favela

Vidigal, a Rio de Janeiro favela

A favela is the Brazilian equivalent of a shanty town, which are generally found on the edge of the city. They have electricity, but often not formally. Favelas are constructed from a variety of materials, ranging from bricks to garbage. Many favelas are very close and very cramped. They are plagued by sewage, crime and hygiene problems. Although many of the most infamous are located in Rio de Janeiro, there are favelas in almost every large Brazilian town. The name originates from a species of plant with thorny leaves that grows in the semi-arid North-East region. Refugees and former soldiers involved in the Canudos Civil War (1895-1896) in Bahia would eventually settle on unreclaimed public land on a hill in Rio de Janeiro called Morro da Providência, because the government failed to provide any housing for them. The former soldiers named their new settlement Morro da Favela after the plant which had thrived at the site of a famous victory against the rebels.^[1]

Over the years, most of the poor population, comprised mainly of freed black slaves moved in, replacing the refugees as the major ethnic group there. However, long before the first settlement called "favela" came into being, poor blacks were pushed away from downtown into the far suburbs. Favelas were handy for them because they allowed them to be close to work, while keeping away from where they were not welcome.

A favela is fundamentally different from a slum or tenement, primarily in terms of its origin and location. While slum quarters in other Latin American countries generally form when poorer residents from the countryside come to larger cities in search of work, favelas are unique in that they were created as large populations became displaced. Another important distinction is that, in a typical favela, there is an anomalous form of social life that diverges from mainstream culture. Such a state of things was recognized as early as 1940.^{[citation needed]}

Shanty towns are units of irregular self-constructed housing that are unlicensed and occupied illegally. They are usually on lands belonging to third parties, and are most often located on the urban periphery. Shanty town residences are built randomly, although ad hoc networks of stairways, sidewalks, and simple tracks allow passage through them. Most favelas are inaccessible by vehicle.

These areas of irregular and poor-quality housing are often crowded onto hillsides, and as a result, these areas suffer from frequent landslides during heavy rain. In recent decades, favelas have been troubled by drug-related crime and gang warfare. There are rumors that common social codes in favelas forbid residents from engaging in criminal activity inside their own favela. Favelas are often considered a disgrace and an eyesore for local people within Brazil.^{[citation needed]}

History

Precarious houses in the favela of Complexo do Alemao in Rio de Janeiro.

It is generally agreed upon that the first favela was created in November 1897 when 20,000 veteran soldiers were brought to Rio de Janeiro and left with no place to live.^[2] Some of the older favelas were originally started as quilombos (independent towns for refugee African slaves) among the hilly terrain of the area surrounding Rio, which later grew as slaves were liberated in 1888 with no place to live. Most of the current favelas began in the 1970s, as a construction boom in the richer neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro initiated a rural exodus of workers from poorer states in Brazil. Heavy flooding in the low-lying slum areas of Rio also forcibly removed a large population into favelas, which are mostly located on Rio's various hillsides. Since favelas have been created under different terms but with similar end results, the term favela has become generally interchangeable with any impoverished areas.^{[citation needed]}

Favela society

People who live in favelas, known as favelados, are often very poor. Brazil's favelas can be seen as a consequence of the unequal distribution of wealth in the country.

Extant favelas

The best-known favelas are those in and around Rio de Janeiro. They provide a dramatic illustration of the gap between poverty and wealth, positioned side-by-side with the luxurious apartment buildings and mansions of Rio's social elite. Several hills in Rio are densely populated by favelas. In 2004, it was estimated that 19% of Rio's population lived within favelas. Rocinha, Pavãozinho, and Parada de Lucas. Maré and Turano are some of the most famous of Rio's favelas.

Cidade de Deus, made famous in the film (2002) of the same name is often mistakenly called a favela. However, it is a government-sponsored housing community designed to replace a favela, which subsequently ran down and took on some of the social qualities of favelas. Two condominiums in Leblon, Rio de Janeiro (very near Rocinha) are often sarcastically called favelas by locals. However, they are true condominiums, master-planned on deeded land with city utilities, owned individually by unit and managed by associations of their occupants. One, at the front gates of PUC-Rio was actually built by the government. The other one, south of the horse track and soccer stadium, was donated to individual favelados by a wealthy benefactor.

Depiction in popular culture

A 1963 documentary, fish need to learn how to swim, marked the film debut of Gordon Parks.

The 2002 film City of God placed a spotlight on favelas, chronicling the cycle of poverty, violence, and despair in a Rio de Janeiro slum (although arguably Cidade de Deus does not meet the strict definition of a favela). The documentary Bus 174, also released in 2002, placed a focus on the poor conditions of favelas and their instigation of social stigmatization and street crime.

The 2005 documentary, Favela Rising, directed by Jeff Zimbalist, has won several awards for its daring look at life in Brazil's slums. The film focuses on the work of Anderson Sá, a former drug trafficker who establishes the music group Afro Reggae. This group aims at using music and education to better the lives of youth and prevent further growth of gangs.

The Brazilian television series City of Men takes place in a favela.

The skateboarding video game Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam has a skate course in the favelas of Rio De Janeiro.

One of the levels in the PC game Counter Strike takes place in a Rio de Janeiro favela.

The 2000 film BMW Vermelho gives an interesting insight into the economic and cultural aspects of living in a Favela from a comedic perspective when a Favela resident wins a BMW that he can neither use nor sell. http://posters.imdb.com/title/tt0275950/

In the game SOCOM II one of the areas of operation is in a Rio de Janeiro favela.

Panoramic view of the Favela Rocinha in Rio de Janeiro.

See also

• Ghetto
• Cortiço
• Pueblos jóvenes
• Colonia (border settlement)
• Barrio
• Kibera

• Abahlali baseMjondolo
• Township (South Africa)

Favelas

• List of favelas in Brazil*
• Heliópolis
• Rocinha

External links

• Life in Rio's Favelas, A photo essay from the Washington Post.
• Pousada Favelinha, A project which enables visitors to stay safely inside a favela in Rio.
• Population in Rio´s favelas reaches one million, A translated article from O Globo.
• Two Brothers Foundation/Fundação Dois Irmãos, a nonprofit organization based in the United States and Brazil whose mission is to provide educational opportunities in the favela of Rocinha in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, through local and international community service and cultural exchange.
• Radio Favela, a community radio broadcasting from inside a favela located in Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais)

References

Donate to Wikimedia