MARGINAL BRAZIL
PHOTOGRAPHS…
Beyond the Carnival, the Sugar Loaf and the over looking Christ, Rio de Janeiro is a city of strong contrasts, between the glamour of its beaches and life style, and a more cruel reality of those living in poverty throughout the hundreds favelas (shanty towns)
spread all over the city.
Every inhabitant of favelas carioca (of Rio), workers, bandits, old and young people are part of a reality that became internationally famous just after the success of the acclaimed film City of God, where director Meirelles features a bloody drug-related war of a favela carioca.
These people are the protagonists of a suburban Rio, behind the backstage of the touristy spotlight of Copacabana, where violence, social discrimination, and poverty sign their daily existence.
Yet, in this excluded world, throughout the tangled streets of the favelas, in the bars, up the hill and in community centres or even on the beach, people seem to fight against their marginal condition by embracing life through their music, attitude and joy for living.
The resulting outcome of the contrast between violence and poverty and a joyful attitude towards the future, present a Rio not always easy to understand, with layers overlapping in a mixture of beauty and harshness.
Marginal Brazil, it’s an on going project aiming to capture the conflicting character of Brazilians, and their dance for life, squeezed between hope and reality.