Fabio Medeiros, our friend and colleague in Dubai who is a proper born and bred carioca, graciously offered to put us up with his grandmother’s sister Dona Margarida during our stay in Rio. “Dona Margarida lives very close to Rocinha,” explained a homesick Fabio over an espresso not quite as s[...]
Posts Tagged ‘Rio de Janeiro’
A Leap Into the Forest…
So here begins the travel log of two Dubai girls who have fled the luxuries of the Middle East for rainforest-clad Brazil. Rewind two months back: “That’s the problem with creative agency folk,” my father complained, “one minute you’re happily working the next you have quit and booked a fl[...]
World Urban Forum: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Between March 22 and 26, the city of Rio de Janeiro will host the 5th edition of the World Urban Forum (WUF), sponsored by the United Nations agency for human settlements, UN-Habitat. It is the first time this event will be held in Latin America. A record number of people from over 170 countries hav[...]
Favela Tourism: Harmful or Helpful?
When I told people I was going on a favela tour in Rio de Janeiro, I received a lot of strange looks. After all, those aren’t two words you often hear together. Reactions ranged from, “Why would you want to do that?” to “They are just people living in a different situation. W[...]
Vacation, All I Ever Wanted
In the last few weeks or so, I’ve gotten a lot of inquiries from people traveling to Brazil. I love giving travel advice! Once I’ve traveled to a city, I’ve been there, done that, and eaten everything. So I’m happy to answer pertinent questions. However, I recently received an e-mail saying,[...]
My City of Ruins
Sometimes in Rio, I feel like I’m on the cusp of something great. The city is making a huge effort to improve in the face of its current limelight. Consultants are being brought in to aid security. Unidade de Polícia Pacificadoras (UPPs) are being established to reduce the number of violent death[...]
Community Theater: Nós do Morro
Last night I went to the opening night of a play called “The Inspector General” at Nós do Morro, a community theater company located in Favela Vidigal overlooking Ipanema beach. Nós do Morro was conceptualized in 1986 as a cultural movement which strove to harvest the artistic talent o[...]
You Down with UPP (Yeah you know me)
According to a new statistic revealed last Tuesday by the New York-based Human Rights Watch, more than 11,000 people have died at the hands of authorities in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo since 2003. A substantial portion of this number is derived from the off-duty or “extrajudicial” kil[...]
