The pulse of Rio de Janeiro's slums luring foreign guests
By Andrew Downie | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
Tourists and expats are flocking to the city's favelas for 'authenticity' while fearful middle-class Brazilians stay away.
RIO DE JANEIRO - It is the first Friday of the month and, as usual, dozens of people are milling about Englishman Bob Nadkardi's house listening to a jazz jam session.
But although this is Rio de Janeiro, there is hardly a Brazilian in sight. The reason is the venue. If this was the ritzy Ipanema area, the place would be filled with well-off Cariocas, as people from the city are called, enjoying sounds that run from beebop to bossa nova.
But Mr. Nadkardi's sprawling, unfinished, labyrinth of a home is set on top of a favela, one of the thousands of shantytowns that dot Brazil's big cities.
To many Brazilians, favelas are dirty, violent, frightening places. But to many foreigners, they are exciting, interesting, and romantic. More and more outsiders are coming from overseas to live, work, and just visit favelas, observers say. In doing so they are highlighting the difference between Brazilians who regard favelas with fear, rejection, and even disgust, and foreigners who embrace them as vibrant crucibles of modern Brazilian culture.
"In Brazil, no one likes favelas, no one thinks they are cool," says Marcelo Armstrong, the owner of a company that runs daily tours to two Rio favelas. "Foreigners are more open. There's a certain romantic appeal to favelas."
Although no figures are available on the number of foreigners living in favelas, Mr. Armstrong says the number is definitely rising and cites his own statistics as evidence. The number of tourists taking his tours has risen from around four per month in 1992, when he started the business, to around 800 per month today. Of those, only a dozen or so are Brazilians, mostly the partners of foreign visitors.
Few Brazilians see the appeal in favelas
That, Armstrong says, is because middle-class Brazilians have no desire to see or learn how the other half lives. Although about 1-in-5 residents of Rio live in favelas, the communities hold little interest, and a great deal of fear, for the elite and middle class.
And with some justification. Many if not most are controlled by drug gangs armed with powerful weapons that sometimes include grenades, bazookas, and even anti-tank missiles. Much of the daily bloodshed that has made Brazil the second most violent country in the world, according to UNESCO, takes place there. With basic amenities like sanitation, running water, roads, lighting, and policing often absent, few dare venture in.
Yet it is precisely those qualities that attract foreigners, says Hermano Vianna, the author of several books about the relationship between favelas and Brazilian music. Compared with ordinary, and orderly, middle-class lifestyles in Western Europe and the United States, life in a favela is seen as unpredictable, romantic, and very cool.
"People come here to get away from the boredom of their own countries," Mr. Vianna says. "They are looking for cultural authenticity. This is like Disney to them."
Nadkardi would say his house is more Miles Davis than Walt Disney. The charismatic Englishman began building a home here in the Tavares Bastos favela 25 years ago. Although it is still a work in progress – as the bags of cement scattered around prove – it is a local landmark.
Like many favelas, Tavares Bastos is built on a hill, and his home, at the end of a steep, narrow alleyway, has spectacular vistas of the city below. Nadkardi has turned it into a club, art gallery, and bed-and-breakfast, and people are now flocking to get a taste of what he calls "the real Brazil."
"I have enormous numbers of gringos visiting," he says, citing Beatles producer George Martin, Oscar-nominated director Stephen Frears, and rapper Snoop Dogg as past guests. "Gringos don't fear favelas. Brazilians wear their fear like a medal. They cultivate this fear and disgust because it makes them feel better."
Nadkardi believes the current fascination with favelas is the new fad. Once, foreigners were eager to learn about street kids, then transsexuals, and now it is favelas, says the artist, filmmaker, journalist, and entrepreneur.
How Brazil's slums became cool
Others tie the interest to Brazil's recent cultural boom. In the past few years, Brazilian music, fashion, art, and film have gained visibility around the world, and most of it either comes directly from the favelas or focuses on them.
