Inside The Favelas Of Rio De Janeiro | Show Me Where You Live Compilation

[Music] thank you [Music] my name is Philippe C May I'm a philosopher and I'm interested in how architecture shapes and defines our lifestyles I'm taking you with me to explore some of the most unusual living environments on the planet to better understand what's behind them and share what they have to offer I'm in Rio the cultural and tourist capital of Brazil with its six million inhabitants Rio is the country's second most populous city [Music] in the Southeastern part of Brazil at the entrance of the vast guanabara Bay [Music] with its Carnival white sand beaches and Granite Peaks Rio is a colorful vibrant City marked by the dynamic nature of its inhabitants foreign but beyond this picture postcard image Rio is also the favelas the informal districts constructed illegally on the city's hillsides which are home to almost 20 percent of the population [Music] long associated with violence and drug trafficking in the 1990s the favelas benefited massively from large Investments made by the municipality since then some of them have shown clear signs of change with improvements to infrastructures the development of Social Services and in opening up to tourism [Music] I want to avoid the cliches about the squalid state of the favelas and find out how their inhabitants are participating in the reinvention of their lifestyles Providencia is Rio's oldest Favela it began in 1897 after the war of canutos when soldiers waiting for official housing were given permission to set up temporary homes on the hillside overlooking the port today 7 000 people are believed to live there [Music] oh taxi the most practical way of navigating the winding roads which lead to Providencia [Music] on entering the Favela I discover narrow streets and houses pretty much sitting one on top of the other barokos in simple materials like wood and corrugated iron but also more classic houses such as giseles one-year-old woman is happy to live in Providencia and is very active in the local community Giselle hello Philippe how are you I'm great thanks let me show you my home fantastic thanks I like this red wall I yeah have you lived in this house for long I've lived here for 22 years but when I moved in the walls were all green and it was all dark inside there I guess room didn't have electricity so I had to put in a makeshift extension there was also a drainage problem I had to change all the pipes I've made lots of little improvements all over the place must have worked hard and comfort into a house that was pretty basic when you got here in the favelas people improved their homes gradually that's what I started doing when I moved in here the house wasn't adapted for a child to live in so I had to make a few changes that's what all the residents do but there's also the problem of getting the material up here it takes a lot of time and effort but everyone does it to change things and to make improvements at one point I hated this place so much I wanted to leave but in the end I decided to stay and build an upper level it's normal for people to make their homes bigger I'll show you the upstairs but it's still a work in progress okay the level I'll show you the rooms here's the bedroom we're working on with the bathroom bathroom a toilet a shower wow it's great two bathrooms on this level I'm obsessed with bathrooms because as a kid we only had one and there were a lot of us so I want every bedroom to have an ensuite bathroom then we can all leave our bedrooms already clean and dressed that does make life easier I think that's an interesting thing this one piece will make 52 layers watch on mobile devices or the big screen all for free no subscription required and here's our Terrace for sunbathing every Favela house has to have a sunbathing Terrace which with a shower another shower we kind of turn it into a into a view is fantastic yes it's wonderful is it complicated building a house like this it's very hard to build a house in a favela because you have to buy the materials outside it's delivered to the bottom of the hill and you have to pay someone to get it up here so financially it's really tough cubic meter of material be it sand or stone it's the same transport cost it works out at half the price of the house plus labor is very expensive too that's why it takes such a long time to complete a favela house so is it still possible to build your dream home in a favela for sure if you want it bad enough and even if it takes 10 years that's what it's taken me but it's possible [Music] we'll get there eventually the favel is a real maze there are lots of deviations you pass under the houses the geography is pretty strange [Music] Providencia is a so-called pacified Favela where violence linked to drug trafficking is largely contained but it still has its dangers as were shown by the permanent presence of the somewhat badly viewed Upp the pacifying police unit [Music] to offer an alternative to drug trafficking a number of profidencia's residents are banking on education and culture this is the case of photographer Mauricio Hora himself the son of a former drug dealer in the neighborhood Philippe this is Maurizio hello the house up there is amazing this house is a work of art for the community but it's open to the entire world it's a residence where artists come to share their art and they come to share their talents with the community so Philippe shall I give you a visit up there great in 2009 Mauricio along with French artist J.R decided to create Casa amarilla a Cultural Center open to all and especially youngsters with its giant Moon floating above the house this unique Place sends out a positive image of Providencia it all began with a photojournalism report carried out by Mauricio on the Favela and the life of its residents to Mark providencia's 100th anniversary it's beautiful just amazing this is one of the best views of the favelas I'm sure it is Mauricio was there a real need for a cultural center like this in Providencia dancia is the idea of turning this house