At home in the favelas

Hadley Freeman reports on how some favela residents are making the most of the world cup - with reservations - in The Guardian: Favela residents make World Cup work for them with home stays for fans.

Excerpts:

“If Fifa could, they’d take the stadiums with them when they leave, along with all the money. But when I saw big companies in Rio starting to make money from the World Cup I thought: ‘Why can’t I do that, too?’” says Maria Clara. …. “Many of my friends,” she says, not surprisingly, “are now taking in guests in the favela …”

“Favela” is generally translated as “slum”, but that isn’t quite right. It’s more like a community. Each one has its own character and Rocinha’s is bright, bustling and almost overwhelmingly friendly…..

Matthew Wilmington, 25 and from London, staying in the Babilonia favela in Rio says, "We feel safer in the favela than we do on Copacabana beach.”

Elliot Rosenberg set up Favela Experience, which arranges home stays for tourists in Rocinha and nearby Vidigal, as a way to help the favela residents. “We want to improve the esteem of the favela dwellers and break down stereotypes about favelas to outsiders,” he says. “Some guests expect things to work the way they do in the developed world. It is definitely a problem for them if they lose their internet connection.”