"City of God," for example, the Oscar-nominated film that was a worldwide hit in 2003, was set in a Rio favela of the same name. Funk music, with its aggressive, raplike beat is now common on dance floors in Paris and London. It started in favelas and is still hugely popular there. And some of Brazil's hottest fashion designers take their inspiration from the poor communities.
Another reason is economic. As Brazil's currency, the real, has strengthened and prices have risen, favelas have become alternatives destinations for adventurous new arrivals looking for a cheap place to live.
American Michael Allett admits he was scared when he first moved to Rocinha, one of Rio's biggest favelas, two years ago. His house was surrounded by smoldering garbage, and piles of rubble from half finished construction projects. He frequently crossed paths with drug gangs wielding semiautomatic weapons.
But it was close to where he gave English lessons and the cost of a studio flat was a quarter of what he paid to share a two-bedroom place in the posh Copacabana neighborhood. He now lives in a small apartment with his Brazilian wife.
Like most foreigners living in favelas, he accepts that such advantages come at a price, most notably the lack of security. But despite the gang violence, Mr. Allett and others, say armed men in favelas help ensure safety for those not involved in turf battles.
"I feel more secure here than in Copacabana, where I saw people get mugged three times," says the former stockbroker from California. "If you cause turbulence here it is dealt with heavily. The guys with the guns come and take care of it. People respect each other more here, but the sad thing is that it is enforced by guns."
But most of all, Allett enjoys what all the outsiders say is perhaps the main reason for living there: The feeling they have recaptured a time gone by.
"I go to the plaza and discuss things with people," says Max Eichhorn, a former violinmaker from Germany who has lived in Rocinha since 2000. "I know everyone by name. I go to the bar for a coffee and if I forget my money they say, 'Don't worry, pay me later.' I love the freedom I have here. Living here is like living in Tuscany."
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Important Latam historic sites
Manzana de las Luces, Buenos Aires, Argentina: The Manzana de las Luces (Block of Lights) served as the intellectual center of the city in the 17th and 18th centuries. This land was granted in 1616 to the Jesuits, who built San Ignacio -- the city's oldest church -- still standing at the corner of Bolivar and Aslina streets. It's worth a visit to see the beautiful altar.
Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires, Argentina: The majestic Teatro Colon, completed in 1908, combines a variety of European styles, from the Ionic and Corinthian capitals and French stained-glass pieces in the main entrance to the Italian marble staircase and exquisite French furniture, chandeliers, and vases in the Golden Hall. The Colon has hosted the world's most important opera singers.
Tiwanaku, Bolivia: The Tiwanaku lived in Bolivia from 1600 B.C. to A.D. 1200. Visit the Tiwanaku archaeological site, which is about 2 hours from La Paz, and you'll see proof of some of the amazing feats of this pre-Columbian culture. The stone-carved Sun Gate could gauge the position of the sun. The technologically advanced irrigation system transformed this barren terrain into viable farmland. The enormous and intricately designed stone-carved monoliths found here give testament to the amazing artistic talents of these people. Much here still remains a mystery, but when you walk around the site, it's exciting to imagine what life must have been like here for the Tiwanaku.
Potosi, Bolivia: Once one of the richest cities in the world, and now one of the poorest, Potosi is a fascinating but tragic place. A silver mining town that once bankrolled the Spanish Empire, Potosi is a high-altitude relic featuring beautiful church architecture and primitive mining, both of which you can experience firsthand.
Brasilia, Brazil: Built from scratch in a matter of years on the red soil of the dry cerrado, Brasilia is an oasis of modernism in Brazil's interior. Marvel at the clean lines and functional forms and admire some of the best modern architecture in the world.
Pelourinho, Brazil: The restored historical center of Salvador is a treasure trove of baroque churches, colorful colonial architecture, steep cobblestone streets, and large squares.
