The Favelas

It is a popular belief that Rio’s skyline holds the key to much of the city’s vibrant character. Look up and you see The Sugar Loaf Mountain, Christ the Redeemer, and of course, The Favelas – Brazil’s infamous Shanty Towns.



The citizens of The Favelas are the people who make Rio tick - waiters, street cleaners, bus drivers - but their wages do not afford a life in the city itself. As social service is practically non-existent, the rural poor have no choice but to construct their own houses close to the city and their places of work, using anything from rubbish to bricks and mortar.

Every bit of free space is utilized, even the sky it seems is being taken over as citizens build on top of existing homes, ironically living shoulder to shoulder with Rio’s rich and famous, who pay extortionate amounts of money for the same stunning views of the city.



Wherever you look you see them, instantly recognizable by their ramshackle walls, tarpaulin doors, and corrugated iron roofs. Houses and makeshift shelters alike cling to the hills surrounding the city, like a medieval kingdom ruling over its people. A disordered collage decorating the skyline.



Strange then, that despite their obvious presence, the Brazilian Government refuses to officially recognize the Favelas. Indeed many maps and tourist guides list the areas occupied by the Favelas simply as ‘Forest’. Much of the reason for this lies within the popular belief that they are dangerous places, rife with crime and disease.

It’s no secret that every Favela is run by it’s own drug baron, but unlike common preconceptions this does not automatically equal reckless law and disorder, on the contrary the drug barons enforce a strict code of conduct for all inhabitants. The Favela is a family, and within the family there must be no crime; those who stray from the code in any way meet a grisly end, it’s as black and white as that.

Rights and wrongs aside, this approach to Favela living appears to make for a tight-knit community, based around citizenship and co-operative strength. In a world where money is short and the future uncertain, pulling together is essential.

Perhaps it is this strong sense of community which keeps the citizens afloat despite their harsh living conditions, lack of sanitation, medical care and schooling, and the constant threat of devastating land-slides which rip their homes and families apart.

Perhaps it is this sense of community which also enables the citizens of the Favelas to boldly continue building high up into Rio’s hills, so that no one can pretend for a minute that they do not exist.