Favela Funkin'

Vidigal, Rio de Janeiro


Average friday night in Rio = baile funk party in one of the nearby favelas (brazilian ghettos).

My preconceptions of Brazilian favelas included: men and boys with guns and knives, run down wooden shacks with feeble cloth covering the doors and palm tree branches covering the roofs, no proper electricity, no running water, a lot of rubbish all around the streets, unwelcomed smells....

How wrong I was.. OK, granted, I did go to one of the "posher" favelas - Vidigal, it probably has the best view of Rio.... ironically enough! However, instead of reminding me of the slums in Mumbai, it reminded me of tiny Mexican villages.... over-crowded, disorganized, hilly but with a sense of order and very much livable. The danger factor? 0. Yes, you have to be aware, you don't walk in flashing your riches but the men and boys with arms are there to protect their territory from the police and other gangs.... It's relatively safe until a fight occurs... and when it does, run inside and don't come out until the last shot has been fired (so I've been told..!)

The reason for partying in a favela? BAILE FUNK. FUNK THAT BAILE. Awesome, awesome music! A mixture of hippy-hoppy (Hip-Hop) and electro.

" The funk popularized in the 80s in Rio de Janeiro ghettos called favelas. From mid-90s it was a mainstream phenomenon in Brazil. Funk songs discuss topics as varying as poverty, human dignity, racial pride of black people, sex (breaking it's moral values), violence and social injustice. Social analysts believe that the funk is a genuine expression of the severe social issues falling on the poor and black people in Rio. "

Massive sound system blaring out different tuuunes to which the brazilian girls shake and bop that booooty (bunda in portuguese!), grind with those sexy brazilian men and dance until the sun rises...
I tried my best to imitate them as it's incredibly sexy and I want to be able to shake my ass like that...!!! I think I did ok.... A lot more practice and I'll come back to Europe a fully fledged brazilian dancer ;)



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