San Pedro de Atacama, Chiu Chiu, and Caspana, Chile: The driest desert in the world has one perk: Everything deteriorates very, very slowly. This is good news for travelers in search of the architectural roots of Chile, where villages such as San Pedro, Chiu Chiu, and Caspana boast equally impressive examples of 17th-century colonial adobe buildings and the sun-baked ruins of the Atacama Indian culture; some sites date from 800 B.C. Highlights undoubtedly are the enchanting, crumbling San Francisco Church of Chiu Chiu and the labyrinthine streets of the indigenous fort Pukara de Lasana.
Chiloe Island, Chile: Chiloe's historical appeal is in large part derived from the fact that many citizens live much as they did 200 years ago, tilling fields with an ox and a plow, plying the coves with rickety wooden fishing skiffs, and hand-knitting sweaters to keep out the cold. Chiloe is home to a rare display of antique ecclesiastical architecture in the form of hundreds of 17th- and 18th-century wooden churches, two dozen of which were recently named a World Patrimony by UNESCO.
Cartagena, Colombia: Declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984, the old-walled city of Cartagena is the greatest living outdoor museum dedicated to Spanish colonial history. A walk through one of Cartagena's narrow, cobblestone streets, complete with centuries-old Spanish mansions, flower-strewn balconies, and horse-drawn carriages showing tourists around town, might make you feel as if you've stepped onto the set of a colonial-era telenovela. Best of all, the fines attractions -- the plazas, the fortress, and most of the churches -- are free.
Quito's Old Town, Ecuador: When you walk around old Quito, you will feel as if you have stepped back in time. The oldest church here dates from 1535, and it's still magnificent. La Compania de Jesus only dates from 1765, but it is one of the most impressive baroque structures in all of South America. It's rare to find a city with so many charming colonial-style buildings. When you wander through the streets, it really seems as if you are walking through an outdoor museum.
The Nasca Lines, Peru: One of South America's great enigmas are the ancient, baffling lines etched into the desert sands along Peru's southern coast. There are trapezoids and triangles, identifiable shapes of animal and plant figures, and more than 10,000 lines that can only really be seen from the air. Variously thought to be signs from the gods, agricultural and astronomical calendars, or even extraterrestrial airstrips, the Nasca Lines were constructed between 300 B.C. and A.D. 700.
Cusco, Peru: Cusco, the ancient Inca capital, is a living museum of Peruvian history, with Spanish colonial churches and mansions sitting atop perfectly constructed Inca walls of exquisitely carved granite blocks that fit together without mortar. In the hills above the city lie more terrific examples of Inca masonry: the zigzagged defensive walls of Sacsayhuaman and the smaller ruins of Q'enko, Puca Pucara, and Tambomachay.
Iglesia de San Francisco, Caracas, Venezuela: This is the church where Simon Bolivar was proclaimed El Libertador in 1813, and the site of his massive funeral in 1842 -- the year his remains were brought back from Colombia some 12 years after his death. Begun in 1575, the church shows the architectural influences of various periods and styles, but retains much of its colonial-era charm.
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The best Latam museums
Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires: This museum contains the world's largest collection of Argentine sculptures and paintings from the 19th and 20th centuries. It also houses European art dating from the pre-Renaissance period to the present day. The collections include notable pieces by Manet, Goya, El Greco, and Gauguin.
MALBA-Coleccion Constantini, Buenos Aires: This stunning new private museum houses one of the most impressive collections of Latin American art anywhere. Temporary and permanent exhibitions showcase such names as Antonio Berni, Pedro Figari, Frida Kahlo, Candido Portinari, Diego Rivera, and Antonio Sigui. Many of the works confront social issues and explore questions of national identity.
Museu de Arte Sacra, Salvador: When you walk into this small but splendid museum, what you hear is not the usual gloomy silence but the soft sweet sound of Handel. It's a small indication of the care curators have taken in assembling and displaying one of Brazil's best collections of Catholic art -- reliquaries, processional crosses, and crucifixes of astonishing refinement. The artifacts are shown in a former monastery, a simple, beautiful building that counts itself as a work of art.
Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro: It's impossible to miss the MAM. It's a long, large, rectangular building lofted off the ground by an arcade of concrete struts, giving the structure the appearance of an airplane wing. Inside are walls of solid plate glass that welcome in both city and sea. Displays present the best of contemporary art from Brazil and Latin America.
Museo Arqueologico Padre Le Paige, San Pedro de Atacama: This little museum will come as an unexpected surprise for its wealth of indigenous artifacts, although the museum's famous mummies have been taken off display due to ethical questions. Still, considering that the Atacama Desert is the driest in the world, this climate has produced some of the best-preserved artifacts in Latin America, on view here.
Museo del Oro, Bogota: With over 20,000 pieces of gold, the Museo del Oro offers the largest collection of its kind in the world, providing a visual history of Colombia and Latin America from the pre-Columbian era to the Spanish conquest. Taking a guided tour of the museum is one of the best ways to learn about the indigenous groups that inhabited modern-day Colombia before the arrival of the Spaniards. Whatever you do, don't leave Bogota without visiting the top-floor gold room, a dazzling display of 8,000 pieces of gold.
Fundacion Guayasamin, Quito: Oswaldo Guayasamin was Ecuador's greatest and most famous modern artist. His striking large paintings, murals, and sculptures had an impact on artists across Latin America and around the world. This extensive museum displays both his own work and pieces from his collection. Combined with the neighboring Capilla del Hombre, this is a must-see for any art lover or Latin American history buff.
Museo de la Nacion, Lima: Lima is the museum capital of Peru, and the National Museum traces the art and history of the earliest inhabitants to the Inca Empire, the last before colonization by the Spaniards. In well-organized, chronological exhibits, it covers the country's unique architecture (including scale models of most major ruins in Peru) as well as ceramics and textiles.
Monasterio de Santa Catalina and Museo Santuarios Andinos, Arequipa: The Convent of Santa Catalina, founded in 1579, is the greatest religious monument in Peru. More than a convent, it's an extraordinary and evocative small village, with Spanish-style cobblestone streets, passageways, plazas, and cloisters, where more than 200 sequestered nuns once lived (only a handful remain). Down the street at the Museo Santuarios Andinos is a singular exhibit: Juanita, the Ice Maiden of Ampato. A 13- or 14-year-old girl sacrificed in the 1500s by Inca priests high on a volcano at 6,380m (20,926 ft.), "Juanita" was discovered in almost perfect condition in 1995.
Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Sofia Imber, Caracas: Occupying 13 rooms spread out through the labyrinthine architecture of Caracas's Parque Central, the permanent collection here features a small but high-quality collection of singular works by such modern masters as Picasso, Red Grooms, Henry Moore, Joan Miro, and Francis Bacon, as well as a good representation of the conceptual works of Venezuelan star Jesus Soto.
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Some Latam small towns and villages
San Martin de los Andes, Argentina: City planners in San Martin had the smart sense to do what Bariloche never thought of: limit building height to two stories and mandate continuity in the town's Alpine architecture. The result? Bariloche is crass whereas San Martin is class, and the town is a year-round playground to boot. The cornucopia of hotels, restaurants, and shops that line the streets are built of stout, cinnamon-colored tree trunks or are Swiss-style, gingerbread confections that all seem right at home in San Martin's blessed, pastoral setting. Relax, swim, bike, ski, raft, hunt, or fish -- this small town has it all.
Cafayate Wine Town, Argentina: This small, sandy village in the Argentine Northwest is surrounded by multicolored mountain ranges and red rock desert. Vineyards punctuated by tall cactus sentinels stretch into the foothills. Home to the delicious white wine torrontes, Cafayate offers beautiful luxury wine lodges or more down-to-earth family-run hotels.
The Isla del Sol, Bolivia: There are actually several small villages on the Sun Island, but in total, only a few thousand people live here. There are no cars and barely any telephones. At rush hour, things get very chaotic: You may have to wait a few minutes while the locals herd their llamas from one end of the island to the other. Spend a day here, and you'll feel as if you have taken a trip back in time.
