Description
In the late 2000s, Brazil “pacified” many of its favelas by arresting a lot of drug dealers that controlled the areas, putting in police base stations, and helping create social projects like schools and NGO’s. Due to this, it caught the attention of many tourists, as they can now enter the previously “forbidden zones,” creating Favela Tourism. One favela visited a lot was Brazil’s most densely populated favela, Rocinha. This favela has a population of roughly 150,000 residents, with about 43,000 people per square kilometer. Though in 2020, due to the pandemic, the Favela Tourism came to a halt.
Guia Rocinha Histórica (Historic Rocinha Guide) took inspiration from a previous project, WikiMapa, that was used to map out another favela, Complexo de Alemão (German Complex), with the help of its residents. Residents started to stream or pre-record guided tours from their communities over YouTube or Zoom. These tours would highlight the community’s history, daily lives, and the impact COVID-19 had on them. Then, the residents would upload and geotag their work on a StoryMaps platform. The goal of this was to start from the ground up and work with community leaders, volunteers, and local tour guides to use tourism to alleviate poverty and increase Rocinha’s visibility. To interact with the platform, users can click on the main attractions and relevant locations on the guided tours.
This project received funding from multiple groups and changed its name a couple of times. They got funding from the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) in 2021, changing the name to Tourism Virtual Stories. Then, in 2022, it became Guia Rocinha Histórica (Historic Rocinha Guide) after getting funding from the State of Rio de Janeiro. As of writing this, the project is still up and running, with it being constantly developed and expanded to be used for other favelas in Rio de Janeiro. The website has also been turned into a learning tool, with it having different activities, such as a memory game that can be used by students in local schools to teach them about the favela’s history.
The Rocinha community itself is the main beneficiaries and target audience of this project. Because of their funding, they were able to hire local residents, and produce the content with the community. The project gives visibility to local entrepreneurs and businesses who can thrive. It also keeps Rocinha’s memory alive, both for the community and for the outside world.
Connection to Mobile Networked Creativity
This example emphasizes and reminds us that Mobile Networked Creativity engages community members by having them contribute information (stories, images, videos) about their daily lives and histories. Through mapping and crowdsourced initiatives, this community managed to make the favela visible to the outside world, boosting tourism to alleviate poverty, as well as allowing residents to learn more about their cultural heritage. Not only does it engage disenfranchised communities through art, it invites outsiders to learn about marginalized communities that have typically been invisible to the general public.
Location
Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
To Learn More
- “Start Page” Museu Sankofa Memória e História Da Rocinha.
- “Rocinha,” Wiki Favelas.
- Terra Editorial, “2022 Census: Rocinha has the highest concentration of residents per km² in Brazil,” Terra (2024)
- Camila Maria Dos Santos Moraes et al., “Favela Tour Virtual: Sobre Mobilidades Turísticas em Favelas no Contexto da Pandemia de Covid-19,” Cadernos de arte e antropologia, no. Vol. 11, No 1 (March 23, 2022): 97–113.
- Camila Maria dos Santos Moraes et al., “Favela Virtual Tour Alternative Mobilities in Favela Tourism during the COVID-19 Pandemic,” in Alternative (Im)Mobilities, ed. Maria Alice Nogueira (New York: Routledge, 2023), 126–37.
- “Promoting reflection and sharing within and across international communities,” Bournemouth University.
- Dom Phillips, “Favela tourism in Rio de Janeiro,” The Guardian, (2013).
- “Favelas Virtual Tour – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,” StoryMapJS.
