26 December 2006
Favelas of Rio...
woke up and and had a scheduled tour of a couple of the favelas of Rio 2day. We were expecting them to be like Soweto South Africa. The poverty was quite "intense", however , the starkness of Soweto evoked much more feeling. Not to say these were "nice little neighborhoods" they were a complex web of organized crime, and hierarchal social structure... but not according to any rules we are used to. Here are a few pics of the favela and a link.... favela tour .
The first one we visited was one of the largest (there are many, and they are scattered all around the mountain areas of the city.) with as many as 600 thousand people living there. Stacked one atop the other... in mostly shades of decay, with the occasional wilted pink, or dirtied green. In some parts bags of garbage piled high... by the sanitation department of the village.
Other parts busy chaotic throngs of shirtless men, women with children, and wary eyes, filled with mistrust and some with despair. Empty, deserted, or abandoned structures.... or storefronts filled only by those staring from the steps as they watch and wait. The streets , all curves and precarious bends, seemingly going both up and down hill at the same moment....mostly sooo narrow that a family of four (mom,dad, two little boys) straddling ....all in a row, sharing space on the family motor bike, and a small car could barely pass one another....
We are told to mind our photo taking in the busiest of areas.... we do not want to catch an image that should not be "caught"... we are of course, here on some kind of pre-arrange "visa" one that is sure to profit the real governing body of this favela.... so , afraid, the real community will dare not touch us... the tourist... for fear of retribution. But we are safe.... and told point blank by our guide... DO NOT come here on you own.
We visit a second.... it has a school program, it is , by favela standards, a Ritz Carlton. The fronts of the homes have been cemented with mosaics of various sorts... textures of ceramic shards, of floor tiles, of roofing materials.... it is seems to us to be a maze of underground alleyways and twisting stairways... and crowds of people sharing precious space.
On the way back we are told that the favelas we were in are going through change. The people (mostly) have water, sewer, and electricity... the wires stick out in "electrifying disarray" because ...well they do not pay the same property taxes as the wealthy , so they get (my phrase) what they pay for.... plus we are told that many are illegally "hooked into" the system... they are called cats of the power supply. Finally we are told that some in the favela are considered "middle class"..... and we wonder....
woke up and and had a scheduled tour of a couple of the favelas of Rio 2day. We were expecting them to be like Soweto South Africa. The poverty was quite "intense", however , the starkness of Soweto evoked much more feeling. Not to say these were "nice little neighborhoods" they were a complex web of organized crime, and hierarchal social structure... but not according to any rules we are used to. Here are a few pics of the favela and a link.... favela tour .
The first one we visited was one of the largest (there are many, and they are scattered all around the mountain areas of the city.) with as many as 600 thousand people living there. Stacked one atop the other... in mostly shades of decay, with the occasional wilted pink, or dirtied green. In some parts bags of garbage piled high... by the sanitation department of the village.
Other parts busy chaotic throngs of shirtless men, women with children, and wary eyes, filled with mistrust and some with despair. Empty, deserted, or abandoned structures.... or storefronts filled only by those staring from the steps as they watch and wait. The streets , all curves and precarious bends, seemingly going both up and down hill at the same moment....mostly sooo narrow that a family of four (mom,dad, two little boys) straddling ....all in a row, sharing space on the family motor bike, and a small car could barely pass one another....We are told to mind our photo taking in the busiest of areas.... we do not want to catch an image that should not be "caught"... we are of course, here on some kind of pre-arrange "visa" one that is sure to profit the real governing body of this favela.... so , afraid, the real community will dare not touch us... the tourist... for fear of retribution. But we are safe.... and told point blank by our guide... DO NOT come here on you own.
We visit a second.... it has a school program, it is , by favela standards, a Ritz Carlton. The fronts of the homes have been cemented with mosaics of various sorts... textures of ceramic shards, of floor tiles, of roofing materials.... it is seems to us to be a maze of underground alleyways and twisting stairways... and crowds of people sharing precious space.
On the way back we are told that the favelas we were in are going through change. The people (mostly) have water, sewer, and electricity... the wires stick out in "electrifying disarray" because ...well they do not pay the same property taxes as the wealthy , so they get (my phrase) what they pay for.... plus we are told that many are illegally "hooked into" the system... they are called cats of the power supply. Finally we are told that some in the favela are considered "middle class"..... and we wonder....
# posted by Henry @ 4:07 PM 