into a work of art was really exciting the intention was not to attract tourists but to give our youngsters various means to interact with the rest of Rio by teaching them photography theater filmmaking the idea was to make the house a true cultural center for the youngsters of Providencia Mauricio saw his project through but not without pressure from the municipality and from drug traffickers in the favilla any kind of transformation demands personal investment and it sometimes has its risks what you did was very brave it couldn't have been easy I risked my life I was threatened several times family members friends and people involved with drug trafficking told me there's talk on the street about you you need to be careful sure I was scared but I was so committed there was no turning back I knew that if I quit it'd be a step backwards for the community social policies aim to get youngsters to leave the favelas but I don't believe in that I think they simply need to learn how to transform the community on the inside thank you foreign [Music] this place is totally crazy ah the view is awesome from the height of Providencia I can see how much the favelas are an integral part of Rio I am also struck by their extreme density the inhabitants of the Villas are confronted by intense overcrowding Rio's population explosion since the 1950s means that today there's a severe lack of official housing Tavares Bustos some 25 kilometers from Providencia is one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in Rio to get there I take a mini bus the residents of the favelas have access to this inexpensive means of transport to travel between the different districts of the city [Music] Tavares bastos is a particularly safe Favela here despite the lack of land available for construction each resident has managed to find a corner to live in [Music] thank you I meet Jose Luis who has been building his house for the past 20 years hello how are you good and you great thanks the favelas are officially no construction zones but here we have a four-story building it's a bit crazy isn't it there are construction standards I draw all the plans myself trying to find the best way to use the available space as the houses are all stuck together they support one another um that's how they remain standing because the foundations literally float on the ground we don't ask for authorizations from the city otherwise we'd have to submit proper plans apply for construction permits and pay taxes here you simply drop the plans yourself you decide everything on your own the priority for people is obviously to construct all these houses lined up side by side but that doesn't leave a lot of room in the streets for circulation before the van that delivered milk went right to the end of the favela o there was enough room for it to get through but bit by bit each inhabitant extended their home a few centimeters and then a few more and then a few more days and the space became more constricted I can tell you in some places you pass each other on the street with your backs to the wall like this completely sideways people think that because so and so is extended his house they can too and why not some passageways are only 80 centimeters wide with its small houses piled up on top of each other tavaresbestos has an obvious lack of streets and squares where people can gather foreign football field sunken into the surrounding buildings is one of the few Open Spaces in the favela it's remundo who maintains it and organizes the events it hosts he is desperate to keep this community-based space going despite pressure from those who want to build on it it's as if people push the walls aside actually it's the opposite it's been a long process people constructing their houses have gradually encroached right up to the edges of the rectangle I believe spaces like this are crucial because in the favelas everyone seems to be preoccupied with housing and there's little thought given to public spaces you've raised an important question the population is growing significantly as the football field is one of the largest Open Spaces in the community we hold religious Services here Samba classes football matches conferences and meetings we use it to promote a whole host of activities which benefit the entire Community I think that the feeling of belonging you have for a neighborhood is less about images and symbols and more about spaces people can share together when you see millions of people pass through here and they all recognize and appreciate the football field it encourages me to maintain it I'm really proud when visitors say our community is different because of it I realize the importance of sharing things and passing them on to others see you're full of admiration about this place and that helps keep me going I want people from outside the Favela to know that we all live in Hope for a long time the residents of the favelas could count only on themselves to improve their neighborhoods before the 1990s many thought it was pointless to invest time energy and money in homes that were bound to disappear either on their own or by forced evictions but today more and more people from outside of these neighborhoods are showing interest in them some Architects are starting to see them as places to launch projects with a high potential [Music] Pedro evora is one of this generation of Architects with a new vision of the favelas he explains how this change in status came about before all elected politicians saw the favelas as places that shouldn't exist [Music] movies but in the 1980s several governments favoring the working classes started advocating the need to make buildings more permanent and to urbanize the favelas for this they called on Town planners and technicians who were given the task of finding ways to endow these neighborhoods with an urban infrastructure with the so-called temporary homes are very much part of the city's identity what you say is very true because Rio de Janeiro is well known for its favelas the favelas are constructions in perpetual motion