Jeep Tours Cancelled

I have written before about tourism here in the favela in previous blogs. I know that the Jeep Tours have been making tours of this favela for at least 10 years now. I remember seeing them back in 2001 but had no idea they were tours. I thought it was researchers working on specific projets here. I never really took notice of them until I started working in tourism myself. Then I started to take notice of what they do. This was important for me to know so I could offer a better experience for guests coming here.

They are a company that also does other tours around Rio de Janeiro. They are owned by a person who does not live in the favela and never did. Every now and then I would see then hire a driver from the favela, but not once did I ever see one of the tour guides from here. This is common with all the tour companies that work here. I only know 3 guides from the favela that work with these large companies. Favelatour.com I know has 10 guides working for them and only one is from here in Rocinha.

I know in the last three months many people in the favela started to speak up more against the Jeep Tours as they felt the tour operator presented Rocinha in a not very favorable way. First, people sitting in jeeps driving through a community, especially a poor one, made the visit out to be like a safari. The second was lack of connection or interaction with the residents. I know that I felt strange when walking in my community and somebody in a jeep would take my picture. I am not a (dangerous) animal in a zoo. I am sure that if I went to this persons community and did the same thing, I do not think they would like this. I know this sounds strange but imagine if I went to your community and took pictures of you, your house, your car, your child(ren), cat, dog etc., with little or no interaction with you…..you get the idea I am saying now? I can speak for most here in the favela when I say, that if you come on a tour here, please make a walking tour and try to find a guide who is from HERE IN THE FAVELA. When you walk through the community, you show that you embrace our community without fear. We appreciate this! And when you use a guide from here, you will get someone who knows everything about this place and will answer your questions honestly.

So, I cannot say the whole story but these tours stopped after the death of our Vereador (Councilman) Claudinho da Academia. All I can say is that our residents association decided that it best that these tours are not allowed here anymore. And I for one, are happy that they are gone. Who’s next?

News about Favela Adventures

The foto on the top left is Dan Robertson on top of my roof in Rocinha. he came on a tour and a baile funk party here in Rocinha. Please, checkout his blog at http://dandoestheworld.blogspot.com

The foto on the top right is two guests on top of my friends roof in Rua 1 at the top of the hill.

Living in Rocinha, I have great opportunities to meet many people from all over the world. I have the best work in that I get to help people understand the place that I live. The media destroyed the image of the favelas a long time ago. Interesting that Brazilians have fears of favelas but foreigners come here with the open mind and no fears. We welcome foreigners becase after visiting here they can tell people about the realities of life here. Living here in a favela is not as bad as the news says. It is not easy either but not impossible. I would rather have my friends than money.

I meet people who come to see my community. I guess everybody has their own reasons for coming here. Some are curios about the way the community functions outside of government control. Some of corse want to understand the role of the drug lords. We are a community of survivors who have managed to do for ourselves becase we have no choice. I call our favela one of organized caos, becase to the outsider the favela looks like a bunch of houses smashed together without direction.

One of my favorite guests were a couple from Angola who wanted to film everyday life in Rocinha. Everything from walking in a barbershop to riding on the back of a motobike up the hill. I gave them more access than a regular visit becase their interest was to go back to the slums in Angola and show our everyday life here. They made a film to educate their comunities. This was only the second group visit where I spoke Portugues the whole time. This is rare becase Brazilians who are not from favelas, do not make visits to favelas. So speaking Portugues is not common. The first was a couple from Minas Gerais who I later found out were the owners of “Havianas”, the sandals most commonly worn in Brazil. I guess they were doing business research as everybody in favelas wear havianas. We have a population of about 300.000 people and everybody has at least one pair of havianas, so that’s a lot of sandals. In Rocinha there are more stores who have these sandals for sale.

Although many favelas get a bad reputation becase of the news, there is so much more here than the drug trade. I think we can all agree that drugs are everywhere and problems exist with this. In the poor areas of the North America and Europe, there is this same problem of desperate people who have little opportunity taking what they can to survive. I am not making apology for this. But this is just the way it is.

