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| August 27, 2008 |  Email to a friend  Permalink |
Scenes from Rio de Janeiro
A recent large-scale project by the photographer named JR has focused attention on women - relatives of victims of violence - by displaying their large portraits in one of Rio de Janeiro's hardest hit neighborhoods. Though Rio is blessed with natural beauty and climate, it still struggles with large disparities between rich and poor, and many of the six million residents reside in hillside slums called favelas. Here are some views of Rio de Janeiro over the past few months. (15 photos total)
View of the facade of some houses at the "Morro da Providencia" favela, one of the most violent of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, taken on August 20, 2008. The French photographer identified as JR is launching a project called "Women Are Heroes", through which the photographs of women, relatives of the victims of clashes between the police and drug traffickers, were placed in the facades of the houses. This project already took place in Sudan, Sierra Leone, Kenya and Liberia, and will be taken to India, Cambodia, Laos and Morocco after Brazil. (VANDERLEI ALMEIDA/AFP/Getty Images)
Giant photographs of women cover the walls of homes in Providencia slum in Rio de Janeiro, Friday, Aug. 15, 2008. A French photographer who identifies himself as JR is exhibiting portraits of women whose loved ones were killed by police as part of his project entitled "Women are Heroes." (AP Photo/Ricardo Moraes) #
The P-51 oil rig of Brazilian oil giant Petrobras at Angra dos reis in Rio de Janeiro August 21, 2008. The platform, the first semi-submersible (floating production unit) to be built entirely in Brazil with a total investment of $850 million, will be able to process and treat 180,000 barrels of oil and 6,000,000 cubic meters of gas. (REUTERS/Bruno Domingos) #
A person wearing a bull horn disguise participates in the Jongo Festival in a former slave community in Valenca near Rio de Janeiro, Saturday, May 17, 2008. The Jongo ritual is a legacy of African slaves who worked in the coffee plantations in the 19th century. Slaves were freed in Brazil in 1888. (AP Photo/Ricardo Moraes) #
A police helicopter flies over the Rocinha slum during a police operation in Rio de Janeiro, Monday, June 2, 2008. Thousands of killings by Brazilian police are going largely unpunished because of public approval for a perceived crackdown on crime, according to U.N. envoy Philip Alston. Clashes with police killed a record 1,260 civilians in Rio de Janeiro state last year, according to Brazil's Institute of Public Safety. (AP Photo/Ricardo Moraes) #
A cameraman covers a police operation as residents stand in the streets of Rocinha slum in Rio de Janeiro, Monday, June 2, 2008. Two Brazilian journalists investigating paramilitaries in Rio's slums say they were kidnapped and tortured by armed men who identified themselves as police, according to their newspaper O Dia. (AP Photo/Ricardo Moraes) #
People are seen in Arpoador beach in Rio de Janeiro, Tuesday, July 29, 2008. The weak dollar and a steadily strengthening Brazilian real have seen Rio climb from the 135th most expensive city in the world just a few years ago, to the 31st most expensive today, tied with Barcelona and Stockholm. (AP Photo/Ricardo Moraes) #
More links and information
Women are Heroes - website of photographer JR
Rio de Janeiro - Wikipedia entry
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nice pictures
Great pictures!!
And just a small correction, Arpoador is not a beach, but a peninsula between Ipanema and Copacabana. And based on the angle, the beach we see on the penultimate picture is Ipanema.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arpoador
great city
Always a pleasure.
The women's faces are scary. It's very disturbing. I wonder what the artist hopes for the outcome.
fotos de rio
Very good!
you are still the site for the "big pictures"
it's a pleasure to link you
http://www.media-digest.com
I like this picture!
Brasilia is a good place!
Alex
http://www.recentnews.co.uk
How much does the left eye slum room go for?
These pictures suck!
Posting favela pictures is so lame and it's been done for years.
Celebrate the Beauty of Brazil!
The Girls! The Animals! The Landscape! The Music! The People! The Food!
Every country has shithole slums!
One day, on the right beach, and you'll become BRAZILLIAN!
The only people that take favela pix have little peeepees!
Any moron with Photoshop can do this!