and they're growing fast if you look at the statistics you can see they have the highest horizontal and vertical growth rate in the city it's because there are more and more buildings being constructed in concrete and that makes vertical growth possible when it was impossible with wooden structures what interests me about the favelas is the invention the creativity of residents who have learned how to get by on their own what interests you about them what interests me are the things that haven't been solved yet the problems [Music] I see my work is a possibility of coming up with solutions for difficult contexts that's the role of the architect I think is it possible we need to get across problematic lines I think that Architects have now understood their importance in the process of articulating public space but in private space too the homes of the residents there are also a lot of developments we could make here in Rio we need to construct infrastructures to help accelerate the regularization of the favelas the favelas are now our priority [Music] is one Favela that is starting to attract outside investors hugging the hillsides that Overlook the Chic Ipanema and Leblon beaches in the past 10 years vidigal has become one of Rio's new hot spots popular haunt of artists is now seeing new residents moving in looking to benefit from its exceptional location an artist decorator and actor was born and raised here he speaks to me about the changes in his neighborhood hey how are you good so this is your studio yes this is where I do all of my craft work set design carpentry and making various objects and musical instruments I make everything in here it's a bit of a pigsty but it suits me just fine I live upstairs my home is right above how about I show you around oh yeah sure it's really big it's awesome you like it it's wonderful brilliantly decorated and here's the view over video what a magnificent View who are the people who have moved into vinegar and those who keep moving in today most of them are people who've always been curious about belonging to a community but have always been scared of the violence and there's a fair amount of that it's mostly artists in Bohemian Chic who make up these new curious people and since the pacification of the favelas they're much Keener to move into video the inhabitants of the neighboring Chic districts are getting to know our community and now they realize it's a nice place very safe and life is a lot cheaper we also have a vibrant cultural scene and nightlife and the people are really welcoming so all these new residents have contributed to the neighborhood by bringing in not only culture yes things have improved financially it's an opportunity for us to increase our incomes I have two houses a bit higher up which I rent out before I charge 600 reals a month but now I charge one thousand that gives me more spending power and there are a lot of us benefiting from that do you think there will come a time when the original residence of vitigal won't be able to afford to live here with the rise in the cost of living part of the population already feels they have to leave the community they grew up in they're being forced to move because they can no longer afford to meet their needs when people who were born and raised here are forced to leave the community loses part of its identity its Origins its roots this is the negative side of this new social mix is one Favela which is enjoying its opening up but it means excluding its poor inhabitants is this gentrification the ultimate price to pay for the development of the favelas personally I don't think so there are alternative models [Music] I returned to Providencia whose Community Spirit really left its mark on me Mauricio has invited me to a barbecue on the roof of the yellow house a chance for me to spend a little more time with Giselle and the other residents of the neighborhood [Music] thank you [Music] thank you so much for your hospitality when I see all the energy and intelligence you put into profitencia I tell myself that the favelas still have plenty of surprises up their sleeve so the inhabitants of the favelas have many things to teach us you can find the hillsides of a city that didn't want them and left their own devices with no real support they have constructed places that are full of life sources of a multi-racial culture extremely inventive and an integral part of Rio's identity I simply hope that the favelas will not become a picture postcard memory and that all residents of Rio will be able to benefit from the huge potential of these Dynamic neighborhoods yeah oh there's a swimming pool [Music] awesome [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] along a deserted track 3 700 meters above sea level in the Bolivian altiplano I'm on my way to chipaya territory a day's drive from La Paz the capital over 2500 years old this indigenous Community is the oldest in the altiplano following numerous conflicts with other Indians the chipayas were forced to live self-sufficiently on the shores of an Old Salt Lake not far from Lake pupo [Music] the salt poisons their land and yet they have stayed there they have managed to harness this hostile environment thanks to a remarkable water management system and architecture adapted to the rigors of the altiplano's arid climate I want to find out more about the techniques which enable the chipayas to make such intelligent use of their territory's limited resources [Music] I reach Santa Ana de chapaya home to the 2000 strong chapaya community there is a town hall a school and a few stores but the village seems eerily deserted Elias is waiting for me at home yes thank you welcome to the Village of tipaya this is my home Village I saw in the village that many of the houses are built with these dried Earth bricks yes this house is made of adobe with a mold I can show you please there you go they're like this these were left over that house is another model yes it's quite different how was it made I'll show you the material I have some here are we CD there are slabs of sod