervals throughout the journey. It was then that I recalled something I read before left, lights are promptly switched off, 'so as not to advertise to the more...opportunistic slum resident, the mass of foreign arrivals inside.' Bus hi-jacking is frequent, apparently. Comforting!

Upon entering central Rio and Zona Sul (the tourist strips), it is damn near impossible to miss the lines of tiny houses scaling the hillsides. Precariously placed as if on the verge of toppling off, Favelas such as Vidigal and Rocinha are within walking distance. Vidigal's claim to fame is the jaw-dropping opening shot and scene from 'City of Men.' While Rocinha has the title of 'largest slum in Brasil' and arguably South America (competition from a certain Colombian slum is fierce).
Now before I get on to my experiences in Rocinha and the experiences of friends in Vidigal, let me first quickly break down exactly what a favela is. After much research and interest in the subject before I left, I thought I knew pretty much all there was to know. However only after visiting and talking to the right people, did I really begin to get an image of the history and infrastructure of the 'Favela.'



Favela's only really came in to being after the emancipation of Slavery in 1888. There was a mad dash by the freed slaves to leave the rural plantation behind for the big cities of the South. Cities that represented hope and opportunity through employment. Though upon arrival the Black and Mulatto ex-slaves discovered that jobs were scarce, forcing them to join the thousands of ex-soldiers left with no place to live but the hillsides surrounding the city.
Further rural exodus occurred during the 1940's and 70's forming the modern favelas that can be seen today.
Brasil is one of the most economically unequal countries in the world. With a flick of the keys on Google one can find such juxtaposing and contrasting pictures of lavish hotels bordered by inhumane slums. Roughly 34% of Brasileiro's live below the poverty line and 50% of the countries wealth is shared by just 10% of the population. (Them be my Immortal Technique bars).
The term "favela" comes from a plant, a small shrub that grows all over hillsides. This is an appropriate metaphor for the settlements of the same name because the miniature houses spring up all over the hills as people move from rural areas into Rio in search of economic opportunities. Technically, the residents themselves don't refer to the communities as 'favelas,' but for namesake here we're going to.

Not so long ago it was common for the residents of favelas to have no official registered address. After all, who was to go about naming and numbering the slums? This seemed convenient for everyone. The residents didn't have to pay taxes and the government didn't have to care since these people were not technically registered citizens. Therefore with no real addresses, an autocratic style of governance could be in place. Only the wealthy were able to vote meaning only the wealthy could run for election and ultimately only the wealthy could control politics. This has all changed recently though. Most inner city favelas now have addresses enabling the residents to vote and Brasil to have a true democratic system. The working class residents of Rio are now assured of a political voice come election time. This has been vital in ensuring that the plight of the favelas stays at the forefront of Brasil's political agenda.

(President Lula, left, put social projects at the forefront of his presidential ideas and helped build Brasil's economy in to one of the largest in the world today)

Most modern inner-city favelas today do have access to basic amenities such as running water and electricity. Though often this is due to the creativity and resourcefulness of the residents themselves as opposed to government efforts. I can't help but laugh at the way we westerners think of pirated goods as VHS and dodgy DVD copies from that Chinese guy hangin' around Leyton Megastore. Yet for the Third world, pirated can literally mean anything. From water supply to eletricity. If you got it, these guys will find a way to jack it. By connecting a pipe or wire to yours, you best believe everything's available....

(Electrical madness spotted at the heart of most favelas)

On the face of it, favelas don't seem like great places to live. Often described as crime-ridden, many favelas contain open sewers, the obvious over-crowded housing and shocking infant mortality rates. Many will try and tell you that all favelas are controlled by drug-lords or various gangs etc...This is simply not true. Though there's no denying that a large number are and will continue to be so long as there remains corrupt police to bribe and steady flow of guns and drugs in to the favelas. Many gangs actually bring stability and relative peace to the favelas. Understandably, the gangs don't want police prowling around their turf. Therefore if any resident is to commit crimes within the favela, no matter how petty, they are dealt with swiftly by the gangs and made a stern example of. This therefore limits violent crime in the favela, other than that inflicted upon rival gangs and the police. Infact some would even say a white tourist is safer in the favela than walking late down Copacabana or any other heavily populated tourist spot. I would say, while this may be true for many inner-city favelas, I certainly wouldn't want to be the blonde haired tourist caught in the outskirts of town where the people are even poorer, the gangs even rougher, and the areas even more devoid of police presence. It turns out that the only tourists I met that had been jumped or simply robbed of their money all said it happened in quite wealthy neighbourhoods or obvious tourist areas.



It's standard that the drug gangs strong-hold is the summit of the hillside favelas and you don't need to consult your rarely-used copy of Sun Tzu's 'Art of War' to know why. Obviously the highest housing allows for more privacy, harder access for unwanted authority and a view of who comes in and out of the favela. There's actually quite an intricate chain of command that goes in to the running of a successful drug cartel. The lowest of the low are the look-out boys who use their kites as means of communicating whether the police have entered the favela. Films such as 'Cidade dos Homens' and 'Trope De Elite' depict these ranks of command in much more detail whilst also portraying the plight of specific individuals. These Films do well to depict the fear many residents live in though it has to be said, 'Cidade dos Homens' has given birth to a succession of 'day in the life' favela films so. Though if you really want to get a grasp of the politics and economics of a favela, a good place to start is the documentary featured on the 'Special Features' of the 'Cidade dos Homens' DVD. It's named 'News from a Personal War' and is now on youtube in it's entirety. Moreover, the amazingly dope and insightful British channel 'More4' has featured a few great favela docs over the past few years. In some ways I prefer to documentaries to the films. Don't get me wrong the films are great, some, straight art-house classics.

Though due to the abundance of favela movies now, it's hard to find ones as unique as those mentioned as well as the likes of 'Pixote' and 'Ônibus 174.' You know, no matter how crappy it turns out to be, with a documentary you're going to get realism. The residents can give you insight like no other. One insight that always sticks in my mind relates back to the peace and control I said some drug gangs bring to the favela. A middle-aged lady backed up by her family stated in one doc that the drug gangs having guns has limited violence somewhat. She went on to say that the police not longer come in all guns blazing, shooting anything that moves, including innocent citizens. Due to corruption and gangs being as well armed as them (if not better) they now have to approach cautiously, something that proves a silver lining in a dark cloud over the average slum dweller. Without wanting to overpower you with name drops, I actually attended the Brasilian film festival last year in London and two mesmerising docs spring to mind that are must-watch as far as I'm concerned. 'Jardim Ângela' (look out for the tales of Washington, one kids who's seen more in life that your average 100 year old) and 'Only When I Dance' are just dope, check em out, I know the second of those is out on DVD.



Watch out for Part.2 exploring the brighter side to favela life and some personal experiences.





Peace.