We have the formal and informal sectors of work. The person who works in a restarant or in a hotel works in the formal section and you need get your work card signed by the person who employs you. The guy who sells you water on the beach or rents you a beach chair, works in the informal sector. All of the people working in the informal sector live in favelas. They do this type of work becase they probly do not have the education to work in the formal sector. If you do not have education, working in the informal sector is better than selling drugs. At least it is honest work. I work in the informal sector becase I can not find a job in the formal sector. I prefer to work in my community, I like being here. I feel uncomfortable and do not like leaving the favela My favela needs help and if I can I try to help.

I have two new tour guides that I have hired to work with me in showing our comunity to the world. Vinicius "Maka" Basilio and Rodrigo "Miyague" Zambianchi, both live in the favela. Maka lives in Rua 1 which is where I was raised as a kid. And Miyague lives in Rua 2. I tend to hang out more with Miyague as he lives very close and is not working very much. Maka works another job with his month making fod deliveries outside the favela. I hope as business goes I can give more people jobs as this is what the purpose of what we do here. People living here need to be making the tours.

Recently, many visitors have come here to the favela to write about their experiences. Below are some of the articles written about our work here. Please take the time to see what people are writing about us.

http://dandoestheworld.blogspot.com/2010/03/favelas-of-rio.html


http://riotimesonline.com/news/rio-travel/touring-rios-favelas/


http://www.gonomad.com/tours/1003/favela-tours.html

If you have questions about the article or the work we do, please write to me. I will do my best to answer all your questions.

Opportunists

Lately I have been receiving contacts from people who seem to talk a good game but not back it up! I am tired of talk. Places like Rocinha need lots of help in diferent areas.

Anybody who knows me, knows how much I really care and love Rocinha. There is so much unused potential in this comunity which is why I feel necessary to try to find this talents and show them to the outside world. I was given this ability and I need to focus on this.

So, I receive emails from people who want to know my ideas. I then tell them and next thing I know, they take my ideas and use them for their own profit. Again without giving back something to me or the favela.

So this company in Europe first contacted me in may about setting up some activity, but not inside the favela but outside. I did the wrong thing in telling him he should try to offer this type of programs in the favela (which I think is good). When I spoke with him he wanted assurances from me as he felt the favela was not safe, ok, understandable. But I explained to him that as a resident, i can do things here that outsiders can not. He seemed so against it so, I let it go as he will do his programs elsewhere.

I receive a email from him a few days a ago. So, before responding, I checked his website. He had found his people to do his programs but the thing that upset me is that he used my ideas.

If I had not in the first place ever mentioned the favela ideas, I would not be writing this right now. So, in his email a few days ago, again he is asking me about my ideas. Well, I feel used and exploited. On his website it is obvious that he is in it to make money. Which is not bad thing. But my focus is very diferent.

My programs the main focus is to give as many jobs to favela residents ONLY! And of course build the much needed comunity center in Rocinha. Also everyone knows how I feel about favela tours, that the residents who live in the favela should be conducting the tours, not outsiders who lie or reinforce negative stereotypes! Or companies who put lots of money in their own pocket and give nothing back to the comunities that they make their living off of.

Favelas need to take back their neighborhoods and stop the exploitation from the outsiders!

Anyhow, I am kind of upset right now. I think I need to stop there!

Awesome Aussies!

Ok, I have to admit I love bringing people to Rocinha. I know that most people on the outside see favelas as misery and poverty and all things bad. Yes we have good and bad here like any place. But, I prefer to show people the side they rarely hear about, the good things going on here.

foto #1 Courtney, Tania and me on top of Carlinos' Roof Rua 1

foto #2 Eat out in Rocinha group

On Friday July 3, I had the oportunity to bring a group of 13 people here just for a short visit to "Eat out In Rocinha". The idea is to break down images that favelas are no go zones full of evil stuff. So I put a advertisement on couchsurfing.com website and invited all there to Rocinha to get a taste of the food we have here. I really want to change the image that the press gives about us who live in favelas. My group was a mix of all types of people which I love becase this is what is represented in Rocinha too.

