In order to end my Brazil trip on a high, I saved my visit to Rio de Janeiro for my last weekend in Brazil. I would be stating the obvious here, but the beauty and spirit of the city is mesmerizing - spent most of the Saturday doing the touristy stuff visiting the picturesque landmarks of city and chilling out on the beach.
Coming from the city which has one of the largest slums in the world, with a curious mind and an uncanny sense of adventure, I had no hesitation in deciding that taking a dive to see the life in a favela (slum in Brazil) rather than taking a dive in the blue Atlantic on a Sunday morning. One phone call and we had a guide willing to pick us up and give us a tour of Rocinha - the largest favela of Latin America.
Coming from the city which has one of the largest slums in the world, with a curious mind and an uncanny sense of adventure, I had no hesitation in deciding that taking a dive to see the life in a favela (slum in Brazil) rather than taking a dive in the blue Atlantic on a Sunday morning. One phone call and we had a guide willing to pick us up and give us a tour of Rocinha - the largest favela of Latin America.
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| The view from the top of favela Rocinha |
Build on steep hills, Rocinha is not only home to around 200k people, but also till a couple of months ago it was the nerve center of the Drug Lords in Rio. According to some estimates quoted by our tour guide, the gangs controlled movement of around US $1- 1.5 million of drugs per week from Rocinha.
Our tour began with driving up to the very top of the Favela and then taking around 3 hours to trek down to the foot of the hill. The top of the hill was obviously the best place to live in the favela. It was clean and gives a breathtaking view of the city. According to our guide the price of a small 2 bedroom - kitchen apartment can cost roughly R$ 70,000 (or $45,000) there. Nem, the latest drug king and kind of the ruler of Rocinha, used to live there till he was captured 3 months ago. The guide mentioned that till recently, the favela tours were done in presence heavily armed security personnel. The gangs didn't mind tourists as long as they can be sure that they are not undercover police officers, reporters or other gang members.
Our tour began with driving up to the very top of the Favela and then taking around 3 hours to trek down to the foot of the hill. The top of the hill was obviously the best place to live in the favela. It was clean and gives a breathtaking view of the city. According to our guide the price of a small 2 bedroom - kitchen apartment can cost roughly R$ 70,000 (or $45,000) there. Nem, the latest drug king and kind of the ruler of Rocinha, used to live there till he was captured 3 months ago. The guide mentioned that till recently, the favela tours were done in presence heavily armed security personnel. The gangs didn't mind tourists as long as they can be sure that they are not undercover police officers, reporters or other gang members.
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| Free electricity by hooking up wires to mains |
As we began to walk down the favela we saw that they have everything within the favela from stores to hospital to schools even day care facilities for people to leave their kid when they go out to the other parts of the city to work. We found out that they even have a couple of samba school of their own - a bunch of young boys gave us a performance with their improvised musical instruments and unflagging spirit. As we continue to walk down the lane started getting more and more narrow and with filthy with the accumulation of garbage over the years. The municipal authorities don't clean and collect the garbage from favela, besides due to the steep slopes all the grime flows down from the top when it rains – hence the lower areas of the favela are generally the cheapest.
The guide explained to us that in the past few months especially after capturing Nem, the UPP program (Police Pacifying Unit) in Rocinha has gathered steam in an effort to prepare the city for the Soccer World Cup and Olympics. The UPP program involves measures such as intensive policing and improvements in social services to meet the needs of locals, while reclaiming territories from gangs of drug dealers. The people living in the favelas are generally happy with the UPP program - though UPP means they will have to pay for various services and taxes as other citizens (which they got illegally for free now). They feel they can now set a better example in front of their children. In the past with all the money and power; it was easy for drug lords to be a child's hero. The government is also building a cable car for them to go up and down the favela so that they don’t have to walk on the steep slopes.
The guide explained to us that in the past few months especially after capturing Nem, the UPP program (Police Pacifying Unit) in Rocinha has gathered steam in an effort to prepare the city for the Soccer World Cup and Olympics. The UPP program involves measures such as intensive policing and improvements in social services to meet the needs of locals, while reclaiming territories from gangs of drug dealers. The people living in the favelas are generally happy with the UPP program - though UPP means they will have to pay for various services and taxes as other citizens (which they got illegally for free now). They feel they can now set a better example in front of their children. In the past with all the money and power; it was easy for drug lords to be a child's hero. The government is also building a cable car for them to go up and down the favela so that they don’t have to walk on the steep slopes.
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| A typical lane between houses in a the favela |
As we reached the bottom of the favela - I realized that there was a lot of misconception about the life in favelas - living in a favela is a choice rather than desperation for many people there. They are rather happy with their lives there as they know everyone around and have fun together. Anthropological learning at it best! Of course make one appreciate value of small things in life which we often take for granted.
