her Rio de Janeiro

I don’t quite know where to begin. There are many thoughts going through my head right now. It’s the start of Carnaval, so the city is starting to hustle with all sorts of people from everywhere. My feelings are mixed as my time here comes to a close.

 

I came to Rio de Janeiro for Carnaval. It has been something I have always wanted to experience. Don’t get me wrong, I am very excited about it! It is going to be amazing! So, why you may ask, do I feel a little down today? I should be incredibly, sensationally ecstatic for this weekend! But my head is filled with so many questions and thoughts that I can’t seem to climb my way out of the state I am in. And I believe this is why…

 

First view of the day: Yesterday was amazing! I woke up thrilled because today I was going to see the Cristo Redentor!! I have seen pictures of this my entire life. It is fascinating to me and I have always wanted to see it! I met my friend at the bus stop and we climbed our way up to where we were to catch the train to see the Christ. As our train left the platform, I started to get butterflies in my stomach. You could feel it in the air, everyone was excited!

 

We arrived at the top and everyone cheered! We climbed the steps and when I saw it I was amazed! It was SO big! Granted, I knew this to be so, but when I have been seeing it from a far all these weeks, I was taken back by its grandiosity. I’m pretty sure at this point I let out a, “WOW!”, to which my friend laughed at, but I was so overwhelmed!

 

So many people come to Rio de Janeiro each year and all come to see Christ the Redeemer on top of the hill over looking all of the city. It is an amazing experience, one I will remember for the rest of my life!
However, this next part, quite honestly, made more of an impression on me that day. One that I will never forget.
Enter the favelas–but first a little background…

 

For those of you who don’t know what a favela is, to put it quite simply, favelas are shanty towns, urban slums, of larger cities of Brazil. Now, most shanty towns reside outside of major cities, skirting around their edges. The favelas here in Rio de Janeiro are a little different. They intermingle and bud up right next to the most influential neighborhoods here in the city. The first favela was established from veteran soldiers who were brought from the conflicted area of Bahia, in northern Brazil. They were not known as favelas then, but barrio africanos–African neighborhoods. With no place to reside, they settled in a hill area of Rio de Janeiro, called Providencia hill. They nicknamed it Favela hill, favela referring to a skin irritating tree, native to the Bahia area. And thus calling a slum here, a favela. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in and the favelas started to grow into what they are today. The people living here are poor and the living conditions extreme. Coming into the present day, the favelas have seen much heartache, crime, drugs, corruption and death. Crime has run rapid among these neighborhoods for a very long time. This is when popular movies such City of God came out and music stars like Michael Jackson filmed one his most famous music videos They Don’t Care About Us. These documented the reality of the situation here in Rio de Janeiro, showing what was really happening in these neighborhoods. Thus bringing you up to date and into what I experienced in my short afternoon in the favela of Santa Marta.

 

The real view: Walking into a favela alone is never recommended without a guide or someone who knows their way around. My friend wanted to take me on a tour of one of the favelas here in Rio de Janeiro. One of the more famous ones to be exact, Santa Marta in the neighborhood of Botafogo. To be honest, I really didn’t want to go. I have seen poverty and I don’t like taking pictures of it just so I can go back home and tell my friends, “Guess what I saw?!” Or “How sad!” Even earlier this last week a friend, who is from here, and I were talking about the favelas. She didn’t understand why it was so interesting for people to see? And I happened to agree with her. I think there is much curiosity from travelers to see how the poor live in places they visit. I am not sure why this is so, and the favelas here in Rio de Janeiro are no different. Maybe even more so in fact because of those movies and documentaries. I was also nervous about the crime that you read about all the time and hesitant because I really say “I don’t belong here!” with my skin color, hair, and eyes. So all that to say, I didn’t really want to go. But my friend reassured me I would be fine, and thought it would be a good experience for me. So I went.

 

In this particular favela you can take an elevator, so to speak, up the steep hill to the top. It took almost 45 minutes to reach. I don’t know if it was because there are so many tourist that come all over to see this favela in particular or what, but I wasn’t even receiving a second glance! People just went on with their day like they didn’t even see me. Children smiled shyly as we caught each others eye. But to be honest, I felt completely safe, just a lot out of place.

 

When we reached the top, we got out and walked around. It was an amazing view yes, but nevertheless you were surrounded by the poorest of the poor and you were constantly reminded of that everywhere you looked. As we were going back down some kids that were waiting for the elevator as well, started talking with us. I had no idea what was being said but they all kind of gathered around me asking all sorts of questions. My friend told me, one said, “Why are you not sitting like a lady? Ladies sit like this!” and he crossed his legs and sat up proper. So I did the same, I didn’t know I wasn’t sitting like a proper lady! The only girl in the group was asking if I had a big house and if I had any children. My friend told me later, she was curious and probably asking those questions because she wanted me to adopt her.

 

I sat there, over looking the entire city. As I looked to my left, I was surprised to see the girl doing the same. Though I was curious, “Did she see the same city I did?” I looked out and saw beauty and excitement. A place that is exotic and unknown, and yes, with it’s poverty. But what did she see? Did she see hope for a future? Excitement to fall in love, get married, make something of herself, pave her way through history and time? I would like to think so, but from her questions earlier, I don’t think she has much hope for her future.

 

However, grave and hopeless this was as it settled in, while we both looked out at two very different cities, she still had a savvy way about her. My friend “hired” them to bring us to the Michael Jackson statue and the place where he filmed his music video They Don’t Care About Us. And by hired I mean, bought them burgers and a coke and gave them each one Reais. They know how to make a deal that is for sure! Even though the living conditions are extreme, there were flat screen tv’s glowing from inside the homes; teenage girls sitting outside watching music videos on their laptop computer, with the internet cable coming through the window.

 

After our tour was over, we said our goodbyes, and walked back to the elevator. As I sat there, the clouds parted and Christ the Redeemer came into view. Irony at her very finest! If this was not the very visual definition of irony, I don’t know what else could be. Here was Christ the Redeemer and in its shadows lived the extreme impoverished.
The ride back down was surreal, as I am finding many moments in this city to be. But this surreal feeling had a sadness attached. I was riding back down to the city I knew and loved, while leaving behind a completely different one. This girl showed me a different view, the real one from up top–her Rio de Janeiro.