I'm going on my first favela tour tomorrow. In all my years in Rio de Janeiro I have never been on one.
Many would initially think it is because my Brazilian husband wouldn't let me. First off, when did I start listening to my husband? Secondly, that couldn't be further from the truth. Mr. Rant has nothing against the favelas, but did have something against tours that showcased the residents of favelas as if they are animals at a zoo, at the same time giving money to the drug lords.
The truth is, I have always been disgusted with the tours that drive foreigners through on jeeps, close enough to take pictures but far enough away to be removed. There is something to be said about seeing a new neighborhood. We all love it. Hell, I can't get enough of walking around Santa Teresa and taking pictures.
What you can't deny is that there is an international stigma against favelas. The truth is that some of the most honest people of Brazil live in them, just living their lives just like the rest of us. I have been waiting for someone to show me that tour of the neighborhood of Rocinha, and I have found him. Someone to give us not a tour but a personalized visit.
Tomorrow my parents and I will be meeting up with Zezinho of Life in Rocinha. He will be showing us his neighborhood. There is no better way to see a new place than with a local who loves his spot on this planet.
I am excited for tomorrow as I will see Rocinha through the eyes of one of their many good people. I will get to know the neighborhood from a local's perspective. It will not be a "favela tour" but a friend showing me around their home. Someone giving me a cultural experience that I have yet to have. I can't wait to tell you about it!
If you would like Zezinho to share his love for Rocinha with you, you can contact him here at his Facebook page: Deejay Zezinho
Trust you will do a follow-up posting... We'd love to hear your thoughts after the tour.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy!
Awesome! I can't wait to hear all about it.
ReplyDeleteExcited to hear how it went. Never did an official favela tour, though about a decade ago my now husband drove me through one. The attraction is the architecture - how each resident basically built their home out of what they could. Looking forward to the post.
ReplyDeletecan't wait to see it through your eyes...
ReplyDeleteZezinho is a great spirit with boundless enthusiasm for his neighborhood. No better person to show you/us around. See you there...
ReplyDeleteMe and my bf did a tour with Zezinho last year.People we talked to were quite nice. However what would be really interesting to see/ hear about is a funk party in rocinha! How about taking ur parents to that?! Have fun tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteI would pay to see my parents at a funk party ;)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great way to do it. My wife also hates those favela tours where everyone sits in the back of a pickup truck like they're on a safari to look at dangerous animals. We've wandered into a couple of favelas (Dona Marta in Botafogo and Cantagalo in Ipanema) and both times it has been super-interesting. In Cantagalo it was particularly great because a little kid, who seemed bored and had nothing better to do, volunteered to show us around. Local knowledge is the best way. Have fun!
ReplyDeleteDo you guys think that tour would fly at all here in America? People on a duck tour in Harlem or any poor area in the US. That's really treating their situation as a freak show.
ReplyDeleteRob Miller
It's an interesting question Rob. I can see that having wealthy people come in to take photos can make it a freak show. But I also think, if done in the right way, it is good to get people mixing. So many people spend time in Rio and don't go anywhere near the favelas - their assumption is that they're full of drug dealers, gangs and danger. If there is a way that people who don't live in favelas can come in, meet people, gain a proper understanding of what is going on and if it can be done in a respectful and sensitive way then I'm all in favour.
ReplyDeleteWow, we'd love an insider's tour of Harlem!
ReplyDeleteI can go into poltics, and I have before, but ask you why YOU feel I am being wrong in going to the neighborhood of Rocinha yet not Santa Teresa. Who has tinted glasses, me or you? Personally, I went on a cultural tour. And since you mentioned it, what's wrong with the bronx?
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Rachel. From my point of view it seems that in a city so full of stereotypes and mis/pre conceptions from the rest of the world that any sensitive foray into understanding and learning what is a massively real and significant part of Rio (and many Brazilian cities for that matter)can only be a good thing. It is pretty amazing that you can spend your whole visit to Rio with you face to the sea and your back to the favelas and consider you have experienced Rio in any realistic sense. And to be guided by someone who has lived there whole life in Rochina must have been a really interesting trip. bjs, R
ReplyDeleteI think tourism in Rocinha is going to play out in the same fashion that it does in other locations: it will beneficial if the positive characteristics of the visitors outweigh the negative.
ReplyDeleteIf Rachel and her family spent the day in Rocinha hopefully they spent some money over there ( yes, this is important as well purists) and were treated, and treated others with respect. I think the visitors should also share with Zezinho what they think can be improved and is dependent solely on the residents ( so to not get into needed public works, which is a different topic). Perhaps it would also be worthwhile to point out what they wanted and didn't find, and think other visitors would want as well. In other words offer the same constructive criticism which would be shared with any other person, from any other place.
Btw didn't they have Harlem tours? If memory serves me right they were centered around the venue below.
http://www.apollotheater.org/
I would love to go.
Generally I do not comment here - I just have fun reading the gringoes comments. One says this, the other says that... One is right the other is also right with another point-of-view, etc.
ReplyDeleteI think Zezinho does a lovely job.
But I cannot imagine tourists coming to Holland and going to visit guettos and poor areas where mostly poor immigrants live (Morroccans in Amsterdam North, Indians, Antilleans and Surinamese in Rotterdam, etc.) in order to make pics and be aware they are hard working honest people. Because guettos and poverty DO exist in Holland or Switerland or Sweden. But it is kept behind closed doors.
But then when travelling out of Europe many Northern Europeans tourists have this mentality that they can approach people in poor areas in Asia or Latin America and go into their homes, eat their food and have shelther for free... because "the poor people in favelas and shanty towns around the world are actually very generous and compassionate and share the little they have and are even proud that Europeans are under their roof".
I want to thank you and your parents for coming to visit and see the favela. I would like for you to return sometime so we can talk about some of the issues going on here on a more deeper level.
ReplyDeletethank you again....Zezinho
I've always had a plan that if we win the Eurolotto someday that I would invest the money and use the dividends to finance scholarships for educating poor kids either as tradesmen (plumbers, carpenters, masons, etc.) at some school for those functions or in college. Your films reminded me that Rio would be a good place to start. Now all I need is to win the Eurolotto to make this dream come true.
ReplyDelete