ium that's right we cut them out of the ground look on the other side you can still see the Tufts of grass seems like oh yes you should always choose pieces like this so that it's nice and sturdy there should be roots in it we use these to make walls for houses like that one over there that one there yes my parents are still in the fields so you split your time between homes [Music] just take my coat off be careful [Music] the Japanese space is structured by this tradition of living in several places at once the village of Santa Ana the administrative Center is in the middle of their 1 000 square kilometer territory dotted around it are the Campos or tiny hamlets devoted exclusively to work in the fields and tending livestock the separation of spaces and functions explains why Mobility is at the heart of the chipaya's way of life more than living in the village they inhabit a vast territory which they're constantly roaming it takes over an hour to reach Elias's combo across these vast and magnificent planes [Music] here we go Philippe we've reached my camp and that's my family hello my daughter how are you good thank you hello and my sons hello how are you hello that's my Camp when you come here with your family what do you do exactly it's the rainy season right now so we're mainly looking after the livestock yep over there we do other things when it isn't raining we prepare the land for sowing quinoa right but other times of the year or somewhere else does that mean that you have other homes elsewhere see yes I have two other cameras right now one is flooded and the other has been sown wisdom the key that's why we're here we can't stay in one place the shape of these houses is quite astonishing very even cones yes this type of house is called a putuku it's conical so that the wind can blow through it quickly if the houses were Square the wind would buff at them and blow around them with this cone shape the wind doesn't stop these are our sleeping Corners okay right and how many of you sleep in here yes the whole family this wall was very thick great protection from the wind absolutely to make it strong the bottom is a bit wider and it thins out as it rises if it was the same thickness all the way up to the top with the weight the house would collapse that's the kitchen all right that's where my wife makes all our meals have a look fully equipped okay foreign [Music] I understand better why they're so attached to their putukus these small conical Huts perfectly symbolize the idea of a protective shelter and home a place enabling the whole family to get together and stick together hey there are putukus like this all around us see yes you can see there are several Foods there are neighbors but does each family set up camp wherever they like the land isn't divided we live as a community that's why everyone shares the work I see everything is Community Living exactly among the chipayas spatial and social organization are inseparable their territory is divided into four I lose or communities all the members of an ilu are under the authority of a chief and they help each other daily ilius introduces me to Don Sebastian who has to finish building a putuku a job he cannot do on his own and for which he has enlisted other members of his ilu before starting construction the chipayas perform a ritual associated with The Cult of pachamama Mother Earth to thank her for the resources she provides [Music] how are you Don Sebastian hello are you well fine fine this is Philippe hello hello Philippe hello and there's the foreign you're halfway there already yes this soil is dry now so we can add damp Earth to finish it off okay as the soil is already dry it's hard if it were still damp the house would fall down that's our method for building can we help you yes of course okay okay what can I do you can go fetch the slabs all right there yes all right just let me know shall we put it here how long does it take to build a putuku one day right there's no binder is there the slabs of sod are just laid on top of each other yes we don't use cement because there are no Stones here to make it long lasting you have to use dryer soil and how long is a putuku last how long does it stay standing who can last 10 to 15 years really yes so it's really sturdy yes it lasts a long time do you always build the patokus as a group yes because the foreman has to stay up there he can't come down so we pass in the slabs and he lays them we can go fetch more okay let's go foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] slabs are it's no wonder that putuku is solid yes they're very heavy they weigh a ton and hard on your back yes it's back breaking a wheelbarrow great what a good idea [Music] hey here's the last one [Music] that's the last lap U it's beautiful thank you for your help a few coca leaves inside to make it last yes 10 years and remember how you helped us my French brother it's going to last 10 years for sure these moments spent with the chipayas make me realize how much they love living on these Barren Windswept planes as if exposing themselves to the rigors of the climate brought them closer to the Natural World they Revere the japius's land is poisoned by salt to treat it they must wait for the rainy season which runs from November through March when the area's only River bursts its banks this is when they practice the technique of La Mayo a method unique to them for diverting and harnessing it enables the japayas to clean and desalinate the soil and also deposits a fine layer of silt on it to fertilize the soil without this skill that they have mastered since the 16th century the japayas would have no agriculture to speak of and they'd be forced to live elsewhere Alonso is a member of another eye Loop supervising the work for his community today hello [Music] the Champa a simple slab of sod cut out of the ground and left in its natural state is the root of both their architecture and their farming techniques this direct use of nature is one of the keys to their survival let's put a lot here why is it important to do this work