Turning Dona Marta favela into a work of art

Dutchmen Jeroen Kookhaas and Dre Urhahn worked hard to make Morro Dona Marta, once one of Rio’s most violent slums, a ‘work of art’. The Dutchmen along with 25 Brazilians who live in the slum painted the houses in bright and contrasting colors.

Dona Marta was taken over by Rio’s Peacekeeping Police Unit (dubbed UPP) in December of 2008, after days of violent confrontations between drug kingpins and the police. Since then the slum, which lies in one of Rio’s sleepy neighborhoods has been quiet. Kids today can play out on the streets, and residents are no longer afraid to walk up the steep streets at night.

But even with the peace, the favela (Portuguese word for slum) was a gloomy sight. The semi-finished houses, with uneven cement trying to hide the concrete blocks and red bricks; holes in the walls where a future door would find its home. These two young men painted the outside of 34 of these dwellings in a project dubbed Favela Painting. The project had the support of AkzoNobel, the manufacturer of the paint used in the endeavor, which donated 2.5 thousand liters of the colors and paid slum residents for their work.

This was not the first time Kookhaas and Urhahn raised their brushes in Rio for their Favela Painting projects. For six months between 2007-2008 these two men from Holland painted giant panels to decorate the Vila Cruzeiro Favela, another very violent part of the city. The team has also led projects in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco and in the poorer regions of Mexico, Colombia and Ecuador.

 To check out the finished product go to: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4554503&l=66947be441&id=218328505775

Florianopolis beach gets Blue-Flag Award from FEE

Florianopolis’ Jurere International Beach has been included in the Blue-Flag list, given out by FEE (Foundation for Environmental Education). The Blue Flag award is given to beaches and marinas which comply with several criteria including environmental education, water quality, environmental management, and security services to users. In all, there are approximately 3.2 thousand marinas and beaches in the blue-flag list, including Ibiza (Spain) and Cote D´Azur (France). This is the first Blue Flag award given to a location in South America.

Jurere International is a 2km stretch of beach located in northern region of Florianopolis island, in Santa Catarina state. The beach hosts several first class hotels, as well as hostels and a variety of restaurants and bars. The beach is also very close to the Carijos Reserve, which makes it an ideal place for eco-travel.

Florianopolis is a paradise for surfers, with major surf tournaments occurring throughout the year. According to sports specialists, waves in Florianopolis are one of the best for surfing along the Brazilian coastline.

Rio de Janeiro chosen as best LGBT destination in the world

Rio de Janeiro was announced as the best LGBT destination in the world Monday at the 10th International Conference on Gay and Lesbian Tourism. This is the third title given to the city this year. Rio has also been named the friendliest city in the world, by Forbes, and won the 2016 bid to host the Olympics. According to Rio’s Travel Bureau (Riotur) the city won the title after a two month survey where 100 thousand persons were interviewed. Rio’s adversaries included Barcelona, Buenos Aires, London, Montreal and Sydney. According to Trip Out Gay Travel, the site which promoted the survey, Farme de Amoedo was considered the gayest street in the city, with Copacabana and Ipanema beaches being the place to see and be seen by the LGBT segment. Rio’s mayor, Eduardo Paes, divulged a press release after the announcement, saying that it was a pleasure and an honor to be the mayor of a town which makes everyone welcomed. ‘The city respects and values differences among people,’ he said adding that ‘Rio is the happiest city in the world and now also the capital of diversity.’

Project to construct Guggenheim Rio discarded

Guggenheim Foundation’s head of global strategies, Juan Ignacio Vidarte, announced Sunday, that plans for a Guggenheim Museum in Rio de Janeiro have been discarded. Vidarte said that the decision was made in common agreement between the Foundation and the City’s administration. Plans for the famous museum have also been halted in Mexico.

Project talks, which began in 2002, have always been highly controversial with both heavy criticism and praise from city residents and artists. The project’s planners at the time hoped that the museum would help to revitalize Rio’s Port area and bring more tourists into the city.

33rd International Film Festival starts in Sao Paulo

The 33rd International Film Festival started Friday in Sao Paulo with films for every type of viewer. Among the 424 films shown at the Festival, which runs until November 5th, are Das Weisse Band by Michael Haneke, Ang Lee’s Taking Woodstock, Ken Loach’s Looking for Eric, Almodovar’s Los Abrazos Rotos and Marco Bellocchio’s Vincere.  A retrospective of the works of Theo Angelopoulous will occur during the festival.

For those who go into a tailspin when it comes to choosing what film to watch and when, and have nightmares they are missing a ‘classic’, the Festival’s organization has made available 300 access of all films on the internet after their first exhibition. They may be accessed until the last day of the festival. For more information and the entire schedule of the festival check out www.mostra.org

Rio to Woody Allen – US$ 1.6 million for film location

Officials in Rio de Janeiro are offering US movie mogul Woody Allen R$ 3 million (equivalent to US$ 1.6 million) to bring his film crew down and make the city and state the location for his upcoming picture.  The offer seems to have caught Allen’s attention and this week, his sister and aide arrived in Rio to discuss the project and visit possible locations shoots. Rio hopes a film by Allen will promote the state and city, similarly to what  ’Vicky Cristina Barcelona’, did for the Spanish city last year.

Rio 2016

Rio de Janeiro won on Friday the bid to host the 2016 Olympics. The city is also scheduled to be one of the cities to host the 2014 World Cup. In all, residents of Rio de Janeiro are enthusiastic with the victories, hoping that these two global events will help the city’s economy, generating thousands of jobs to lower middle class and poor residents who a few weeks ago had little hope for a better future. Tourism experts say that the city will receive 10% to 15% more visitors in 2016 than expected in 2015.

However, the city which has one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World (Christ the Redeemer) also has its share of problems: there is a lack of hotel beds, poor infrastructure, terrible transportation and the never-ending problem of violence. The government promises to solve all these problems and put forth ‘the most spectacular Olympic Games the world has ever seen’ (in the words of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva).  And this is not counting the enourmous pressure the city will be under to make the 2016 Olympic Games a ‘green’ event. Now we will have to wait and see.

Nonetheless, it was thrilling to see the celebrations down in Copacabana beach both Friday, when the announcement was made and Sunday, when ‘Cariocas’ once again went down to the beach to celebrate the deed.