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Published: March 1st 2007
Rio, the marvellous city. One of the most visually stunning urbanities Ive ever seen, strung out between tropical mountaintops and the coast. Rio is the beach and the beach is rio, the beach culture totally pervades this city, with the footwear of choice (even, it seems, in the business district) is the havaiana sandal, invented here. And in one of the strange ironies in the class war (Brazil has the largest rich/poor gap in the world), the favelas, the poor, took the high ground...and the views. One of the most interesting tours ive taken is the tour into the favelas in Rio. After confirming that the profits from the tour went to community schools, and that it wasn{t such voyeurism as I´d feared, the tour completely changes your perspective on the ´slums.´ Of the many surprises there, i found out that there are banks, restaurants, water, power, sewer. They are also the safest places in the city, as the strongmen who run them do not permit crime inside: you go to copacabana to rob people. If youre caught robbing someone within the favela, you dont get a trial. Its also one of the biggest contrasts Ive seen; with the riches of
the favelas
Rio de Janeiro, Brfabulous copacabana and ipanema below, its no wonder the favela dwellers have had enough and are taking some of the wealth thats flaunted in front of them daily. Ironically though, the property value in the favelas above is far higher than the rich beach areas..when a tiny apartment goes for 400 a month and there are no roads or parks but only alleyways you get a lot of rentable real estate.
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