Sit Down, this is going to be a long one!

fotos: Mike do Skate with the board I gave to him and a foto of the Puzzle project being done by Ryan J Goode, professor of Geography is San Diego.


God helps those who help themselves…this is a long one..

My mother used to say this to me. I am not sure how much god has to play in all this so I interpret it as “you can’t just talk the talk, you need to walk the walk.”

After reflecting on the years I spent abroad, coming back to Rocinha, I am very thankful. Rocinha has given me so much. I made a decision to start helping the community back in 2004 when I started raising money for Two Brothers Foundation, a non profit here in Rocinha. I have since moved onto other projects, but that was the start. I am now involved with many different projects of different sizes. I feel like the octopus with 12 arms, each representing something I am involved in.

My website is helping to make things happen here: My website has brought so many good things happening here in Rocinha. I have had the opportunity to meet some great people from all over the world. But like anything, success (not necesessarily monetary) brings people who question my intentions and who are jealous. These are mostly people from foreign countries. There are enough people here in Rocinha who know the work I am doing and it is not just about “favela tours”. It suprises me to see foreigners questioning my work. These are people who are staying in favelas or volunteering in favelas. I think they think that somehow I am exploiting my own community. One person was doing research on favela tourism. The other was working for Catalytic Communities which is a NGO working in several favelas. I guess that because they are staying in a favela, there thought of the favela tour as exploitive. I can understand if I was from the outside, but I am from here and LIVE here. Any money I earn is used here in the favela. My money does not leave here. I buy everything from here. I am a active participant in the favela economy. I will write more below about what things and projects I am working on here.

Please respect my work: I receive many emails from students who are studying various things about favelas. Most are great people but I have recently met some who expect the world of me. They send me all these questions to answer for their research and they want a “complete” tour….all for FREE! I live in the favela because I don’t have a lot of money. They expect all of this for nothing? Then you are either cheap or you don’t really value my work. Exploitation of the favelado. I am tired of this. I am not stupid and I am not here to be taken advantage of. My work is good and it has value. So, please respect my right to earn my living.

Thank You Y: I returned to Rocinha becase I felt I could more to help the community. The idea of the website is to promote Rocinha. Anybody who takes the time to look through and read the 40+ pages or so can see that its not just a tour website. My website involves many people from the community. This was how I wanted my site to stand out from the others. Yvonne of Toronto, Canada, I need to thank a great deal for coordinating the design and content for the website. She first came to Rocinha in 2002, she loved to dance and the samba culture here and decided to return each year after. Two years ago she wanted an intensive, complete tour of the favela. This took 3 days, about 8 hours each day. She wanted to know everything about the place. So, I gave her the tour. After seeing my work, she wanted to help. I did not have money and I knew nothing about websites. She offered to help for no cost, so I told her she will always have a place to stay in Rocinha. I thought this the best as I had a extra room that she could stay.

My life in the US: My mother, who is American, thought I may have more opportunities in the US and this is why I was there to see if this was true. Many people ask about my living in the US. When I was living in the US my quality of life was actually worse because of my living conditions. Because of lack of money and only a part time job, I had to resort to some “illegal” living situations. One place I was living was in the basement of a nightclub. I rented the small space for $150 a month. I told the people that I was going to use the space as storage. By American standards, nobody would ever imagine somebody living in this space. They knew I was a dj, so I think they thought I was using the space for dj equipment and to practice. The club was open until 3 am so I never had a problem coming or going. The floors were made of cement and it was only a room, no kitchen services or bathroom. My “bed” was a door supported on bricks and several layers of blankets. I could not afford a mattress at the time. I had to go to the restaurant next door to use the bathroom and I also got a cheap membership at a gym to be able to shower. To wash clothes I had to walk four block from my place. Another place I stayed was a monastery run by monks. Again it was just a room. It was simply furnished but I had to contribute 15 hours a week of work to stay there. I also squatted in abandoned buildings sleeping in fear that somebody might “jack” me or my stuff (not that I had a lot of stuff). The difference is here in Rocinha, I have stability with family, a good circle of friends and people in the community who support my work. The whole idea about living in the US was to see life there. There was no money tree or American dream for me, only struggles and trying to survive. I think living there and having those experiences made me stronger but also made me realize how good I had it in Rocinha. But I do not regret any of it. Its part of life experiences.

Honesty about my work: Most who contact me, want a more personal visit to the favela. I do not mislead people with the tours. I do let my guests know that they could come here on their own if they wanted but would probably get lost or not know where the points of interest are. Rocinha is a huge place. Some do come back for funk parties or just to hang out and eat. Feel free to come into Rocinha on your own but stay on the main street and leave your camera at home. The media is the culprit for spreading fears about favelas. So, for the average foreigner who does not have contacts, who wants to visit the favela, how else are they to do that? What truths are they given about favelas? So, this is why they take a tour. It is important to know that depending on the favela, it is not advisable to just go walking in on your own. There are some favelas that are dangerous and do not receive tourists. Rocinha is different in that we receive over 200 visitors a day. Daniel and Amanda from Stockholm Sweden not only took a tour but came back several times just to visit, eat and go shopping. I have a rule, the first time, guests pay because it is my work. The following times I was with them, there was no fee. You return as a friend, who respects me and the community.

Poverty tours? People ask me about “poverty tourism” or “poverty tours”. I am not showing that. Yes, favelas are poor, but poor compared to what? India, Africa? I had one visitor from Egypt tell me that Rocinha reminded them of back home in a middle class area. Rocinha is a poor working class area, the focus being on “working class”. I am here to provide a social and cultural experience, that focuses on the good things. Everybody already knows about the bad and I don’t feel it is important to reinforce negative and sometimes exaggerated media stories.

I don’t even like the word “tour”, because it really does not describe what I do or offer. When creating the website and the name, I was confuse as to what names to use but Yvonne told me that I need the word “tour” in my website address otherwise nobody would find me. Hopefully in reading the website, the informed person can then make decisions based on what they read. And if they want to know more, they can always contact me.

