Perspectives

Being one of the last blogs from Rio, I feel a certain privilege of taking a look at our entire trip as inspiration for my entry. From my perspective as a student from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, I have received so much information from the readings and also while in the classroom at PUC, I have been able to apply much of it while here in Rio de Janeiro. From watching movies and reading about favelas in the States, our idea of a favela is a massive shanty town filled to the brim with thugs, guns and drugs, but that is not necessarily the case. From movies such as City of God and Tropa de Elite, we see what many favelas may have been like in the past, however, today it is different. In 20 of nearly 630 favelas, life has changed dramatically. It’s safe for children to roam and play, guns and drugs aren’t the common sight in the spaces between homes that could be considered streets. As more international events continue to come to Rio, it is likely that many of the 630 favelas will become pacified in hopes to make the city a safer place.

As Ozzie mentioned in a previous blog, we viewed a lecture given by Pedro Evora at PUC about Urbanism and Architecture. As in any society, there are still many problems to be solved, but things are changing as the so-called "pacification police" (a concept similar to community policing in the U.S.) continues to take control of each community. These police set up a central office within a favela and enforce the new way of life for people living in each community. As Pedro Evora stated, favelas are a solution to a problem.  All of the job opportunities were located in the city and instead of making a multiple-hour commute each day, people began taking over unused land on the hillsides of Rio. It’s all about perspective.  Even though there are problems within favelas, there is a certain beauty. If one were to take a walk to the Feira de Hippie on Sundays or the market on Copacabana during the weekday evenings, the selection of artwork is immense.  The one thing that stands out is a particular artistic interpretation of favelas: colorful, small shacks staggered up and down, left and right on the hillsides of Rio.

It is this artistic representation that brings about the beauty of an interwoven system that is used to operate a favela. On a tour through the community of the organization Criança Esperança yesterday, we were given the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the organization of a favela. As small as this view was, we saw how the mail center worked: heaps of envelopes are sorted alphabetically and using the trust system, residents pick up their mail by flipping through the pile under their initial. However small and insignificant it may seem, I believe that this reveals a level of trust that lies inside of these communities. As I have said, it’s all about perspective.

Today I was shown another side of Rio from a perspective unknown to me before. After a delicious, hearty lunch prepared for us by Criança Esperança, our group went their own ways to complete our last day in Rio. I chose to go to the beach for a couple of hours to see a side of Ipanema of which I had not seen. I spent a solid hour and, a half reading, soaking up some sun and listening to the daytime beach scene. Following this, a small group of UNO students met at the hotel to catch a taxi to the helipad near the Lagoa. Although it may have been a little expensive, the helicopter ride truly paid for itself. We could not have chosen a better day to take the flight either.  Besides being a bright and sunny 80-something degree day, we also planned to take the flight as the last group of the day, so that we could see the sunset from above Rio. This new perspective brought a sense of closure and summary of our trip as we passed over the Lagoa, Ipanema Beach, Copacabana, Sugarloaf Mountain, and Corcovado. The views can only speak for themselves as I cannot describe them as anything more than breathtaking.

Group prior to Helicopter flight

Even if we encountered some slight turbulence along the way, this trip has been an experience that means something unique to each and every one of us. We will all take away so much from this experience and I am proud to say that I was a part of this fabulous fifteen. 

Photos by Chloe - helicopter ride over Rio at sunset

Photos by Chloe - helicopter ride over Rio at sunset

Photos by Chloe - helicopter ride over Rio at sunset

Photos by Chloe - helicopter ride over Rio at sunset

Photos by Chloe - helicopter ride over Rio at sunset

Photos by Chloe - helicopter ride over Rio at sunset