I met everybody at the Samba School Academicos da Rocinha, just outside of the favela at 1 in the afternoon. Everybody arrived and we all walked over the pasarella where everybody can get a good view of the comunity. Some fotos were taken and as we walked into the comunity, I was able to explain a bit about Rocinha and the types of food we have here.

We all made out way up to the Pizza Lit restaurant which is celebrating 10 years of history in Rocinha. It is the most famous place that everybody goes and is open until 5 in the morning. We all shared some awesome food and after made our way down to the Valao as some of the guests wanted desert. There is a nice place that has tastey pastries and cakes in the Valao. So, off we went. Most of the guests had either acai or chocolate cake of some kind. After our little tour, I escourted everybody to the buses and Kombis so they could get home safely.

After the "Eat out In Rocinha", I was contacted by one of the guests about wanting to come back for a real visit. Courtney wanted to come back on the 9 of July, so I set aside time to show her around. Courtney is from Australia and is on a six month travels around the world.

She emailed and we met in from of the samba school at 10 in the morning, but this time she brought two of her friends, Gosia and Tania as well both from Australia. They came prepared with water, confortable clothes and tenis shoes. I told them that the tour would be about 5 hours but I never stick to a definate schedule.

All I can say is that I, the "tour guide" had such a great time with these three women. We entered the favela and the first thing they wanted to do was grab some food, so we eat some pastels. We proceeded to take the mototaxis to the Visual in Laboriaux. I could see that they enjoyed the view and felt confortable being with me. Sometimes with other visitors, I can see that they are aprehensive and not sure how to "act" in the comunity.

They took plenty of fotos in the right places and we leisurely made our way down the hill. Courtney had a request that I thought was interesting. Everywhere she travels, she likes to jump rope. Something about this, just made me smile because it is simple rituals like this that breed great ideas (more about this later). I chose Carlinhos' roof (he is a friend of mine) at Rua 1 for her perfect setting to jump rope. I thought the view and location were perfect in the favela. Too bad the whole comunity could not see her jumping rope.

It was all fun until she asked me to join in. I am not the jump rope kind of person but I was ok with it and decided I would go along. The thing is she wanted to film both her and I jumping rope. Well, I suck at jumping rope but still was a good sport about it. I have to admit it was fun.

I was able to also get some fotos of her and Gosia jumping rope on the roof too! They also got fotos of them jumping catching the shots of them in the air.

We made our way down the area where I live in Dioneia. We visited my best friends and my neighbors and hung out talking, and went up on their roof for a difeerent view. My friends really liked the girls and said if they ever come back, to visit! I never saw my guests without smiles on their faces.

After a while they started to get hungry so I had to cut out some parts of the tour that I usually show. We went to Trapia a por kilo place in the Via Apia. It is one of my most favorite places becase the choises of food you can get there are many.

After, we made our way to visit one of my good friend who runs an art studio in the Valao. His name is Tio Lino and he is a retired man who volunteers his time to teach kids to make art using recyclable materials. He is a great guy and has saved many kids from the streets and getting into troubles. The girls were impressed with him and we chatted and Tio showed them the art the kids had made on display in the studio. It was not getting late around 7 pm, and everybody was getting tired.

The tour began at 10 in the morning and was supposed to be only 5 hours but turned out to last 9 after all the visiting with people and hanging out with friends. The idea was born that I know Jump rope is not that expensive and it is something you can do alone. In Rocinha I rarely see anybody jumping rope. I want to start a program for girls where they can learn how to jump rope, maybe even Double Dutch. I think this would be a great self esteem builder for the girls in the comunity, it does not cost a lot and its FUN!

I want to thank Gosia, Tania and Courtney for reminding me why I love my work so much!

