According to the UN, half of humanity lives in a city, and one out of three city dwellers is living in a slum. Slums, favelas, townships or shanty towns are dangerous, poor, and violent places. But slums can be creative, exciting and happy neighbourhoods too. Ghetto aesthetic? As unrealistic and utopic as Slumdog Millionaire? Maybe. But at least it shows that living in a slum can be more exciting than living in a boring suburb.
In The places we live Magnum Photographer Jonas Bendiksen portrays the daily lives of people living in the slums of Caracas, Mumbai and Jakarta. The photographer manages to picture the sweet side of the tough life. The houses are colourful and cosy, even though their roofs are made of cardboard. The 3d pictures and the background sounds give the impression you are standing on the doorstep. On his blog, Bendiksen explains that he did not want to focus – literally- on the dark side of the slums: “I wasn't looking for the dirtiest spot, the poorest hovels or the most crime-ridden street corner. My task was to find how people normalize these dire situations”.
That Brazilian favelas are notorious for their violence and misery, is a common assumption. But they can be fun too. Favela Rising (2006) tells the story of a former drug trafficker who tries to get the kids in his neighbourhood away from a violent future by incorporating them in his grassroots Afro Reggae movement. Surfing Favela (2005) shows a similar group, but instead of making music, the kids become surfdudes instead of drug lords. The documentary Favela On Blast (2008) pictures story of funk carioca, the music style that started in the favelas and turned into one of the most popular subcultures of Rio de Janeiro. The film is directed by Wesley Pentz, better known as DJ and producer Diplo, most famous for his Grammy nominated track Paper Planes on the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack. In an interview for IFC he tells that besides all the favela films, no one had documented the baile funk before: “You see films like "City of God," favela films, but you never see this -- this is what's happening now. No one was profiling it, but there was such a romance about the favela...”
Photo: Vila Artur de Sá, Belo Horizonte, Brazil. By Denilson Novaes (Flickr).
Great post. It is something that makes feelings raise.
Excellent!
I just today learned about a new UN Habitat study. It seems that the world’s megacities will continue to grow, but that most cities will actually shrink.
Lovely Hieke! That’s one cool post and some excellent links.
I remember the Lonely Planet features a ho(s)tel in one of Rio’s favelas - and a “favela tour” has turned into a box to tick on some backpackers’ to-do list.
It might be disturbing or voyeuristic to find beauty and joy in violence and poverty, but those movie-makers and photographers tell fabulous, important stories. Thanks for sharing them.
@ Tania, Pola & Aija: Thanks
@ Daniel: we are refering to the same study: “State of the World’s Cities 2008/2009 - Harmonious Cities”
The first sentence:
“Half of humanity is now living in cities, but this dramatic transition is far from over. According to the new UN-HABITAT report State of the World’s Cities 2008/9: Harmonious Cities, globally urbanization levels will rise dramatically in the next 40 years to reach 70 percent by 2050.”
The photos by Jonas Bendiksen are exceptional! Thanks for posting the link.
Tania, here’s something about the favela tours and one of the “pousadas” (which happens to be owned by a friend of mine): http://www.brazilmax.com/news.cfm/tborigem/pl_southcentral/id/44
While I’m at it here are some other things about favelas:
http://www.brazilmax.com/news.cfm/tborigem/pl_southcentral/id/41
http://www.brazilmax.com/news.cfm/tborigem/pl_southcentral/id/15
http://www.brazilmax.com/news1.cfm/tborigem/pl_southcentral/id/3