People’s Perceptions: Just because I am a tour guide here does not mean that I am making lots of money. It is now low season, so work is little. The month of April I only made $430R. One month I can make this or I can make $1200R a month. I never know. When I returned to Rocinha, many people had assumptions that I had or made a lot of money in the US. To give you a idea, the average house here in Rocinha costs about $30,000R (about $17,000US). My dream is to someday have a house that I own. I still have not reached that dream. Most people by my age here in the favela own their places, while I still rent. So this should give you a idea of my financial situation. I am not starving but there are many people who live here in the favela that have and make much more money than I do.

The challenges of outdoor tourism are, if it rains, I can not make tours here because its miserable and the place looks more ugly and gray. But people have this idea in their head that if you are a tour guide, you must be making a lot of money, because you are working with tourists. If you are a older established tour company then you will be making much more. I am still new guy out there. People need to understand this. My website is only one year old. I started this FAVELA ADVENTURES to expose favela culture to the outside world and to dispel the myths about the people who live here. If I am able to create a job for myself and others, then even better. I have always believed that people who live in the favela, should be the tour guides.

Employing Guides from Rocinha: this has always been the first priority for me. I think it is the right thing to do. Again it involves WE who live here. At this time, I have three guides available who are all from Rocinha. Washington, who was raised in Roupa Suja, is my best and most reliable guide. He speaks English perfectly and with confidence. Melodia, born and raised on Rua 4 (4th street). His English is getting better everyday. It helps that his girfriend only speaks English to him. Melodia is also one of the instructors from ACORDA Capoeira which is one of the cultural programs on my website. Tomas right now is in school but after he completes, I will be working with him. He is 21 years old, from Vila Cruzeiro, a part of Rocinha, but lived in the USA for some years. And he also speaks English perfectly. I will only hire guides from here in the favela. (see fotos of Melodia and Washington)

Helping programs in the community: I started helping people here in Rocinha when I found out about this school who taught English. This was in 2004. This was before my tour guide days. I was djing and making art to live. But I saw this project needed help, so I would donate a portion of what I earned djing and with the t-shirts to this program. It was called Two Brothers Foundation. I dj’ed a party at a fundraiser for Two Brothers in December of 2008 at the Loca Luna Lounge in Atlanta. Through working with Two Brothers, I met Viviana (Vivi) Rodrigues, the president of Two Brothers at that time, and she introduced me to a friend of hers, Alexandre who lives in Sao Paulo. Alexandre has a football program for favela youth in Diadema. He needed equipment for the kids. I was able to talk to a guy in San Francisco about donating used or old football things. Sunset Soccer, is a store owned by Toby Rapport. Toby loves Brasil and football. He has been to Brasil many times with teams who are competing. He currently teaches football programs all over San Francisco. So, Toby donated footballs and uniforms to the kids. I packaged and sent them on to Alexandre’s project. These two projects were the beginning of my helping people. You can contact Viviana at viviana2bros@hotmail.com and Alexandre in Sao Paulo at: alexandrebmx@hotmail.com. Alexandre has a link his program go to Facebook and type in "IBCFOFICIAL ONG" "Crianca Feliz" is the name of the project.

Tio Lino: In 2009, I parted ways with Two Brothers. I found a project here that called out to me, it was Tio Lino’s Mundo de Arte in the Valao (a area of Rocinha). I have always loved to draw and design t-shirts. So, meeting Tio was one of the best things that happened to me. I asked around to many friends here about Tio and not one person had anything negative to say about him. Tio is about 60 years old and is born and raised here in Rocinha in the house that he currently uses for his art school. He has been teaching kids for 30 years. He used to be a lifeguard down at Posto 13 on Sao Conrado beach. Now that he is retired, he dedicates his time to the kids. I was not sure how I could help and decided just to hang out and help Tio teach the kids art. When I started doing the tours, I asked Tio if there is anything he needed. Even though I live in the favela, I still wanted to give money to a project that is deserving. Tio later suggested that I could help with art materials. Kids needed paints, brushes, glue, markers, scissors etc. So, I started buying materials and giving a portion of what I made to his school. Many tourists also make donations of art materials as well. Tio is one person in the community that I look up to and admire. In December, Tio stepped on something sharp that cut his foot. Soon after, his foot became infected and several of his toes turned black. He had gangrene. In January he went into the hospital to have half his foot removed. Tio’s art school was closed for almost 4 months. He did not return to the school until the end of April. I was not able to bring visitors by the school because it was closed. I really wanted to show them the project I support but how could I? Tio is back, but he is still in a cast and walking using crutches. We are all happy Tio is back.

Mike do Skate: Mike is another guy I admire here. He is about 40 and sells beer at all the parties here. Mike has no use of his legs so his transportation is his skateboard. I saw a program on television with this guy Raimiro who has only one leg. Raimiro’s show is about him taking part in activities that most disabled would not do. I have seen Raimiro skydive, bungee jump and ski. In his regular life, Raimiro uses a artificial leg. But this show was to be different. Raimiro wanted to learn how to get around on a skateboard, so they filmed the show here in Rocinha. Mike taught him how to ride. At the end of the show Mike gave his skateboard to Raimiro. When I saw this I thought it would be nice if I could design something nice for Mike. He had always been asking me about t-shirts and designs. But for this, I wanted it to be different. So, I got a board with wheels and trucks. I stripped off the design that was already on the board and painted Mike sitting on his skateboard holding a beer. Added the words “Mike do Skate” (Skateboard Mike). When I returned to Rocinha, I saw Mike one day selling beer, so I went home and got the board for him. When I gave it to him, he was shocked. He thought he was not deserving of this, but I told him he was. A few days later I saw him and asked him why he was not riding the board I gave him. His response was “Its like a trophy, I can not ride that.” I guess if he really needs it, he will ride it. (see foto above in title of blog entry)

