Advertisement
Published: December 8th 2010
Stairways, backalleys, concrete huts, dealers and slums, today was all about the favelas...
Located on the sloping hillsides of Rio, were the houses built upon houses that made up the favelas, and as there is no room to expand they grow taller, building on top of each other.
Our trip into Rio´s less affluent neighborhoods had been framed by the recent political activity, which the driver narrated en route. Due to the world cup, the Brazilian government had looked to clean up the drugs in the favelas, moving big name criminals who control the drugs trade from inside prison, to a high security facility. The criminals reacted by ordering gang members to attack and burn vehicles, which would garner media attention.
Ours, however, was a comparatively stable slum located between the contrasting wealthy parts of Rio, we just about made it there squeezing 8 people into a 7 seater with no air conditioning. On arrival we began making our way through back alleys and were told not to take any pictures, the dealers were camera shy. After a certain point we were told photography was now allowed and continued through a maze of ascending stairways and corridors, there
are no roads in the favelas so that the police cannot drive through, till we reached an artists studio, and looked out from the roof top down onto the favela (thinking the Island was over developed)!
In amongst all this, was the occasional school, internet cafe, convenience store and 38¨ LCD in front of a battered sofa, along a concrete alleyway.
Ending the trip (parents can look away now), we mounted motor bike taxis to take us back to the drivers car. These guys had no helmets, neither did we, flew along at break neck speed up crowded dusty roads swerving between vehicles and seemed to think that bike horns gave them some kind on Moses like power to part people. I (James) chose the guy with the Arsenal shirt, thinking as a fellow supported he would be less likely to kill me, and flew along shouting Fabregas to remind him! Halfway up he pulled out an Inter badge, I then turned in search of god.
We exited and took note of the teenage gang member leading the entry guard with two grenades tucked in his back pocket. The driver informed us of rumours that the dealers
had dynamite hidden in the tunnel should the police decide to invade they would shut down Rio.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.07s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 7; qc: 51; dbt: 0.0322s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Lori Belle
non-member comment
Wow
Wow this is blog is so beautifully written, keep them coming Bat Man! xxx