Realmente o Rio de Janeiro é uma bela cidade, mas infelismente é ligada sempre a imagens da pobreza das favelas. Isso acaba fazendo com que o mundo pense que a cidade toda seja assim.
Ninguem imagina quanta riqueza e luxo existe lá.
Só quem visita conhece!
Adoro esse site e suas belissimas fotos!
Abraço.
Djalma Ribeiro
Cuiabá - Brasil
While I feel a little silly responding to such an inflammatory (and obviously not serious) comment, taxiboysdrummer, I feel I must speak up.
I am an American—I have family in Brasil and have spent time there. While Brasil's amazing culture (which you mention) is indeed worthy of notice, it is the stark contrast between Brasil's beauty and its favelas which is so unsettling.
I remember trying to understand at a young age why people living in shacks had satellite dishes on their roofs for TV reception.
Every country may have "shithole slums," as you say, but there are so many people who have never seen one in their lives. Poverty is often swept under the carpet.
There is something to be said for awareness.
I was in Rio 3 years ago; so I was able to appreciate a lot of what I saw in the pictures. However, the pictures with the police were a little disturbing.
I had a wonderful time in Brazil (11 days and several side trips) I would recommend visiting to anyone and I would go back given the opportunity.
So much for "What Happens in Rio, Stays in Rio". Nice pictures.
loved all them!
thank you!
Congrats! Your work is amazing!!!
Forget about the idiot that wrote that slums shoudn´t be showed in pics. That's one of the biggest problem of brazilians. They don´t accept the favelas as a part of the city. They want to forget about it . Shame on you. We need to show Rio as it is ..the nature,music , its people and the favelas that you can find everywhere you go in Rio.
Anyhow, do you know that the music you are so proud of comes from the favelas?
Great work! Very creative!!
Awesome pictures!
Great job!
Every week I see your amazing photos, and I feel sorrow for few pictures covering the Olympics , but that's OK you were on vacation.
I'm very pleased with these photos of my country , but there are many cities to be shown not only the well known Rio de Janeiro. I would like to suggest São Paulo , Curitiba and our capital Brasilia.
Nice pictures , good job !
Take a look here to see website of photographer JR : http://www.jr-art.net/
And enjoy...
Great photos. The photos of the buildings with photos on them is very meta.
http://ericstoller.com/blog/
Rio 2016! The Olympics should finally go to a country in South America. It's down to Chicago, Tokyo, Madrid, and Rio. The US, Japan, and Spain have hosted before, so it is even better to give the summer games to Rio!
Beautiful. One of the most beautiful places in the world
French Class
JR strikes again! Brilliant.
www.weminedeeper.wordpress.com
I remember when I was in Rio in 2004, a gun battle broke out between police and drug dealers in the favela (slum) behind my hotel. At that time there was an agreement between the police and drug dealers that if the dealers left the tourists alone the police would leave them alone in the favelas.
Two weeks after that incident I heard, the police used a helicopter gunship to kill the head of the drug cartel that controlled most of the dealers in the Rio favelas. Im sorry to see that's still going on four years later.
When I was in Brazil in June this year, a member of the military told me he was scared to be in Rio most of the time because it has become so violent.
super and stunning to see all of these photos
The variety of images show the beauty and contrast of Brazil. I'm not sure about the large photos on the slums, its definitely eye catching and noteworthy, but I'm not sure it even further minimizes those poor people who are living in the slums. Now they are living in/on billboards.
Great images as always. As a photographer I am a BIG fan of this site!
Heather
http://www.heatherbarrphoto.com
More JR in Rio here...
http://www.picturapixel.com/blog/?p=6766
The Big Picture is really amazing!
Congrats.
Claudio.
Really good pictures, as always. The story is very moving, too.
Greetings Chan from TheJunction
p.s.: a week without your Big Pictures...boooring ;)
Great pictures! We, 5 American girls went to Rio early summer and we had such a good time! - don't listen to any ignorant ill-faced comments. Ethnocentric people like "taxiboysdrummer" are obviously fair-weathered folks who haven't a clue what poverty is! ..."left eye slum goes for ...."....dude, perhaps a caiparinia!"...is that what you want to hear?