Rebecca and the rooftop project: I met Rebecca several times when I was in San Francisco at parties. She is university student who later contacted me about interest in Rocinha. She came to visit Rio July 2009 with her friend Luciano who is a portugues instructor in San Francisco. Rebecca contacted me through email about wanting a tour of the favela with Luciano, who is from Brazil. I am surprised because I rarely get Brazilians who have interest to tour favelas. Well, I met Rebecca and Luciano and after their visit, Rebecca told me that she would like to return to make a project here. I told that I would help her get the contacts to make her project happen. She went back to the US to study and was able to get a grant to make her project here. Her idea is to teach people in the favela how to make rooftop gardens. When she arrives I will make sure she can complete her project. Rebecca’s website: http://www.rebeccanajdowski.com Contact Rebecca here : rebeccanajdowski@yahoo.com (see foto Rebecca & Luciano)

Money as a tool: Some people get strange when the topic of money is brought up, especially in poor areas, because there is not much of it. I believe money is a tool that can affect change and be used to help others. Unfortunately we all need it to survive and it measures our “work” value in society. I want to get money but not just for myself. Because with money, I can then make things happen. When I returned to Rio, I wanted to link with programs that could benefit people. The first contact I made was with Casa 579 in Santa Teresa, a guesthouse. I told Teresa who manages the guesthouse that I wanted to help a program that they support. Within 15 minutes walk there is a small favela called Julio Otoni, which Casa 579 supports. When Casa refers me people, I give a portion to the Julio Otoni project, which is a small community center in the favela. These places help me and in turn I can help them. Their website is: http://www.casa579.com

Painting houses: I heard about Haas and Hahn through the media. Two Dutch guys painting in favela communities. The first was Vila Cruzeiro where they painted a boy flying a kite that covered several houses and the koi fish design near a large stairway going up the community. And now painting houses in Santa Marta. I am a artist and loves anything to do with art here in the favela.

I went out to watch some of the painting they were doing. Coral was their sponsor who contributed paint and uniforms to the residents who helped in the project. About 28 men were able to paint about 35 houses mostly in the main square at the bottom of the favela.
I returned one day to see the last days of painting and they invited me to a party celebrating the project that would be held about 2 weeks later. I decided that I was so moved by the beauty and colors of the houses, that I wanted to do something. I had some t-shirts done up in honor of Santa Marta “Uma Comunidade Linda”. When I went back for the party I gave out the shirts for free to the painters who took part in the project. I don’t know why I did this, but it felt good to see people happy and proud of their community. For more information on favela painting and how you can help: http://www.favelapainting.com

Blessings from the North: In 2008 and 2009, I had opportunities to talk to many universities and students about favelas and the culture of life here. Through the internet, I found this website http://www.blessings4brazil.com . I noticed that they helped favela communities here in Rio. I cannot remember the first contact or who made it. All I know is that Lauri Francis, the creator of this NGO came to hear me speak at NYU (New York University) in downtown Manhattan. She traveled over an hour just to meet me. I was honored for her to think of me as having this value. She is a woman who is working full time, going to school to get her doctorate in education, and she is running this NGO.

Her project helps teachers with materials and support in the classroom. This is especially needed here in the favelas. She began her work in another favela and had interest to visit Rocinha. She wanted a tour but also wanted to spend some time here and see some of the projects I am working with. I first introduced her to Tio Lino because I know he can use the help. Liliane Smith from Holland and Lauri, both helped to build and create a small library in Tio’s studio. Lauri also bought many books and materials to help the kids there. Lauri has other plans to help Tio and I to raise money to repair the roof of the studio that was destroyed by the heavy rain in April.

The next week, Lauri returned to Rocinha to look into another project that I thought needed help. Viviana who used to work at Two Brothers, teaches pre-school full time at Escola Moranguinhos. Lauri met Vivi and they both made a connection. Lauri returned to Escola Moranguinhos and brought many books with her. It makes me happy that I am able to connect people who can offer help to those who are deserving. Viviana and Tio Lino do not have computers. But for more information about Tio Lino’s Mundo de Arte, Escola Moranguinhos or blessings4brazil, you can contact Lauri at lauri@blessings4brazil.com

Puzzle Connections: It’s amazing how connections with people work. In june of 2009, Ryan Goode, a teacher at San Diego State University contacted me through Facebook about visiting his university to give a talk to the students about favelas. He wanted me to come in October. I went, gave the talk and stayed in touch. He was nice to show me around the city and we ate at this Italian restarant that I will never forget. The best spaghetti and meatballs I ever had. He contacted me soon after saying he was coming to Rio to study portugues and do some university work. He needed a place to stay and he wanted to stay in Rocinha. So, he stayed with me for two months. We were on my roof overlooking the community one day and I made the comment that it would be interesting to have a “quebra cabeca” or a puzzle made with a fotograph of Rocinha. With the density of the houses I thought it would be a great challenge for people who like puzzles. Ryan agreed. My idea would be to make such a puzzle to sell, but to raise money to help with Tio Lino’s damaged roof. Part of the profits would go directly to Tio. The other part of the money would go to the costs of developing the puzzle. I think this kind of puzzle would be a great learning tool for students. So, I contacted a friend of mine Tee Cardaci who is a web designer to hook up with Ryan to build a small website about our fundraising efforts. The site is in the development stages and I hope it will be up soon. All I want out of all of this is just one of the puzzles. I will let you know how this goes as the project moves forward. If you want to contact Ryan about this his email is: rjgoode@gmail.com

Surf favela: One of the guys I work with is a surf instructor. He is Ricardo “Bocao” Ramos. He has been teaching surfing to the kids in Rocinha for 22 years. He used to be homeless and lived on the beach. He was a surf bum. But as he got older things changed for the better. As he was surfing he met guys on the beach that would give him broken surfboards. He would fix these boards and then give them to kids and teach them how to surf. His project became a realty and a full NGO after getting interest from Jack Johnson and several professional surfers. Jack Johnson and the Surf Rider Foundation came to Rocinha in 2007. This gave “Bocao” more exposure to his program of teaching favela youth how to surf. He has over 65 students enrolled in his programs. His non profit is called “Surf Escola Rocinha” and is located in the front of the new sports complex just outside of Rocinha. I often receive visitors to my website that want to learn surfing. So, I will set them up with “Bocao”. The last guest Bocao taught was Michael Kranz from Germany. This past April a brother and sister from Vancouver both took lessons from him and they did not even know how to swim. The guests paid Bocao directly for the surf lessons and I do not take a commissions fee. I saw Bocao teach before I decided to work with him. I wanted somebody who I trust and who is good at what they do. Bocao has been great according to the guests who wrote me after to say how much they enjoyed learning to surf with Bocao. This August 31, I will be Dj’ing a party for the surf school to help promote their work. If you are in Rio at the time, come on by. If you want more information about Bocao’s program or you would like to learn to surf, contact me and I wil set up a meeting with him.

