Prototropic 0.1: Honolulu and Rio

Favela que Saudade | Prototropic 0.1 / Dimitri Damiel Kim
104
OURS IS THE
NEIGHBORHOOD
Popular culture and mainstream media has not been kind to favelas; films such as ‘City of God’ and ‘Elite Troops’ have
consistently portrayed the Brazilian slum as a place of perpetual poverty, crime, and violence. To combat this limited,
but dominant portrayal, the government of Brazil has increased police raids and drug crack downs in slums, as well as
making efforts to potentially demolish and raze favelas. Without questioning the political, social, and economic needs
to fix the slum, including stopping of violence and raising the standard of living for the poor, one should not dismiss the
organic and highly social edifice of favelas that are almost never seen from the outside; shops, businesses, children,
pets, and even tourists… there is life and vibrant communities in favelas such as one found in Complexo da Alemão in
the North Zone, Morro do Banco in the South, and others that contradicts the common, outsiders perspective of favelas.
Legal and illegal wires and cables connecting favelas with electricity and cable TV in Morro do Banco, photo by D.K