I had the honor of actually going into the favelas and visiting a home for young children with multiple educational programs to steer them away from the 'favela life' - - it was a rich insight to see that there is hope, there are good people to WANT to help, and moreover there are young children who WANT to be helped!
The beaches, yup great!...the food...we porcao-ed out!..partied downtown... it was a trip as we got to see what a developing country looks like... I wonder what "taxiboysdrummer" would have to say if he went to a third world country like India - "...oooh, atleast we're not as poor as these Indians..."....
LOST SOUL...that's all I have to say!
Great PICS !
Amazing shots!
http://xobeau.blogspot.com/
Grat work and nice photos.
The photos shows Rio de Janeiro as it is today. Its not just about beauty and music. Poverty and violence, unfortunately, are part of the city
We also must remember that the polemic photos make us to understand what's going on there - its imporant and necessary... we have to discuss it.
brilliant juxtaposition of the fashion show and police raid. what a place.
As fotos estão maravilhosas, concordo que o povo de fora terá uma péssima imagem do Rio de Janeiro e o Brasil em geral por sempre dar ênfase a favela. Dessas 15 imagens do post 5 mostram a pobreza, me impressionei com isso.
...
I was, perhaps, hoping for more beach pictures . . .but very nicely done none the less...
I was at that game cheering for Fluminense! Amazing game!
Beautiful images! I absolutely love the photography campaign of the womens faces on the slums. It's such an interesting way to bring public attention to something that needs it so bad. Thank you for showing these!
Fluzao!
Nice pictures. Please, You must visit Slovakia!
TRES LOIN DE LA FRANCE MAIS TRES BEAU ET INTERRESSANT.
MERCI
I'm answering the post of Priscila:
"That's one of the biggest problem of brazilians. They don´t accept the favelas as a part of the city. They want to forget about it . Shame on you."
Shut the f*ck up girl. What you THINK you know about my country or about my people? I don't know where you come from, but brazilians don't want to forget about our problems. We look to our problems and we solve our problems. I think you are american or british. If you are american, shame on YOU! Look at your ape president. You people loves war and everything. Americans is the most supid people on earth and are you trying to say something about brazilians? are you talking about OUR problems? If you're british, I don't have a thing to say about you, but your police who shot a brazilian guy 5 times in the head on your subway.
Brazilian people is a party people? yes, but we SOLVE our problems. You? you just open your mouth to say sh*t about the others. shame on YOU!
great pix!
really great, i come from Brazil and i'm sorry you for the racist, or ethnicist (as you wish to call) behaviour from a brazilian.
as part of this people i feel ashamed when someone says something like that and places itself as a brazilian. i hope you all know not all of us are like that or think like that...
unfortunately there is good and bad people everywhere; not only in the US, Great Britain or Brazil.
what should be discussed here is the work of a great photografer, this pix in my opinion reflected well what Rio de Janeiro really is.
keep up with the good job and i hope to see more pix taken in my country =)
Fala Felipe, beleza as fotos e o seu site também ta doido! o Tagmarks então nem comento, parabéns pelo premio! Um detalhe: faltou nessas fotos do Rio uma foto do carnaval!
I was in Brazil three yrs ago. These picture are amazing! great Work!
wonderfull pictures. really amazing. Gratz!
Nice job!!! Forget about that comment about arpoador beach, you can say arpoador beach ,why not? Congratulations!
About pic #5, don't forget to say Boca Juniors outplayed Fluminense until fifteen final minutes of the game! Boca died with boots on!
To Cesar (comment #40): totally agree with you, man. Don't let them forget american policies contributed to create poverty and chaos in Latin America.
Where's Giselle?
great pics,It lets us know how lucky we are living in America
Ahhhh que saudade!!! :-(
Thank you for sharing those images of beauty and poverty ... this is Rio!
http://www.diana.lu
O-o So good pictures
will be able to process and treat 180,000 barrels of oil and 6,000,000 cubic meters of gas"
Per year? Per hour? In its lifecycle?