There are some other projects still in the talking stages, one is about bringing solar energy to rocinha clarkenigel@gmail.com , starting a kids road or indoor hockey program, and there are others but I will write about them as they get closer to action being taken.

One last thing, I want to mention is this…

Perdeu… perdeu!!!!! These are the words often said by a robber to his victim in Rio. They say this as they are taking your money or backpack..you name it..they says this..
My idea started after reading this blog about my friend Leandro, who had his backpack stolen. I know Leandro personally and he is class A people. He is a university student, a photographer and currently has a job working with the PAC (slum upgrading) project here in Rocinha. He also lives in Rocinha very close to my house.
As I was reading his blog, I was saddened by the thought of him losing his passion of photography. I know if I was robbed of my passion, I would be depressed too. The story goes is that he was in Barra de Tijuca (which is a rich neighborhood) and he was on the sidewalk when a motorcycle came out of nowhere. The robber stuck a gun in his face and told him to give the backpack. So, my friend gave him the backpack. It’s ironic that in the favela this kind of thing would never happen.
Leandro had already asked me to Dj his party as his birthday is on the 16 of October. I have enough time to put my plan into action. Leandro has no idea but I will be buying him a new camera. I think he will be very happy. I made some money in the last two months and I put savings away for this. I want nothing from this, only the satisfaction that I was able to help somebody who needed it. The person who is helping me with this is Rick Echavarria of New York. He has returned to New York and I have given him the money to buy the camera. Cameras are more than double the price here in Brazil. Rick will be returning to Rocinha in September before my friends birthday. I invited Rick to Leandro’s party as I want him to see Leandro’s face when he opens the box to see a new camera. And then he can go back to his passion of Photography. Leandro’s website is: http://www.faveladarocinha.com its in Portugues, but I guess if you need translate it, google should be able to help. To contact Rick about this project, his email is: rickechavarria@gmail.com

As you can see, I am very involved in the community and not just a tour guide. I have always said, the Favela is about WE not ME!!!

If you have questions about any of the projects I have listed here, feel free to contact them.

BOPE/UPP and the taking over of Favelas

As many of you know, because of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics arriving here., the city is trying to clean up the image of Rio being a dangerous place. Statistics say that about 5-6 people a day are killed in Rio, this with a population of about 6.5 million. Most, if not all, are usually people from the favelas involved in drugs or innocent bystanders in these communities.

The UPP are supposed to be the “new” police force, a branch of the Policia Militar, who are to installed in the favelas. The idea is to get rid of the guns and violence. They know that they cannot eliminate drugs totally but they want the guns gone. There are many problems that come with this. Most communities of corse want guns and violence gone, but the problem stems in trust of the police. Favela residents, me included have no liking for the police becase of what they represent. To us they are corrupt and abusive people.

We have experienced so many years of abuse from the police even back when Brazil had the military dictatorship. Its very difficult after years of mistrust to all of a sudden expect the people to embrace the “new” police forces coming to “pacify” our communities. The police have a lot of work to do to gain the trust of the people and it will not happen overnight.

The way the police overtake a favela is they first send in the Elite Forces (BOPE) with their big skull, an armoured vehicles that drives through the favelas intimidating the residents, children included, by threatening to shoot them if they are on the street. They usually come in shooting. I think of them like trigger happy mercenaries that just want to destroy any living thing. The police usually announce they are coming beforehand to give the drug traffickers the opportunity to leave without incident. With most of the recent take overs, it has been fairly simple for the BOPE to come in and then after the UPP’s (Police Pacifying Units) are installed in the community. I often wonder if this is a temporary thing and if after the Olympics, will they leave and open up opportunity for the traffickers to return?

Once the UPP’s are there, their job is to show a presence in the community. In Santa Marta in Botofogo which has been under UPP control for over a year, there have been problems. When I went there to visit a friend, I spoke to him about the installation of the police and he felt, not much had changed in regards to them being there. Yes, the guns were gone, but drugs still were there. The safety net and security of the community that the traffickers provided was gone. People now in the favela were experiencing petty crime in the favela like house break ins and bicycles being stolen. These things did not happen when the traffickers were in control. These things are happening becase there is no punishment becase the police to not POLICE the favela. When I was there, they sat at the bottom of the hill in their car or were sleeping. I saw NO police walking through the favela trying to create a sense of dialog with the residents. My friend told me that not only petty crime but police abusing residents for no reason is still common.

I think most people, including the rich have a dislike for the police because they don’t do anything other than try to hustle bribes from mostly honest people. When I lived in the USA, I never saw this kind of thing. The police tried to police, but here they rarely do anything unless there is a cash payoff for them. This is becase they get paid so little. The police military starting salary is $1200 reais a month. I wonder where these guys live on this salary? Favelas perhaps? No wonder they extort bribes from innocents.

I live here in the favela and I fear the police more than the drug traffickers. There is something wrong with that when a law abiding citizen takes more comfort in feeling safe with a traffickers versus a police officer. There is something very wrong here. But this is our reality in the favelas of Rio.

Right now the favela is tranquil and quiet. We still have the PAC projet going on here which is why I think nothing big will happen yet. But after the government sponsored slum upgrading projet (PAC) is finished, I expect the UPP’s to make their move here. They want to clean up any tourist areas especially in the South Zone here in Rio.

It will be very interesting to see how things “go down” here in Rocinha, the largest favela in Rio with the implantation of these UPP units and if it happens. Who knows maybe the traffickers will make some sort of deal with the police. Hard to say as we can only wait and see.

