The Rocinha Favela Tour On Friday, February 1, I participated in a tour of the Rocinha Favela with a Rio de Janeiro organization called Be A Local. I met a small SUV at the bottom of the street of the hostel, and drove about 20 minutes with 6 others to the bottom of the favela which rises up the Rio hillside. Each of us then hopped on the back of a motorcycle taxi (we guys were explicitly instructed not to put our arms around the drivers' body - this was OK (of course) for the women! - but instead, but to hold on to the seat handles), which zoomed us up a crowded street which wound up to about midpoint of the hill. After disembarking the motorcycles, we were given a brief history of Rocinha by our tour guide and instructed not to take photos of any kids holding guns (they turned out to be automatic rifles!), and to be careful to avoid walking into the middle of a gunfight should one break out between the cops and the gangsters (I'm not kidding, these were actual instructions). Then we walked into Rocinha. "Favela" means "slum" in Portuguese. Rocinha is home to about 300,000 people, making it not only the largest favela in Rio, but the most populous in all of Central and South America . Rocinha had quite an effect on me and made me reassess my idea of "wealth" & "poverty". To witness the dignity and spirit of the people in Rocinha, particularly the children, I considered one of the most valuable experiences of my visit to Brazil. The following are some photos from inside Rocinha favela:

These boys put on quite a concert for us playing a very rhythmically sophisticated composition on cans and scrap metal (the tall boy with the white cap and black shirt lead the ensemble playing a small, but very loud hand drum similar to a tambourine without the medal discs).

Notice the dwellings are made of brick and mortar.

Most have no windows.

These two photos are taken from the top of Rocinha.

Muito obrigado! to Sivan Gefen for sending me these pics.