A weekend of mob robberies on Rio’s beaches saw some Zona Sul residents attempt to take the law into their own hands. But the “crime mobs”, the vigilantes, and the social divisions that underpin them are nothing new, as James Young explains. By James Young Belo Horizonte Despite the start of the summer season and the giant Rock in(…)
Arquivo - Tag: Rio
Culture in Rio takes a hit as Daros quickly exits
Directors of the beautiful Casa Daros art space stunned Rio when they announced it would shut its doors just two years after opening. Does this forebode a dark period for cultural projects as the city is pounded by recession and scandal? By Nathan Walters Rio de Janeiro A tragedy has struck Rio de Janeiro, and(…)
Brazil’s five election surprises
Sunday was full of surprises, and most of them dispiriting for the groups that thought they’d made gains during last year’s protests. Here’s the five biggest. By Mauricio Savarese 1 – Marina Silva out of the run-off From presidential front-runner to the falling star of Brazil’s politics. The former environment minister was a bad player from(…)
Rio’s police ‘pacification’ program on the defensive
Drug crime has returned to some of the favelas taken over by Rio’s police in recent years, putting the ‘pacification’ program under further scrutiny. Escalating violence and accusations of human rights abuses indicate police forces may be losing control. One resident group questions the wisdom of trying to resolve the problem with more military force.(…)
Rio and graffiti artists – friends or foes?
After years of an uneasy relationship between Rio’s government and technically illegal street art, a new decree passed by Mayor Eduardo Paes has divided the city’s much-celebrated community of graffiti artists. Above, artist PXE approaches a wall in Arpoador. By Nathan Walters On a purely aesthetic level, pixação—the spiky black glyphs that pop up at dangerously(…)
Rio – It’s a jungle out there
A brush with what appeared to be a shark and a large-scale beach robbery leads Dom Phillips to reflect on Rio de Janeiro, a city that despite talk of pacification, often reminds residents of a wildness lurking beneath the surface. Above, cops being ineffective in Ipanema. By Dom Phillips It may not have been a shark.(…)
Inside Brazil’s ‘Black Bloc’ protests
Dom Phillips reports from inside Brazil’s most recent protests in Rio and talks to a ‘Black Bloc’ style protester, whose clashes with police have increasingly dominated coverage of the demonstrations and may even be scaring other protesters away. All photos Dom Phillips By Dom Phillips There were seven protests planned in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday – Brazilian(…)
MIMO and Paraty – the Brazilian cultural weekender
Paraty, the colonial coast town near Rio, is becoming known for its festivals which are attracting more and more culturally curious Brazilians. Dom Phillips reports from MIMO, featuring the complex music appreciated here. Above: the Rum Group with Tareq Al Nasser, from Jordan. Photos Gustavo Otero Dom Phillips As the 20 or so white-clad musicians in(…)
Slutwalk vs. Pilgrims, and papal protests in Rio
By Dom Phillips Rio de Janeiro is a city with a strong libertarian and radical political tradition, that goes back to the dictatorship era. And though the numbers turning out to protests in recent weeks have come down drastically down, they continued before and during the Papal visit, as I covered in these two stories for(…)
Popeweek 2013
In 2013, this is what it looks like when the Pope is about to pass by in front of crowds. Smartphones and cameras everywhere. It’s Popeweek here in Rio de Janeiro, and that has absolutely dominated news coverage. Since my main employer, the LA Times, is a newspaper in a Catholic-heavy city in a very(…)