For me, I am happy the way it is now as “the devil you know is better than the devil you DON’T know”

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?

Why English

Many people write and ask me why I write in English. The main reason is because in Brazil, people do not want to read about favela life. They have no interest. Actually most Brazilians have fear of favelas or they are ashamed about them. The majority of people who want to know about life here in the favela are people who are not from Brazil. Foreigners do not have the same kind of prejudice or judgement. Te media bombards people here in Rio especially about favelas and very rarely is anything nice said about them. This is why people grow up in Brazil, having these fears.

It is a shame becase a lot of good things come from places you would not expect, like favelas. My life is far from being a paradise or perfect, but I can say that my life is good and I am thankful. I have wonderful people in my life who I value. These same people are proud to live here and not ashamed to say they live in a favela.

I know many here in Rocinha that would not admit to living here to outsiders for fear of being judged. Unfortunately, there is this classist system here where poor people who live in favelas are made out to be criminals. The media does not help as all they show on tv about favelas are negative things. No wonder the middle and upper classes have fears of us. But these images need to change. The outside world needs to know that the favela is much more than the drugs and violence. There are many good and hard working people here.

I do not think people in Rio understand but take away, Carnaval, Samba, Capoeira, Feijoada, Pagode and Brazil, especially Rio would not have a identity. Those things I mentioned are ALL from the favelas.

Everyday life

Living in the largest slum in South America has its challenges. Life is very simple here. Water is one of those daily challenges. Here in Rocinha our water tanks on the roof are filled once a week. We have a pumping station at the top of Rua 1, which gets the water from the forest deep in the woods beyond Portao Vermelho, here in the favela. In the woods this water reserve is like a fresh spring and you can drink the water from there. Once the water is pumped through pipes, you cannot drink the water.

I watch how much water I use but I always have a back up. When it rains, I put buckets on the roof to collect the rainwater. I filter the water and put it in 2 litre bottles. I save this extra water for times when there is no water. I have saved about 30 bottles, about 60 litres. In the past, I have been without water, so conserving and saving is important.

When it rains its great as our resource builds up but for those who live high up the hill it can be dangerous. Some people who built shacks up under the tract of two brothers mountain did not think about erosion or building their houses into the rock. I read yesterday that 2 barracos (shacks) and a small bar were destroyed in the favela, becase of the recent rains. If it rains more than 3 days, there is always someone’s house damaged.
In April 3 lives were lost and 6 houses completely destroyed. This happens in many favela communities.

The streets here also flood and the water running down the hill could easily sweep a small child away to their death. Garbage is also taken down the hill. I once saw a refrigerator, a desk and a motorcycle helmet “swimming” downhill. The city clean up crews are used to this here in Rocinha as all the garbage meets at the bottom of the hill very close to the rich areas. So, of corse the city cleans it as soon as they can so the rich people do not complain.

Comparing US Ghettos to Favelas

These are MY observations and opinions about what I see are the differences between American ghettos and the Brazilian Favelas. I am not a expert. This is my opinions from being in both places, what I see are the differences between the two places.

I remember reading a somebodys post on a internet website about them wanting to visit a favela. There were people who responded negatively and one response in particular made me think. The responder had wrote “You would not go into a poor neighborhood in your own country, so, why would you want to do this in Brazil?”

For foreigners, I think attraction to favelas is different because of the way the media portrays these communities. It first starts in how Brazil is promoted by tourism and films. City of God brought the favela issue to the front and this brought more attention to the favela. Carnival and Samba also created curiosity about the favelas. Foreigners were not raised with the prejudice against the favelas like Brazilians have been. Its sad becase much of Brazilian identity is from that of the favelas. Carnival, Samba, Feijoada, many of brazil’s top football players, and Capoeira all come from favelas.

Ghetto’s, favelas, whatever we call them are underserved areas of poor people. How poor? You would have to decide on your own what levels of poverty exist there. I can tell you in living in the favela here, yes, we are poor but we are not as poor as the slums in India or Africa.


My Observations about USA Ghettos and culture in the United States

Ghettos can be the inner city black neighborhoods or the midwestern predominantly white trailer parks. Ghettos are poorer neighborhoods.

In the US there will always be this thing about the individual. They are always talking about individual rights etc..American ghettos show this first hand in the way some of the people speak “I gotta get whats mine!” I heard this many times. Rarely did I ever hear the word “we” as part of speech. The US is about the “me” or “I”. There is little or no community bonding in the ghettos.

The problem starts when the country tries to brainwash people into believing they have a right at the “American Dream”. Whats the American Dream? A house, car, good job, nice neighborhood, picket fence with back yard, 2 kids? What? This is what the country feeds to the people. You gotta buy a house with a 30-40 year mortgage?? What??? 30-40 years with a ball & chain?? How do you know if you will live that long?? The US is a big corporation consumerist place. If you do NOT have the lastest technology, there is something wrong with you. This is the problem. The system of economics makes the people feel inadequate if they do not buy. And people buy into this. This dream is only afforded to the very few. Now in the US it is so expensive to live that both mother and father are working so much to provide these “things” that they call quality of life. Instead of having a smaller house and living within their paychecks, they need to buy some huge house, fancy car and put themselves in debt for the next 10 years. why? For what? Who are they trying to impress? For all that working they do, who suffers? The children suffer becase their parents never have the time to give them the attention they need to develop as compassionate human beings. Instead the children become drone like becase their “parents” are now the video game, tv, computer or nanny. There is a lack of personal connection between parents and child which results in the cycle of the child becoming the same as the parents. Why have children if you do not have the time to give to them?

My interpretation of the American Dream is people who are slaves to their jobs. I could never live this way. Working 8-10 hours a day 5-6 days a week with 2-3 weeks vacation a year? What? Where is the quality of life? But people do this just to have that Landrover or 30 inch flat screen tv????

I do not understand this? There is nothing wrong with wanting nice things but at what cost to time and happiness? What happens with this is sacrifice of the family.