I lived in Rio for two years as a Mormon missionary. I saw many sides of the city and really love it and the people. The people are amazing and have to deal with a lot. I lived just outside of a favela and often "went up the hill" to the Favelas. I saw kids with automatic weapons waiting for the police to enter. I woke up hearing automatic gunfire. I've had to run from firefights between the cops and the bandidos. I've seen buses burned in the streets. The favelas are a serious problem, but for all that there is an incredible and beautiful side to the city and its people.
Ciudad maravillosa en la que tuve la suerte de vivir 4 años. Dios mio.!!! como lo echo de menos....Es de las mejores cosas que me han sucedido en la vida.
India is not a 3rd world country... It never was one.. now Its competing with all countries and at all level... Please understand that There is no third world country on its own.. its the result of what we (the ppl) have created and still creating... I dont want to hurt the sentiments about Ones' country... If you think backing their country is a virtue of a true Patriot, then I am one... My Apologies if this Comment is Harsh...
This is the reply from me for the comment given by the Citizenoftheworld (Comment No 29)
To Ceasar,
Brazilian people is a party people? yes, but we SOLVE our problems.
Name one problem your people have solved.
You treat your poor lick dogs.
They live in filth while your people party.
You people are a bunch of lying thieves.
The WORLD laughs at you.
Btw: Your English sucks.
Well I am not Brazilian but lived in Rio/Sao Paulo for years.
taxiboysdrummer: nao fala besteira, voce sabe, e eu sei, qual e a situacao no Rio. E uma vergonha! Voce sabe muito bem que todo mundo la esta apavorado, e deprimido, por causa da situacao/seguranca no Rio.
Parece que voce mora fora do Brasil. Vc sabe muito bem que a mais insegura cidade no exterior e 20x mais segura do que Rio! Vc so quer mostrar (para os gringos) as coisas "para ingles ver".
Tao tipico.
Translation: this guy (taxiboysdrummer) would like to hide favelas from foreigners' eyes. It's a typical Brazilian attitude, trying "not to see" what is happening in Brazil/Rio.
Dale: I am not sure that Rio can organize the olympic games. I shudder just when thinking about it. The situation there is pretty hopeless - high crime rates, totally corrupt and incompetent police.
That said - I still adore Rio. It's strange, but Rio is such a city.
HTH,
SUPERBE MAGNIFIQUE EXTRAORDINAIRE FANTASTIQUE J'AIME VOTRE SITE ENFIN DES PHOTOS DES VRAIES NELLY
Great pictures!!! Congratulations!!!
There was always an Arpoador Beach when I lived in Rio back in the 60's!!! ... and I am very sure there still is!!!
I want to see more of your pictures! Keep up the great work!
Each photo tell a wonderful story. It is like a mirror to the human mind and soul.
I look forward to many more photos.
NEM TODO PAIS E PERFEITO, DEVEMOS MOSTRA SIM O LADO BONITO E O LADO FEIO DE CADA PARTE DO NOSSO PAIS, PARABENS MEU GAROTO, BELAS FOTOS ...
PRECIOSO ,,FELICIDADES!!!!
GRACIAS POE DEJARME COMPARTIR LO ,
SALUDOS
ANDREA
Two words:
Public Education.
this is grate
Great work! Loved the walls work JR made. Really impressing.
Cheers from São Paulo - Brazil
wow brazil is one beautiful country i've gots to vacation there 1 day.
Very interesting project : in Rio the favelas - slums - are directly in the heart of the city, just next block where you live you find an "entry" to the favala... Just like in NYC during the early 1980 : Nobody was crossing Broadway at 125th street : on the west side, Columbia University Housing and others middle class. Go West you were in Harlem (125th Street) with no whites - except some turists with a social and exotic curiosity. The intrication of the extreme rich and luxury (Fashion Mail) and the poorest (Rocinha) make Zona Sul so different. And above that, the women from the favelas work in the rich houses while the men work as securities. agents and eat the remains of the rich...
I have family and friends in Rio, travel there 3 or 4 times a year, and will live there permanently in a few years... Your pictures show a certain truth that can't be denied. There are the most beautiful places there, and also some of the worst.. Is Rio de Janeiro a "Tale of Many Cities"? Certainly diverse, rich and poor, virtually side by side...
My favorite picture is the one from behind Cristo Redentor ...
Muito obrigado...