My Favela Experience

  So my time in Rio de Janeiro has temporarily come to an end. My 6 weeks in the Cidade Maravilhosa were memorable for a number of reasons. The heat averaging out at 35C+, the iconic beaches stretching along the coast and the postcard perfect Christ the Redeemer peering down and observing his city. There were some more edgy memories that also stick in the mind; not least seeing a 20 on 1 fight on Copacabana beach that left the victim with a new face, and the regular tirades of gunshots that I could hear from my bedroom. It's certainly safe to say I've never visited a place quite like it, with its obvious natural beauty being chipped away relentlessly by its ugly, bludgeoning acts of crime.

  One of the most interesting elements of Rio de Janeiro's identity is the favela communities that are scattered both in the centre and the outskirts of the city. The favelas house an estimated 22% of the city's population (approx. 6.3 million) and, rightly or wrongly, present a strong stereotype for tourists coming over here from abroad. Films such as City of God have painted an incredibly strong vision of what a favela is and have attached a number of leeching toxicants to the word. I asked a few of my English friends and family about words that come to mind when they hear the word favela:

"Poor. Dangerous. Drugs."

"Slum. Poverty. Crowded."

"Drugs. Slum. Community"

"Crime. Poverty. Colour."  

"Brazil. Cardboard. Football." (You know who you are...) 

"Crime. Colourful. Disco." (Interesting last choice Louise...)  

  So you get the point, not the place you'd want to settle down and have kids. Since arriving in Rio, something about these favela communities has fascinated me. Their raw, jagged appearance makes for aesthetic gold (in my opinion) and something about them made it very hard for me to take my eyes off them. In my second week in the city I visited the Donna Marta favela, which was made famous by Michael Jackson in his video for They Don't Care About Us. It was an intriguing, passing visit for me and my mates, with a tourist-less experience sucking us into the true nature of the community's homecoming rush-hour. Whilst valuable, it was more of an immersion experience than an informing one. So when the opportunity arose to continue my education by visiting a favela with a local guide, there was no way I was turning it down.

  Rocinha is the generally known as the largest favela in South America, with an officially estimated 70,000 people inhabiting the community and an unofficial 180,000 people. If there was a favela to visit it was this one; go big or go home right? So there I was, on my last day in Rio de Janeiro being driven up the winding streets of Rocinha in a minibus. Dozens of motor-taxis (motorbikes) swarmed around us carrying locals back home, buzzing like insects as the engines struggled up the steep mounts. I glanced around and was greeted with a few unexpected sites. A designer shoe store, a tourist office advertising flights and a large number of sophisticated-looking salons. Rocinha was already looking like a far cry from the drug-ridden terror of the cinema screen.

  We started our tour towards the top of the favela, greeted by postcard views of Ipanema, Sugar Loaf mountain and a cloud-bearing Christ the Redeemer. As I looked back down from where we'd come from, I was greeted with a vibrant, colourful reflection of the Favela. It was hard not to imagine that a 'conventional' apartment with such a view would immediately have its value doubled. Our brilliant local guide, 20 year old Juçara, recounted the history of the favela, which started with rural workers migrating to the city in search of economic prosperity. A large number of these migrants were previously subjected to slavery and racist behaviour, which has imprinted a DNA rich with equality into the community. Through history, Rocinha has experienced regular governmental attempts to erase the community, but the inhabitants have always re-built their home. The word 'gritty' comes to mind.

  As Juçara led us through the favela, it was clear that this wasn't as poor of a community as we all believed it would be. Investment and evidence of prosper was visible, with impressive sports facilities and an outdoor theatre inter-twined with children's play areas and open-air barbecue areas. We descended into the residential alleys which did match the pre-tour stereotype. They were narrow and dark but were illuminated by kids happily running around and locals stopping to have a chat. Every service was present: newsagents, food shops, barbers, DVD shops to name a few. There was a shop full of live caged chicken which was slightly more unique ('how did they get them there').

  We were treated to a quick visit to Juçara's house and got a peer inside a local home. The three bedroom house was quaint, comfortable and very homely. What it lacked in width it made up for in height. It was the furthest cry from the accommodation that people would associate with a favela. It was incredibly generous of our guide to allow a group of foreigners into her home, and her Mum gave a warm and beaming welcome. It was a moment like this that made me feel bad for even believing in the stereotype in the first place. I could certainly have lived there.


  It's worth not being naïve though. Rocinha has been run by drug cartels throughout its history and was only recently pacified after a mass police operation in 2011. There's still specks of this influence within the community - and walking past a guy casually holding a machine gun offered a slight slap out of dream land - and locals will explain how it does still exist. We were, astonishingly, told that Rocinha was one of the safer places to live in Rio de Janeiro (ahead of Copacabana). Apparently this was mainly due to the autonomous nature of crime control within the favela, with any criminals having the drug gangs to answer to instead of the police. It doesn't take a genius to imagine how that encounter might go. Whilst tourists are seen as vulnerable targets to thieves in areas such as Ipanema and Copacabana, they are welcomed into Rocinha as people investing money into the community.

  We met the boss of the tour company in his home. He was a colourful half-American half-Brazilian who, along with the tours, ran a DJ workshop out of his apartment for local youths. I thought this was brilliant and he explained how everything he does is aimed at improving the lives of the young people of Rocinha. He really had the place in his heart, so much so he'd had both legs filled with tattoos of the favela. It was quite a sight and I couldn't help myself but get a picture. Afterwards he took us for some beers in a local restaurant and as night fell we left Rocinha behind. Juçara was a brilliant guide, and exemplified her knowledge of the area in both Portuguese and English. She was a credit to her community and I wish her the best with her Tourism degree that she's studying at university.


  It may seem like I'm reviewed Rocinha through rose-tinted glasses, and you may be right, but it was really impressive. The people were great, the infrastructure was impressive and it had every service you could possibly need in a residential area. Again, it's worth saying that Rocinha is the most developed out of Rio's favelas, and subsequently much safer and tourism-friendly than settlements on the outskirts of the city. Some favelas would certainly live up to the stereotypes I previously stated, but I can tell you now that Rocinha isn't included in that. Colour, vibrancy and prosperity are more appropriate and a positive buzz rings through the narrow streets of the community.

  Don't judge a book by its cover. That's lesson one of my review. Lesson two is not to paint everyone with one brush. It's clear that Rocinha is a completely different community to that of Vila Cruzeiro, for example. Just because it's a favela doesn't make Rocinha a dangerous place to be and, inversely, just because Rocinha was good does not mean that all favelas are prospering, positive places to be. Either way, my trip to Rocinha was a really pleasant surprise and I know my friends Adam and Dan said similar things after their visit in January. Just like not every Englishman is like the Queen, not everyone in a favela is like a character from City of God. They deserve credit and respect for infusing their community with efficiency, opportunity and general happiness.

 I certainly recommend anyone that visits Rio de Janeiro to take a tour of the Rocinha favela, it's a unique and perception-changing trip. Thanks for reading.

I did my tour with Favela Adventures whose website you can check out at www.favelatour.org !