>
> Interesting how the Favelas in Rio are actually doing well culturally. So
> much so that their main source of income has become tourism. The CBC Radio
> One toured a few of the major world cities' illegal communities, and
> discovered a vibrant community in Rio. People there live in relative safety
> because neighbors watch out for each other. Most people abide by a code of
> behavior that, once understood, inspires a general sense of trust, and apart
> from gang violence, most people make the time for song and music, art and
> even architectural accomplishments out of low cost/no cost material. Women
> particularly have been thriving because of demand for arts and crafts. It's
> as if we have been provided assurance in this new dark age, as a result of
> their budding successes, that arts and culture once again prove to be the
> foundation of society and economy. I'm sure that Ray has been following
> closely.
>
> Natalia
> Interesting how the Favelas in Rio are actually doing well culturally. So
> much so that their main source of income has become tourism. The CBC Radio
> One toured a few of the major world cities' illegal communities, and
> discovered a vibrant community in Rio. People there live in relative safety
> because neighbors watch out for each other. Most people abide by a code of
> behavior that, once understood, inspires a general sense of trust, and apart
> from gang violence, most people make the time for song and music, art and
> even architectural accomplishments out of low cost/no cost material. Women
> particularly have been thriving because of demand for arts and crafts. It's
> as if we have been provided assurance in this new dark age, as a result of
> their budding successes, that arts and culture once again prove to be the
> foundation of society and economy. I'm sure that Ray has been following
> closely.
>
> Natalia
I spent a month in one of the huge favelas of Sao
Paulo some years ago, and it wasn't as you describe above. It was a dark
and dangerous place, with regular shootouts between the cops and gangs.
Some people were better off than others, but nobody was well off. The
highest architectural accomplishments were three storey brick block buildings
which couldn't be built any higher because they would fall down. Other
architectural accomplishments consisted of shacks of cardboard and whatever
scraps of lumber people could find. A lot of people provided cheap labour
downtown in restaurants and hotels. Others peddled drugs or did whatever
they could to stay alive. Fundamentalist churches provided something of a
unifying theme and a means whereby people could help each other. Apart
from that, there wasn't much else.
If you haven't already done so, a book that you
might read on what life is like and going to be like in huge slums like the one
I was in is Planet of Slums by Mike Davis. Not a pleasant
prospect!
Ed
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