For people in ghettos the same brainwashing exists. Everybody wants nicer “things”. The key word here is “THINGS”. How about strong family values or a good education? What happened to those? Everything is about material things. So with that comes a culture of feeling like they need to have the nicest clothes, jewelry, cars etc.In many ghettos, there are cycles of families living off the government on public assistance/welfare in public housing projects. This welfare and public housing is provided to the poor by the government. This sets up people to be complacent and lazy. When the government gives you housing and 500 or more a month, why work? People get comfortable with this and eventually get trapped in it. All your needs are taken care of so why go out and find work?

In these housing projects, there is electricity, water and proper sewage.so, people do not have to worry about their toilet not flushing. Most of the inner city housing projects in places like New York and Chicago tend to be high rise buildings where the basic needs are met. In a high rise every person has their own separate compartment. It may not be pretty but its adequate. There is very little embracing of community with the way buildings separate people. And sad to say, that most housing projects get destroyed by the residents who need this housing. This I do not understand. Why would a person destroy a place they need?

With poverty, drugs, like most impoverished areas, are the way some feel they can “get ahead”. I think the government of the US dumped drugs into the black neighborhoods to destroy their communities. Back in the 1960’s and 70’s the black power movement was strong and developing many powerful leaders and role models for their communities. After the drugs came in, the community died. Money and power became more important than family and community values. Now in these neighborhoods, blacks are killing blacks. There is not so much the race war. Its about power, drugs, women, fancy clothes, expensive cars and who can get the most. This is the capitalist way but at what cost to these communities? With drugs, brings addicts, crime, prostitution and other social problems. Instead of growing up to be the next astronaut or fireman, kids want to be the king drug dealer. They learn what they see, kids are not stupid. And some of the rap music reinforces this negative cycle.

There are gangs which control drugs but they are in certain small areas of neighborhoods. If the guy on the next corner is selling more drugs, the other guy further down the road eventually wants to take the guys corner becase its about money. He doesn’t care if the guy is black or where he’s from. He just wants more money and will kill that guy to take his corner. This is how the gangs expand. And they instill fear in those neighborhoods by killing anyone who gets in their way. Some of the gangs are organized and connected to mafia like groups and some are more small time dealers. Everybody buys their stuff from somewhere and the connections run deep.

I always found it strange how in some of the US cities, whites would live in one area and other races would be in separate areas. In the southern states there is so much more racism against African Americans. They still have extreme groups who try to spread propaganda against immigrants and races who are not white as well. And violence against minorities still exists today. The only American city that I found had good integration, was San Francisco. That city still had areas like Hunter’s Point and Bayview which tended to be African American neighborhoods, but there were many areas where all races lived together with little or no problems.

People in ghettos are part of the problem with the drugs and violence. In order to have a drug dealing problem in your neighborhood, you first have to accept drugs in your neighborhood. Too many people turned their backs to this all becase of money and now look who’s in control. The parents are responsible to raise kids to stay out of that trouble. Parents are responsible to educate their sons and daughters about not getting pregnant at 15. Babies having babies and letting their kids run wild. But when they get shot, its all denial about how their kids was caught up in some bad shit. It all starts with parenting. If you raise your son/daughter to value school and education and follow through with discipline, why would he want to become a drug dealer. Every drug dealer has a mother or father. Kids learn from examples. The ghettos have lost their neighborhoods to thugs. And the people in those neighborhoods are responsible and to blame.

Americans have access to everything, if they have the money. The living standard is good. Food is plentiful. Water, eletricty and sewage work 99% of the time. Technology is some of the best in the world. Yet, when I was living there, people would complain about everything. It was as if the stress of trying to live up to a society expectation was a burden on some people. I saw many scenes of parents aggressively yelling or even hitting children in public. I started to see a country and people who were angry and on edge about their lives. It was as if it was impossible to keep up to expectations.

In the US they have everything, yet they are still not happy. I started to question, what is happiness in the US?


The FAVELAS (Rocinha)

Our origins in the favelas come from ex-slaves. We favelados started with nothing. We never had expectations. Our lives were about survival. But our communities are far different from the US ghettos. Our communities started with people migrating to different parts of Brazil to find work. We worked together to build our communities with very little resources.

The only thing we have in common with ghettos is that they are poor areas, but the way we in favelas function, it’s a world apart. Our favelas are very different from ghettos. I am glad I grew up here and not in a American ghetto.

The favelas are also called slums or shantytowns becase of the way the people constructed their houses. In the beginning we had no running water or electricity, no infrastructure. We would find land and we would build becase we had no choice. We built houses on the hills becase this was the land available to us. We used whatever materials we had or could get. Jobs paid very little and not enough for to afford rent in the “formal” city. So the government for the longest time turned their back while the poor would build their shacks on the hill. In the beginning there was not much confrontation becase the favelados represented a large work force for the middle and upper classes. Who else is going to clean your house or sweep the streets? As favelas grew the state started having concerns. When you live in conditions where there is no sanitation, eletricty, water or anything else, problems start. We had problems with garbage removal and becase of this rats and diseases spread. The government ignored our problems but always complained about us. In my favela Rocinha people started to organize and in 1961 we developed our own form of government to represent us to the outside world. We called it a residents association becase our leaders represent the people who live in our favela. They help educate us about our rights and protect our interests in the place we live. It is not perfect but they do more than the Rio government has ever done.

We are seen as marginalized becase we live in areas where the government does not or rarely provides services. Marginalization also has to do with the media and how we as people are portrayed to the non favela world. Most favelados do not have much education but then again we do not have opportunity to receive quality education becase the tax money is not there. But how can a person pay taxes when they are living on less than $700R (aprox.$400US) a month? The rich can send their kids to private schools which ensure them opportunity to get into university. This is foreign to the favelado. Our public schools fail to give us that opportunity no matter how smart you are.

In the favela, everybody works. We have no public housing/housing projects, welfare, food stamps or social programs. You don’t work, you don’t live. We care about our community regardless of the problems. In the favela it is a community effort for survival and nobody is better than anybody else. We are all equal, we are all favelados. Are favela is far from perfect but for us, it works.

