But as favela tourism explodes in popularity, growing debate surrounds whether visiting these communities is truly safe — and whether outsiders are crossing ethical lines. According to BBC reporting, ...

“This favela is one of the safest places in the whole of Rio,” claimed my guide, Johan Gama, a 22-year-old local resident. “The gangs have their own rule system to keep the peace. If someone dares to ...

If you’ve been reading our blog lately you’d be forgiven for thinking that Brazil’s favelas are brimming with cocaine-fuelled criminals. However, there are some people working to show that it isn’t ...

CU Boulder sociologist Molly Todd finds that community newspapers were vital for people living in Brazil’s favelas during the COVID-19 pandemic When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Rio de Janeiro in early ...

Illuminated by a motorcycle headlight, youth perform a street dance known as passinho in the Rocinha favela of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, April 11, 2024. (Credit: Silvia Izquierdo/AP.) Listen SÃO PAULO – ...

Some of the most important lessons from the recently concluded AIDS 2026 Conference were learnt not inside the conference halls, but on the steep hillsides of dangerous favelas (urban slums) in Rio de ...

Brazil’s ongoing favela wars have taken a dramatic turn for the bloody, prompting the government to send military troops into Rio de Janiero’s notorious Rocinha. This is the most violent of the city’s ...