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It’s field trip day today, and I absolutely love field trips. On the agenda? Favelas. Vila Cruzeiro to be exact. I really didn’t know much about Favelas before the trip, other than that is where most of the poor people in Rio live. In actuality, something like 40% of all Rio residents live in Fevalas. Crazy, huh?

The trip started out ok, with everyone meeting bright and early. Naturally, everyone was running about 15min too late. Once everyone arrived, phone calls were made to ensure it was safe for us to enter (think City of God), and we loaded into the buses; almost.

Unlike most field trips, everyone who could go on this trip wanted to go on this trip. This meant the buses were jammed-packed and there was not spot for yours truly. Luckily, one of the program directors was able to convince a taxi-man to follow the buses. Apparently Favelas are so dangerous that taxis don’t even enter. Go figure. The damage? 25 Reais (about $15). It would have been 50 Reals but my airport partner (the other Seattle-ite) was signed up for the trip, so me and her split the bill. Niiice.

Once we got close to the Favelas, our tour guide came to give us the necessary warnings: don’t wear sunglasses, don’t point, and don’t take pictures. Most importantly, don’t take pictures. So after the taxi-man removed his glasses and rolled his windows down (I guess you have to roll your windows down so the people know you’re not police. That would be bad), we entered.

There’s a lot one could say about Favelas, but the main that comes to mind with me is third-world. One of the first things you notice is that infrastructure is almost non-existent. Some buildings are made of cement, while others are nothing more than a stack of bricks. Most looked like bricks. Many houses don’t have doors or windows, just cutouts where a door or window would be. Some buildings have electricity and water, some don’t, so giant buckets (they look sort of like a backyard swimming pool for kids) are kept on roofs to provide running water. It is simply unbelievable.

The second thing I noticed is that government is completely non-existent. There is no police force, no schools, no garbage pickup, and no public transportation (they do have buses, but these are privately run). The last government sanctioned presence you see is at the entrance. This is where the police sit and do randoms checks on people entering and leaving the Favela.

About 10min into the Favels, we reached our destination; a community center. The center was nice. Really nice. So much so that it looked out of place. We received a tour, quickly looking at the clinic, dental office, futbol field, and pool. Yes, they had a swimming pool. It is amazing what a few motivated people can accomplish.

After the tour, we had the opportunity to play a quick game of futbol with the local team. I could go into details, but I’m sure you know how that ended. Winners? They weren’t American. I will say this, the level of talent in those kids is ridiculous. Every one of them could easily (very easily) be the star athlete on any high school soccer team in the States. Video time:

Once the match was over, and I was out of breath, we ventured back into the center and up to the second floor for a quick demonstration of Capoeira. Amazing. Next they snagged a few of us off the wall (myself included) and gave us a quick and dirty lesson. Next up? A little show. They paired us with one of the locals, and we performed Capoeira for the audience. Video time (again):

After the demonstration, it was time for a Q&A with the tour guide and center administrators. One interesting tidbit we learned was the lack of government presence means the entire Favela is run by the Trafico de Drogas (drug lords). They are the law, they are the jury, they are the police, they are everything. Oddly enough (well, actually it’s not that odd), we were told that for small crime (theft and such) we were safer inside the Favela than we were outside. The reason is that the trafico hands down some harsh punishments to people caught stealing. How harsh? How about losing a hand harsh. Now that’s a deterrent.

Next on our agenda was a quick walk around the corner to take a look at a huge mural that was being painted. The mural was being painted on a huge staircase and consisted of fish swimming down the stairs. We took a trip to the top of the staircase and shot a quick clip of the view. Amazing:

My words can’t do justice for what these people are trying to accomplish and what they have to deal with to accomplish it. Fortunately the painters have a blog: FavelaPainting.com. Go there, after you read this.

After the mural, it was time for a quick bite to eat a local restaurant just outside of Favela territory before heading up-hill to Santa Maria Maior. It’s a church. A huge church. So huge in fact I saw the darn thing from the window while flying in. It sits atop a huge hill and provides some amazing views of Rio. From the looks of things, the church is no longer active and is only a tourist attraction now. I could be wrong about that though. Go figure.

So after walking up 381 (yes, I counted!) stairs to see the church up close, and then back down 381 stairs to get back to the bus, it was time to head home for quick trip to Ipanema Beach before the sun went down. All in all, a great day.

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