When people construct their homes, there are always people willing to help. My neighbors helped my father build his house. There are groups of men in the community who know how to build houses so there is not shortage of help. The only thing that separates our houses in the favela from those on the outside, is money. This is the way it is. I remember a story my father told me when I was 8 years old. He was leaving the house and I asked him where he was going. He told me that he had to help a guy fix his roof. I asked him why? And he replied, becase someday son, you may need help with your roof. So, it shows that the people try to build a bond in their community. When the outside world ostrasizes the favela, the people in the favela bond together for support.

The difficult thing about favela life is that everybody lives so close together. There is very little privacy. If you are not careful, people can get in your business. My father always taught me to be nice to people but we don’t need tell everything about us to everyone. The house I live in has good privacy becase the walls are thick made of cement and bricks. I do not hear much noise from my neighbors. But when we lived in the shack, we heard everything.

Many people who do not live in favelas in Brazil think the favela is one big shit hole full of vagrants, thieves, and drug gangs. I think every place has bad people. We have people like this but the favela is much more than a few bad people. Most of the people who live here are honest hardworking types who only want their opportunity. The word “favelado” to me has only one meaning, a person from the favela. Just becase one is poor does not make them a criminal. This attitude of stereotyping favelados as marginal is similar to American ghettos residents being thought in the same way. Not every African American kid growing up in the ghetto is a drug dealer.

When I was a teenager growing up in the favela, life was very different. The favela did not have as much organization and we had more people who did bad things here. There was more petty crimes and abuse. Around 1983 came the drugs into the community and with that came the organized gang. There was a good and bad side to this but the community changed drastically after this point. In Rocinha, our first drug lord “Dennis” changed the way of negative social behaviors in the favela. The “traficantes” (drug dealers), not only sold drugs but acted as a internal police for the community. They protected the community from outside police and rival gang invasions and established social codes inside the favela. Dennis and his gang laid down the laws. There would be NO stealing, robbing, raping or killing. If you did any of these things, you would be punished severely. There were several reasons for this. First the gang was in control and wanted to establish stability in the community. The second was to show that the favela was a safe place for outsiders to come to buy their drugs. They only sell marijuana and cocaine. They have no interest in meth, crack, heroin, crank or any of that designer drug stuff. So if your looking for ecstacy (E) or mushrooms, you find that in the nightclubs outside the favelas.

Today in Rocinha, its one gang that sells here, only one and they work like a business. They work like a mafia type enterprise. They are a very organized cohesive group. If there is a problem within the gang, it is dealt with internally. The gang wants no problem with residents here. In exchange for selling inside the community the gang does provide some need help to people and will sponsor community events. They are certainly far from angels, but if you are not a threat to their business, they do not care who you are.

Today, the same social codes exist and unlike a US ghetto, I can safely walk through my favela anytime, day or night without fear of having crime done against me. In a ghetto in the US, I could be killed just for being the wrong color. There are no controlled social codes in the American ghetto. Its only the strong survive, again, all about the individual, certainly not about community.

Becase of our simple and different way of life, Brazilian society has referred to us marginals. Our community is not seen as the same as outside neighborhoods. Also, becase of the drug traffic and other bad things that go along with it, the “formal” city fears us. To admit to living in a favela is a stigma. I am at the age where I do not care and I will not lie about where I am from. I am proud of the people and my community here in ROCINHA.

Where else can I feel totally free and walk the streets safely at 3 in the morning with total freedom? Where can I walk in my community where I get greeted 10-15 times a day by my neighborhood people? All I need to do is walk out my door and find a party, no need to “crash” the party as there is no such thing. Today I decided I wanted peace so I stayed inside and relaxed. In Rocinha, you will never be lonely.

People socialize all the time here and there is always people out in the streets. When I show people my community they are amazed at how people are so friendly. I always tell them that just as you are curious about the favela, they are also curious about you. The media spreads so much lies about favelas that the outside world only knows this. When you have no more information about a place, you don’t have much choice on what you can think. We, who live in the favela knows that all the media talks of is negative things. So, we who live there often wonder if we live in such a bad place, why would people want to come. But we also know that people out there educate themselves and want to see for themselves. It is common to hear upper class Brazilians say to foreigners, “why would you want to go THERE?” Our lives are simple here, but we know how to enjoy life too.

Our street parties include everyone, nobody is excluded. We can have a party for any reason, samba, funk, football, birthday or just people who want to get together. If you decide to want to come for a visit, I am always available to show people a good time here that you will never forget. I do not know if the American ghettos have street parties anymore. In our club called “Emocoes”, we can have 3,000 people in there dancing and not one fight breaks out. Can that be said in any US ghetto club?

As I see it after all I have written, I hope you can see too that American ghettos are nothing like Brazilian favelas. We are both economically challenged but the people and the way they interact have nothing in common.



FAVELA ADVENTURES
http://www.favelatour.org
http://lifeinrocinha.blogspot.com
Facebook: "DeeJay Zezinho"
Orkut: "Favelado do Sucesso"
tel: 21-8221-5572

Shon Starr Tours

I had the opportunity to meet with Shon Starr, when he came to Brazil. He has been to Brazil before and he contacted me to see the favela of Rocinha, where I live. It was the normal initial contact of a person who wanted to see the community. I met him and his girlfriend Arielle at the Copcabana Palace at 9 am and we took the favela transportation to the top of the hill.

We eventually descended to see many things being a samba show, my friends awesome 360 degrees view of the favela, and to my roof where after a few hours we were able to sit have a drink, and talk with each other about our lives and goals with our work.

I found out that Shon was a Dj and had similar tastes in music and other things. When he told me about his tour company and website, I thought this was great because Brazil. Tourism is booming and will only get better with the coming of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games . I wanted to know more about his entrepreneurship so this is why I wanted to write this story about him. I find his company to be cutting edge and thing people need to know about him.

Where were you born and raised?

I was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I also spent about 5 years living in Nevada and California.
Tell me a little about your background (interests like art, sports, schooling etc)? I'm kind of a modern day renaissance man into everything from music to construction. I can make beats and rehab an entire house. I'm really into motorcycle riding though and own a couple of bikes, but my #1 passion is traveling, having visited over 13 countries and 100 cities.

