Visiting the most dangerous favela in Rio
I spent time in one of the most notoriously dangerous favelas in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. You might be curious how that came about—let me explain.
Through word of mouth I stumbled across a group message of travelers from all over visiting Rio for carnival. Through this group, I befriended a local tour guide who happens to be from Rocinha, aka the notoriously dangerous favela. The local guide runs tours throughout the daytime in his neighborhood, and these tours can be found publicly advertised on travel apps. That being said, many Brazillians I know wouldn’t step foot in a favela, and the primary customers of these tours are foreigners.
Being deeply fascinated and intrigued by the risk factor and taboo, I agreed to partake in a night out with the local guide. Favelas are the birthplace of Brazilian funk, and I wanted to experience the scene first hand. The guide had us meet at a pickup spot near the Rocinha metro station at roughly 12:30 am, because of course, every party in Latin America doesn’t actually begin until 1 or 2 in the morning.
For context, Rocinha favela was once home to nearly 200k people In less than a square mile of space. This makes for a very unique community and atmosphere.
First instructions given: no photos allowed in the streets of the Favela. The guide mentioned he would film us, but only in locations approved by the gang who governs the territory, and certainly not at the funk party. Message received, we continued on.
Stop number one was to a local bar with ambient lighting and beats of laid-back rap filling the air, where we enjoyed a couple caipirinhas, the local cocktail. The energy at this stage of the evening was calm, secure, and I was beginning to wonder how legitimate the claims of danger were. I slugged the last of my drink and continued on.
We made our way up a street filled with lively vendors, loud music, and motorcycles weaving through hoards of people. All the foot traffic could easily have one forget it was the middle of the night. As the music grew louder, I noticed about twenty large speakers stacked beside and on top of eachother blaring funk music. To the right of the speakers one could find an alarmingly organized display of drugs, and juxtaposed, a small child on training wheels rolling by the scene, barefoot with a smile ear to ear.
Women were dressed up in bright colors, short skirts and high heels, dancing in the street. Many of the men were sitting in lawn chairs enjoying their beers, and I presume equally enjoying the view. At this point it was just past 1 am, and the party was commencing. As the crowd filled in, I began to notice a few machine guns joining the party as well. The crowd parted like the red sea as seemingly important men holding hefty firearms entered the scene. Oddly enough, though the crowd split, the party and overall vibe did not. For lack of better terms, everything seemed to be…under control.
At this moment the beer I was holding became less amusing, but I continued to dance, observe, enjoy, and lastly, count. I began counting every man with a gun that I saw in proximity. After the count reached twenty, I decided that was plenty to make a clear point for anyone reading the story I was planning to tell.
The men seemed to operate militantly, it was clear to me that their aim was to keep the peace, standing casually with their weapons at rest as the crowd enjoyed themselves.
The tour guide let us in on some knowledge. According to him, the protection of tourism is vital to the community, and stealing from a tourist could potentially cause the thief to lose a hand. This sentiment didn’t necessarily bring me peace of mind, but I gulped the last unappealing sip of my beer and continued on.
My next venture was a motorcycle ride to the top of the favela; this part I was particularly interested in, as favelas are typically built on hills overlooking the city, and are known to have incredible views. These homes, or shanties rather, are built nearly on top of one another, supported by truly astonishing infrastructure that seems barely capable of standing. Due to the way these structures are designed, they are in fact highly prone to issues such as flooding, landslides, and water shortages, among others.
I gleefully hopped onto the moto with a fresh drink in hand and we began weaving our way up to the top. The driver gestured for me to look left, and I was met with a breathtaking sight: what seemed like thousands of stars cascading from the hilltop down into the city. A view so stunning it nearly disoriented me.
These are the moments I enjoy basking in completely. The opportunity to catch a glimpse of this view, in this place, with people I just met, reminds me of our connectedness.
As we reach the top, the guide motions us to a lookout point and offers to take a photo. At this point, I was less concerned with a photo and more in awe of the panorama. The pictures do no justice to this view. I sat at the top and had a smoke for a moment, soaking it all in. After some time, I was urged to make my way back down and there I cruised down on the moto appreciating every second – such appreciation that a tear even rolled down my face.
Less than top notch photo quality, but this is a partial view from the top
I was so caught in the moment that I almost forgot how hungry I was, an extremely rare case for me. A whiff of yakisoba noodles sobered me to voyage in the direction of a nearby food stand.
Waiting for the meal, I observed the restaurant owner disciplining her small child, the child was around 2-3 years old, and the mother was instructing the girl to give food and drinks to customers. Every now and then, the little girl would cry for her mother’s attention. The mother would sternly scold her, and the child would promptly follow suit to her mother’s direction. It pained me to ignore the lack of coddling, but I put my eyes down to mind my place. A few moments later, the noodles arrived to capture me in temporary bliss, serving as an excellent distraction to the discomfort I had felt moments before. Savory soy garlic noodles mixed with sautéed shrimp and fresh veg has rarely, if ever, let me down.
As we returned to the party, there was a clear energy shift from what I’d experienced previously. It was nearly 4 am, and the men with guns were now drinking…heavily. I’m no genius, but that was my cue to leave.
I politely made my way out and safely to the uber which took me back home. Crawling into bed that night was a bit more satisfying than usual. So much polarity and incredibly grateful to experience it, cheers to these moments forever engrained in my memory, and now on paper.
Huge thank you to the local guide, who deeply enjoys showing tourists the community, to both educate travelers, as well as show the young population in Rocinha what opportunities may exist for them outside of their neighborhood.
As always, thank you so much for reading. Living outside of our comfort zone is a gift, one that sheds light on our connected spirit. We are all made from the same source, with every life holding such inherent and incredible value. Below are a few statistics and facts about Rocinha Favela.
Rocinha Facts and Stats:
Less than 1% of Rocinha's residents have a degree higher than a high school diploma
Average income in Rocinha is $240 USD per month
Average life expectancy is 67 years
Population of nearly 180,000 people in .8 square miles was counted in the early 2000’s, now to around 72,000 in that same space
Homicide rate of 34 in every 100,000
Some movies / shows shot in Rocinha include: “The Incredible Hulk”, “Baraka”, “Anthony Bourdain: No reservations”, “Rush”, and more.
Some shanties are built as high as 11 stories tall
Rocinha is located on the hilltops between two of Rio’s wealthiest neighborhoods
(Please fact check me if you notice discrepancies, I am happy to update)
Sources
https://m.imdb.com/search/title/?locations=rocinha@@@%20rio%20de%20janeiro@@@%20brazil
https://mundoreal.org/about/about-rocinha
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocinha
https://www.localriotours.com.br/favela-facts/
https://catcomm.org/favela-facts/