Porto de Galinhas, Brazil: This village of three streets in a sea of white sand is the perfect spot to learn to surf. You'll never get cold, while steamed crab and fresh tropical juices between waves do wonders to keep you going.
Morro de Sao Paulo, Brazil: Situated on a green lush island just a boat ride away from Salvador, this sleepy village offers some of the best laidback beach life on the northeast coast of Brazil. Car-free and stress-free, Morro de Sao Paulo offers the perfect mix of deserted beaches, watersports, and fun nightlife in an idyllic setting.
San Pedro de Atacama, Chile: Quaint, unhurried, and built of adobe brick, San Pedro de Atacama has drawn Santiaguinos and expatriates the world over to experience the mellow charm and New Age spirituality that waft through the dusty roads of this town. San Pedro hasn't grown much over the past 10 years -- it has simply reinvented itself. Its location in the driest desert in the world makes for starry skies and breathtaking views of the weird and wonderful land formations that are just a stone's throw away.
Pucon, Chile: Not only was Pucon bestowed with a stunning location at the skirt of a smoking volcano and the shore of a glittering lake, it's also Chile's self-proclaimed adventure capital, offering so many outdoor activities that you could keep busy for a week. But if your idea of a vacation is plopping yourself down on a beach, Pucon also has plenty of low-key activities, and that is the real attraction here. You'll find everything you want and need without forfeiting small-town charm (that is, if you don't come with the Jan-Feb megacrowds). Timber creates the downtown atmosphere, with plenty of wood-hewn restaurants, pubs, and crafts stores blending harmoniously with the forested surroundings.
Villa de Leyva, Colombia: You'd be hard pressed to find a place more picturesque than Villa de Leyva, one of the earliest towns founded by the Spanish. At 500 hundred years old, Villa de Leyva is nearly unspoiled by the ravishes of time. Offering green and white colonial-style churches, cobblestone plazas, delightful bed-and-breakfasts, a thriving arts community, and pristine countryside, it's no wonder Villa de Leyva has become the weekend getaway of choice for upscale Bogotanos. Villa de Leyva makes a great base for exploring the spectacular Boyaca countryside and participating in all sorts of adventure sports and eco-opportunities from repelling and kayaking, to nature walks through the nearby desert and waterfalls.
Otavalo, Ecuador: This small, indigenous town is famous for its artisans market. However, it also serves as a fabulous base for a wide range of adventures, activities, and side trips. Nearby attractions include Cuicocha Lake, Peguche Waterfall, Mojanda Lakes, and Condor Park.
Ollantaytambo, Peru: One of the principal villages of the Sacred Valley of the Incas, Ollanta (as the locals call it) is a spectacularly beautiful place along the Urubamba River; the gorge is lined by agricultural terraces, and snowcapped peaks rise in the distance. The ruins of a formidable temple-fortress overlook the old town, a perfect grid of streets built by the Incas, the only such layout remaining in Peru.
Colca Valley Villages, Peru: Chivay, on the edge of Colca Canyon, is the valley's main town, but it isn't much more than a laid-back market town with fantastic hot springs on its outskirts. Dotting the Colca Valley and its extraordinary agricultural terracing are 14 charming colonial villages dating to the 16th century, each marked by its handsomely decorated church. Yanque, Coporaque, Maca, and Lari are among the most attractive towns. Natives in the valley are descendants of the pre-Inca ethnic communities Collaguas and Cabanas, and they maintain the vibrant style of traditional dress, highlighted by fantastically embroidered and sequined hats.
Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay: Just a short ferry trip from Buenos Aires, Colonia is Uruguay's best example of colonial life. The old city contains brilliant examples of colonial wealth and many of Uruguay's oldest structures. Dating from the 17th century, this beautifully preserved Portuguese settlement makes a perfect day trip.
Merida, Venezuela: Nestled in a narrow valley between two immense spines of the great Andes Mountains, this lively college town is a great base for a wide range of adventure activities. Its narrow streets and colonial architecture also make it a great place to wander around and explore.