Why did you decide to take my favela tour (and not another favela tour company) considering you had been here before?

Yes I had been to Rocinha before with some friends, but it was a quick visit and there was so much more that I wanted to see and learn about Rocinha. I had heard your name mentioned a few times for Favela tours and while doing some unrelated research on favelas in Rio I came across a video of you on Youtube talking about how your tours give you a much greater well rounded experience than what the other tour companies operating in Rocinha offer. So that really interested me especially since that's how I have always ran my nightclubs, done my promotions, and even deejayed my parties. I have always wanted to make what I do an experience and give people more and something different. This is also one of the main missions of Shon Starr Tours.

Were there things you saw in the favela that you could relate too?

Definitely! Even though there are many differences on the surface of how people live. When you get down to the basics we are all pretty much the same. Whether you're a trafficker, police, teacher, or even a tour guide most of us just want to live a nice life and have all of our basic needs met such as food, clothing, shelter, love, companionship, acknowledgement, etc. I saw this all over the favela and see it all over the world.

Your experience in the favela, how was it the same or different from poor neighborhoods in the United States?

One of the biggest differences was that it seemed like the residents of Rocinha have a lot more influence and control in their community than poor neighborhoods here in the US. It seemed to have very little outside influence. Poor neighborhoods here in the US are not as self sufficient as they are in Rocinha. There was one point in time when neighborhoods in the US were like this with many residents taking ownership and control of their community, but after segregation ended that drastically changed. Also in most poor neighborhoods here in the US you have a normal to heavy police presence. It still amazes me that with almost 300,000 people living on top of each other there is still law and order with absolutely no Police presence.

Tell me a little about the work (jobs) you have done in the past?

Every since I was a kid I had dreams of being in the nightclub business and owning my own club one day. I started out promoting and dj'ing my own teen parties at 14 years old and was spinning my first real nightclub gig even before I could drink at 16. I put a lot of time on the Philadelphia nightlife scene as a DJ/Promoter, eventually getting into management . After a few years I decided to take my act on the road and see what else the world had to offer and I ended up on the west coast in Nevada as a very successful General Manager running some well-known nightclubs for Caesars Palace Casino and celebrity Dennis Hof of HBO Bunny Ranch/Cat House fame. After a great run out west I came back home and took over running nightlife promotions for the Camel Tobacco Brand.

While taking a vacation in the Spring of 2009 in Costa Rica something magical happened during a hike in the Costa Rican jungle. I jumped off a 5-story bridge into a raging river and during that crazy jump I had a revelation that my purpose in life was now going to change. I knew right then and there that it would be my job to show people this adventure and thrill that I had just experienced and how beautiful the world really is. So I got back home and did a whole bunch of research, took some classes on tourism and travel, and then decided to launch Shon Starr Tours. But the world is big and I needed to focus on one place that I could learn like the back of my hand and become an expert on. So after visiting Rio de Janeiro in the Summer of 2009 I knew this was the place. I felt at home in Brazil and knew immediately that this was the place. After Rio won the 2016 Olympic bid that was the icing on the cake that sealed the deal for me. So I resigned from my comfy job with Camel Tobacco in February of 2010 and came to Rio to launch Shon Starr Tours and here I am.

Do you feel your past experiences in your other jobs will help with your new venture?

Absolutely! One of my nicknames in the nightlife world was the "Prince of Promotions" and I plan on bringing that same energy and success to my tour company. It's going to be a fun adventure not only for my clients, but also for myself. I don't care about being the biggest, but I will put my butt on the line and guarantee that I will be one of the best if not the best.

What first attracted you to come to Brazil?

I always like to say the beauty and the booty is what attracted me here. Brazil has the complete package. Hands down it has some of the most beautiful natural scenery, culture, music, people and also women on the planet.

What separates you from others in the tour industry?

I like to think of myself as the "special agent" of travel. I'm the guy you call when you want something adventurous, fun, and lot different than your usual plain jane trips. My focus is not only on being a great tour company, but being a great entertainment company as well. Meaning that along with the best tours you are also guaranteed a great memorable experience. I'm probably the one guy who could actually make a trip on a deserted island off the coast of Alaska fun and unforgettable. I mostly cater to private groups and VIP individuals and I don't just sit by the phone waiting for someone to say hey I would like to book a trip to Rio, can you help me? I create the party here too promoting at least one fun themed trip a month from the U.S. to Rio de Janeiro. On these themed trips I take between 10-12 special guests here to Rio for a week long party filled with plenty of culture, sight seeing, adventure, and partying. It's a real great opportunity to experience Rio in a group environment especially for those who would ordinarily travel alone.

What groups are you trying to attract with your tours?

I specialize in mid to high end Mancations, Girlcations, and Couplecations. I also will be promoting special Cougarcations for those energetic older women who still have it going on and are looking for some adventure.

What do you see in the future for your company Shon Starr Tours?

I'm very excited about this venture. I have a great team behind me and we plan on bringing some real exciting things to the tourism and travel industry. I'm a hustler, workaholic and perfectionist too so the future looks very bright. I actually see myself eventually being one of the most famous individual tour and travel promoters in the world and being a very instrumental player in promoting travel to Brazil.

Do you have plans to eventually move to Brazil?

Of course! Working on that now. Brazil is an amazing country and I love it. I'm a Rolling Stone though so I will never have one place that I call home, but Brazil will definitely be one of my homes.

Is there anything more you would like to say?

I was just like to say thanks to all the beautiful people of Brazil for all of their help, support and for creating such a great, fun, and exciting country. Yes Brazil has it's problems and has a way to go, like a lot of countries including the U.S. with things like poverty and a more equal distribution of wealth, but there is so much potential for great this country and I look forward to showing it off to the world.

Please tell us where we can see your website and any other websites/blogs you have?

I have my wild and crazy travel blog/website :
The Adventures of Shon Starr at http://www.shonstarr.com and my team and I also have the Brazil Geeks website at http://www.brazilgeeks.com giving you all the latest and greatest info and photos on Brazil.