In the last two weeks I was not able to write anything for the blog. The reason is that I went on vacation to Brazil. My brother-in-law married a Brazilian, so my wife and I went for the wedding and then spent a few days on vacation there. It was an amazing experience. My wife and I got to see different places, meet new people, eat good food and explore new cities. As a part of the trip I had the opportunity to visit a non-profit that is doing quite an amazing job in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, its name is Missão Paz. You can check it out here http://www.missaopaz.com.br/ong/ The work Missão Paz is doing is pretty amazing. They have been able to approach the community of São João Batista in a way that I have seen in just a few places. The involvement the staff has with the community has brought transformation to a community that used to be quite unsafe.
After the wedding we visited the cities of Ouro Preto, Tiradentes and Rio de Janeiro. Each city has its unique characteristics and the people seemed to be quite friendly. The city that impacted me the most was Rio de Janeiro. Rio is a vibrant, large and modern city, and it will be the city everybody wants to be in the next four years. The world cup will be in Brazil, and that means some games will be played at the Maracana Stadium, and the next summer Olympics will be in Rio. So, Rio is the place to be. All this has pushed the authorities of the city to make Rio a safer place. Rio’s Clean-up campaign started with “cleaning” of one of its largest slums and continues with different strategies to make Rio a “cleaner” and “safer” city.
When we arrived to Rio de Janeiro I couldn’t help noticing that all along the highway there was a wall. For the first couple minutes I thought it was a sound barrier for the communities that are located below. It didn’t take me too long to realize that it is a different kind of barrier. It is a visual barrier. Behind the wall, Rio’s largest favela welcomes everyone who travels by car or bus. Interestingly, the wall that hides it cuts off the welcoming. On one side you see the beautiful bay, and on the other you see a wall. I am reflecting on this not because I want to demonize Brazilians, but because I know for a fact that if we could put a wall around our slums in Guatemala we would do it in a heartbeat. We would not think twice about it. In the end, I think that it is true what my mentors say, “The city has something that shows our true colors as humans. The city pulls out the best of us, but also the worst.” What a beautiful tension creates the very place that some of us try to flee, a tension that brings out our true human nature. Thereby, the city is the place that makes us more human.
theurbanwonderer 