Hope, hip hop and grenades in the City of God
Rio de Janeiro. The man holds a grenade in his hand. Around him, young men cruise around on motorbikes showing off their guns and laughing loudly. Police cars patrol the main road of Cidade de Deus 500 feet away, but here, at the end of a small street, drug dealers rule. The man with haggard eyes nervously asks questions. Don and Mingau (Picture Jean-Cosme Delaloye), two rappers from the lower-class neighborhood located in the Western zone of Rio de Janeiro, reassure him and he finally lets them go through. Don and Mingau resume their walk toward a skate ramp on a desert square. “At night, it is dangerous here because there are a lot of shootings but during the day, it is ok” says Michel Fernades aka Don. The 37-year old rapper and his friend Mingau are well-known figures in the slum, where they live and work. Violence, drugs, music. In 2002, the film City of God, conveyed these images of the neighborhood built in the 1960s. Rio de Janeiro still suffers from urban violence. From January to September 2007, 1300 people were killed by the police in Rio de Janeiro, an increase of 60% compared to 2006. On April 3rd, Brazilian police killed at least 11 suspected drug gang members in a raid on two Rio de Janeiro slums, a police official said. About 150 police entered the favelas in the west of the city in an attempt to arrest the suspected leader of a drug gang controlling the area. “Violence is a reality in the slums, says Don. But violence has subsided and is only a small part of Cidade de Deus is about. Our community is vibrant. The majority of people here work hard to make it out of the slum. There are also many social initiatives to help young people. Mingau for instance teaches break dance”. In their lyrics, Don and Mingau convey a message of hope and opportunities. On March 7, Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva launched a new infrastructure project to improve the living conditions in the slums. The nearly $700 million program aims to take control of slums by creating thousands of jobs and by granting land titles to residents of some of the 752 favelas of Rio de Janeiro. Cidade de Deus is not included in the project. For Rodrigo Silveira, a 28-year old professor of judo who spent all his life in the neighborhood, it is a “political decision”. This does not prevent the young man from admiring Lula, a man he describes as the “people’s president”. “Our living conditions improved a lot in the last few years”, he says. Cidade de Deus was technically not a real favela, since it was originally a public housing community designed to replace a favela. But after years of neglect, it subsequently took on many of the very social features of favelas. The neighborhood is split in two halves by a highway. On one side, run-down apartment buildings provide affordable housing to lower class families. Don and Mingau live on the other side, on the “favela side” with its self-constructed and precarious houses. It was on this side that Michelle Silva Lima, a 27-year old cleaning lady, was killed by mistake by the police on March 5th, while she was doing her laundry at home. This innocent death sparked an outcry among the people of Cidade de Deus who demonstrated against the police’s actions. This cohabitation of violence and hope is visible in Cidade de Deus. One can see a young boy carrying a gun wrapped up in plastic bag, play basketball. A few blocks away, Marco Vinicius, 14-year old son of a mechanic, and Victor Hugo, 13, talk about their hopes. Both teenagers say they love their neighborhood but dream of leaving it one day. Marcos would like to become a footballer while Victor Hugo’s goal is to become a professor of mathematics. Don and Mingau claim they do not want to leave Cidade de Deus even if they become famous one day. “Here, I can make an impact on young people’s lives”, says Don. “Cidade de Deus is my culture”. On the hill above him, a large writing on a wall claims that “Jesus is the truth”. Jean-Cosme Delaloye / Rio de Janeiro Deadly outbreak of dengue fever hits Rio de JaneiroA deadly outbreak of dengue fever has killed at least 80 people in Rio de Janeiro and plunged the city into a deep health crisis. The current dengue strain is considered more lethal than the virus responsible for an epidemic in 2002, which had been the worst in recent history in Brazil, according to Rio’s health secretary.The spreading epidemic has shown no signs of slowing. Since January, 75,399 people have been infected in Rio state, health officials said. The mortality rate is more than three times higher than during the 2002 epidemic, which killed 91 people. tpinews.com Yoou can check Don&Mingau’s music by clicking on this link. Please also read A group of journalists tries to change the image of Rio Slums. CommentsYou must be logged in to post a comment. |
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