it's important because the problem with the land here is salt we call the work we're doing today we're creating a new fertile plot of land on this side at this time of year the water flowing through here is murky it's full of rich and fertile soil we're building a dam so this fresh soil stays here we keep the water that arrives full of clay and will ensure a good harvest potatoes no other communities or peoples work in this way we are the only ones to use this technique the other methods with machines don't work only our method yields results [Music] that's why we're known as people of the water we live off the water if there was no water the chipayas wouldn't exist let's go listening to Alonso I realize the lameo is much more than a technique passed on from one generation to the next it's an authentic memory of the water which the japayas have incorporated into everything they do a very ancient recollection of their life on this dead Lake which reminds them why there are still and despite everything the people of the lake the chipayas's ability to adapt to this hostile environment and exploit its scarce resources fascinates me where does their determination to live here come from Ramiro Molina a Bolivian Anthropologist specializing in the Andes tells me more about the japius's attachment to their territory the chipayas come from an ethnic group called The Urus the Urus settled pretty much all over the Bolivian altiplano and today it's one of the oldest cultures in the world continue to live here the fact is this is an area where agricultural production is low so the uru's identity originates in their efforts to adapt to this environment at the same time is taming their environment they express themselves as individuals through a family a culture they live in harmony with nature home isn't just four walls and a roof but the environment all around them when I see the way that japayas worked the ground it makes me realize that where Nature has the least to give paradoxically that is where people respect it the most yes that is true and it's because the Urus manage to adapt to their environment that they were able to introduce a sustainable production system they do not destroy nature the Urus have identified very strongly with water since ancient times what's the source of life and the myths about their Origins are linked to the relationship between water the Sun and the Earth this interdependence and this way of adapting to the environment have enabled them to survive till now [Music] on the Arid land of the altiplano in this dry cool climate the finest example of how the japayas have adapted to their environment is the cultivation of quinoa it's their staple food [Music] it's proud to show me his I lose cultivated plots it's big it's beautiful here as you can see for now the quinoa is still green it needs to ripen the crop will be ready late April early May look at this plant look it is finished flowering look at its small seeds right the seeds it isn't ripe yet there's milk coming out of it ah yes it needs a little bit longer if the weather stays like this with a bit of rain the Harvest will be good here the land is really Barren and I find it incredible you've managed to grow these fields there's only Pampa here so there's nothing to stop the wind I was just being in sometimes we get Frost or hail which can damage the quinoa too so it's a long-term Endeavor and without this Canoa crop you couldn't survive here our survival depends upon it of course we have our livestock too sheep llamas but that's secondary so the most important is this crop it's what enables us to cover the children's expenses like school YouTube live on land that's pretty much poisoned by salt and yet you still live here my father my mother brought me into the world here on this land sometimes I ask myself why in this Pampa but the fact is I love the land where I was born let's see I'm used to it that's my life what else could I possibly do [Music] yeah [Music] my brother Philippe we're gonna eat now really what's this ah great excellent I'm hungry too thanks here okay thanks thanks a lot thank you thank you very much [Music] it's quinoa with cheese did you make this cheese yourself yes we make cheese with our used milk it's good it's tasty for sure do you like splitting your time between here and the village I prefer being in the fields it's more fun there's more space but can you imagine living in just one home when you're older I've never thought about living in one spot I'm used to living in two or three different places and moving between homes so what is different about living here in the putukas in the countryside we have a lot of fun life is much lighter in the village I feel hemmed in here we can see really far I grew up in the patokus too they're nice and warm and I really like it thank you so much for inviting me to share this meal with you it was great content I'm so happy so pleased you came to visit my camp and meet my family my friend Philippe are you playing with the doggy playing with the dog [Music] on leaving the chipayas I think I've understood why they continue to live on this land scorched by the Sun and salt where hardly anything grows it isn't simply because they found a place of their own here after centuries of conflict with other Indians it's first and foremost because they've learned to love their land by tending to it to see in something fragile and vulnerable the most precious of treasures just like their Community lost in the immensity of the Andean Plains [Music] [Music] thank you [Music]

Channel: TRACKS - Travel Documentaries

Views: 64,273

Keywords: Carnival, Chipaya territory, TRACKS - Travel Documentaries, architectural design, arid climate adaptation, carnival, city exploration, community resilience, cultural exchange, cultural identity, documentary series, global exploration, global stories, lifestyles, local perspective, local perspectives, reinvention, social transformation, world cultures

Id: q-cgmpiBNfM

Length: 52min 12sec (3132 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 19 2023