Inside The Favelas - Finally!

I finally have time to sit down and write about my incredible experience going to the Favelas in Rio. The Favelas are notorious ghettos in and around Rio - there are over 750 in the city and many are literally across the street from the most upscale parts of town. I went with crusader Marcelo Armstrong who founded his tour, Favela Tour, in 1992 to help try to change the reputation of the Favelas, often related to violence and poverty.

The land where the Favelas are located is free - the government does this in order to keep all the poor located in one place. The first Favela we visited was Rochina, which is probably one of the largest and most dangerous - the place that the movie City of Gods was based. The drug lords run the Favelas and have provided things like electricity and runnings that the government has not. Also, because the drug lords rule with an iron fist their is no crime - they won't allow it because it might scare aware their customers who come up from the high end neighborhoods to buy drugs. They have buildings ranging from true structures to makeshift shacks. There is only one road through the Favela for 60,000 people. You could definitely feel a dark energy in these streets - a kind of tension that the drug lords impose.

We then visited Vila Canoas which was much more like an underground maze of caves - you could definitely go in and not be able to find your way out for days. It was very claustophobic and dark - not sure how people could handle living in those conditions. There actually was a small convenience store/bar in the middle of the labrynth we stopped at during the tour.

We also visited a school within this community called Para Ti which was started by an Italian ex-pat who lives in the wealthy neighborhood directly facing this Favela. The school provides what we consider a "traditional" education for kids of Vila Canoas. The kids also make handcrafted art that you can buy, cool paintings and soaps.

Overall, the Favelas weren't nearly as bad as I imagined. Don't get me wrong, it's poor but I have seen much worse in Africa, Central American and Vietnam. Most native Brazilians I spoke to had never even been into a Favela - they are too scared. I wouldn't advise going in without a guide nor to I recommend taking photos - the drug lords don't like it. Marcelo also had a lot of interesting political commentary against the Brazilian government for which they tried to shut him down 2 years ago. If you get a chance to go to Rio, definitely take this tour - it makes life in America, even on your worst day, seem like a walk in the park. xx mo