I made anothe "Eat out in Rocinha" on july 11 and was surprised when Courtney showed up with a bag full of Art supplies for the kids!. I am so happy becase I know Tio Lino needs this kind of help for the kids. Courtney could not stay and just dropped off the bag to me to deliver. Nothing can express the big smile from Tio's face when I gave him that bag of art supplies. Thank you again Courtney!

The Pros and Cons of Favela Tours

Foto (R): Some of my guests visiting me in Rocinha

Ok I have some diferent feelings about this. Favela tours have been around for about 15 years. I guess with all the media attentions around the drugs, violence etc, attract people from the outside who want to know about these places. But somebody tell me please why or what do you expect to see in a favela?

I understand the curiosity, but the comunity is not some zoo to be exploited by wealthy outsiders. Again, I see it at outsiders again exploiting the people who live in favelas. Just like the samba and carnival is now exploited by the rich for the benefit to fill the pockets of the promoters. Of corse there is the "jogo de bicho" and curruption inside alot of samba school but I wont go there at this time. Its a very complicated issue that deserves its own separate post.

The favela of Rocinha has the destinction of being located between two very rich areas of Sao Conrado and Gavea. Rocinha is also one of the largest favelas in Brazil and is densely populated in such a small area with awesome views of the city. From where I live in Rua 1, I can see the Cristo, Lagoa, Sugar Loaf (off in the distance, but I can still see it), the jockey club and the beaches of Ipanema and a small part of Leblon. Who would not want to come up to Rua 1 or Laboriaux to get some great foto shots!

Foto (R): Here is me selling my T-shirts at the art stalls in Rua 1 (foto taken by Mark Peacock)

First lets take a look at who makes these "Favela Tours". I have met four owners of these companies and I used to work for one of them. ALL of them live OUTSIDE of the favela. There are from what I see everyday, several tour companies, these are "Private Tours", "Be a Local", "Exotic Tours", "Jeep Tours", "Forest Tours" and the most well known "Favela Tour". Now in the beginning the tour companies had to get permission to run these tours in the community. They got permission by the powers that be, becase the tours angle was to bring "commerce" or money into the community. So, the company charges the tourist, and when the tourist comes they put money into the community by eating, drinking, buying souvenirs, art etc..

Why are these companies doing the tours? Well becase they can make money, and they make alot..one company charges $65reais each person. They often have 10-15 people come on the tour. Well you can add up the money. And this company does 2 tours a day...so this is a lot of money in one day..Now some tours do contribute some money into some non profits in the comunity but how much they give is not really known.

One tour company I found out was using some artists by telling them that only their tour company could bring tourists by the art studio, which I thought was not right. Why can not the art studio be open to all the tourists? But then I later found out that the tour company owner controlled who came to the art studio and when art was sold he took a commision..talk about explitation. I took several of my guests to the same studio becase the guys are friends of mine and when the tourists bought art, the guys were suprised that I did not want a cut of their sales..I told them that their art is theirs and that I bring people by there to support them. I do not want any of their money!!! I can make my own and I make enough with the tourist paying me a fee. I am not greedy. Tour companies like this piss me off! 

There are diferent aproaches to the tours, some are more walking through the comunity and others come in jeeps with open end so the tourists do not need to leave the confort of their seat. I see these tour groups everyday.

I am for and against these tours and I will explain: 

The pro's are, yes some money gets put into the comunity by visitors, people get to see how currupt and uncaring the goverment of Brazil is, they get some education about favelas and Rocinha, but most important to me is that outsiders get the chance to see that the favela is not a constant war zone and that the majority of residents are hardworking people who just earn less money for their work.

I am against, not the tours themselves, but how they are run. People get a very sanitized view of the favela, there is very little interaction between residents and tourists (partly due to the fact that most foreigns do not speak portuguese), people do not get to spend enough time to see more of the comunity. Most tours stay very close to the Estrada da Gavea, the main street. They may walk through one or two becos but thats it.

I have the biggest problem with the tour guides. First,  90% of them DO NOT live here in the favela (how could they really know what goes on here by bringing people through on a 3 hour tour?). I do not know of any Favela tour companies that have night tours! So how would these guides know what goes on here??

Most of the guides are like parrots who just say the "party line" (a script). And I have heard guides not from Rocinha tell outright lies about the place! I sell T-shirts up at Rua 1 where all the artists sell their works and I over heard one woman guide tell the tourists that the favela does not have large metal garbage bins to put garbage in becase the drug dealers would dump dead bodies there! I over heard this and translated for my fellow artists and everybody was very upset at this. Everybody know that if the drug gang is going to kill somebody, they will take the person deep into the hills, do their thing and little or nothing will be left of the person. This is comon knowledge in the favela! The last thing the traficantes want is police attention in the favela, its bad for buisness..there so much more I could say about this but I think you understand what I am talking about here

My biggest con is that most of the guides are NOT from Rocinha. I think the tour guides should be from the favela becase they know so much more than some outside guide. The ROCINHA guides bring one thing that is best, AUTHENTICITY! Who better to give you a tour than somebody born, raised who eats, sleep and conduct ther life in the favela..The guides that are hired by the outside tour companies pay the Rocinha guides CRAP!! I know becase my friends have told me how much they get paid and I know becase I worked for one tour company, but only for  a short time. I gave a tour for 8 people who paid $60reais each ($480reais) and at the end of the tour, the owner handed me $30reais!! Something is just not right about that.

In terms of any kind of tour wherever in the world, what makes a great tour is the GUIDE! Not all tour guides are treated equal! The value of the tour greatly depends on the person giving the tour.

Now you are probably asking well then why dont you do your own tours? Well, I DO! I think most people who know me know how much I love Rocinha. For me what makes Rocinha is its people, not the poverty, poor houses, open sewage or any other negative thing. What makes Rocinha for me, is the people I know, love and care about. 

There is nothing special or romantic about living in a favela. Life is VERY dificult and a struggle for most people. I see on faces everyday the challenges that people live here. I have been there, I know. I am like everybody else who has gone days without water in the house or eletricity being shut off or seeing a rat run through my doorway. There is nothing fun about these things. The social divide and prejudices against favela residents, I have experienced. Its no fun having some currupt cop staked outside the favela stopping you asking is you have drugs, pulling open your pants and shoving a flashlight down to your privates to see, or being physically pushed around when they frisk you. Or when your 10 years old seeing your best friends brother get shot 15 feet from you. Or when you are refused a job becase you live in a favela. Or having a security guard ask you to leave the fashion mall in Sao Conrado becase he thinks by living in Rocinha that "I do not belong there", or that I am there to steal something.

So, I still make tours, but my tours are totally diferent becase they are not the "Tour" like the companies. When my guests come to Rocinha, I treat them like my friend coming for a visit. My focus is to show them the good things and people that exist here. Everybody already know about the drugs and the negative but outsiders need to see and interact with the people. If you come to visit me, you get the tour but you also come to my house, visit my neighbors, we drink, we eat and I introduce you to the people making positive actions in the comunity. 

For me, yes, I earn my money but I see something more important here as most of my guests often ask about volunteer oportunities or wanting to come back and make some sort of contribution to the comunity. I also feel that I get a cultural exchange as well becase I get to meet people from all over the world without having to leave my home. When you leave Rocinha, you will have a better understanding about us who reside in the hills. You will be able to pass on your expereince to others that favelas are much much more than what is reported in the news!

I am working on a big project now with some comunity members about expanding my tours but I do not want to say too much about it now. In september, I will be releasing my website and I guarentee that ALL my guides will be residents of ROCINHA! And they will be paid much more money than what these other tours pay. I will treat my guides with the respect they deserve!

If you have interest to learn more about the diferent types of tours I do, please contact me. You are welcome to come for a visit and learn more about my comunity but also have a great time.

my email: rocinhajj(at) yahoo(dot)com(dot)br

 

****I do not endorse or allow any kind of ilegal behavior on my tours!