I figured out that Rio is not what it seems to be. Its extremely layered and very complex… Sure I might have a few things wrong , but what I started to figure out was this strange beautiful hidden side to Rio.
Its like a City that has this public , presentable touristy face , but if you look a bit deeper and take the time to listen and you start to see pretty amazing things.
Local artists often paint pictures of Rios Downtown streets with Kites fluttering in the air. Now the tourist love there pictures , but if you know WHY those kites were in the air , its pretty scary.
Local kids were hired by Drug Dealers to Fly their little kites way above the house to warn the drug dealers of incoming police units. In my walks around the city , I would often hear kids excitedly talking and a Kite would pop into the air in a road just ahead of me. I always suspected that the kids were warning the crime lords nearby that I was approaching . I always have a very fast walk and aggressive type body language when talking these rough streets. . My Camera would be in a special bag under my arm , my one hand across my chest and holding my camera that was not visible. I think about it now , It must have looked like i had my hand on a gun in a hostler , In my 2 or so months there , I has only harassed once ( and Rescued by three massive Transvestite Prostitutes who I always greeted when crossing the park into the city. , I bought the three some beers as a thank you while trying to fend off some very frisky hands , but I love people like this , they have lived hard lives and if you treat them right , they will look after you in a weird way)
Walk around the city and one sometimes comes across a Park that would be full of cats or dogs . There was hundreds of cats in the one park , and some very kind souls in the surrounding flats would come down and feed and take care of these abandoned or unwanted cats. What I found so wonderful was that some old men would be playing games of Chess in the shaded areas , and surrounded by cats , a cat on a guys lap here , a little girl would be petting a curious affectionate cat while mom looked on. Although these animals were strays , they were looked after and given affection by locals in the surrounding flats. This was just the normal everyday thing , it wasn’t an issue or a problem …Whenever i say these ladies helping the cats , I would always greet them , "Hola , Nao falo portugues " ( I don’t speak portuguese) and give them what ever change i had in my pocket and say gato cats … thank you . My money would be graciously accepted and I sometimes got embarrassed as one lady would tell her friend , and then i would be given a hug and thank you … This is the side of Rio that many don’t see , it such a wonderful and beautiful side of the Locals.
If you visit downtown , poke your head into every church that you can , politely knock if door is closed and if the door is not locked be totally blown away. One would find two stunning ornately and rich ly very stunning interiors , th churches would be right next to each other. Both Catholic , one to maybe a Saint Jerome , and the other to The Virgin Mary.
I was able to find out that Rios beautiful churches survive from donations from locals looking for blessings and penance. BUT if one looks a little closer , many of the Churches have Two Religions . The old nature god and goddesses , a mix of gods brought from Africa when slaves were brought to this city and then also a strong Catholic presence . A Stain would be the patron of a church , but quietly and unobtrusively superimposed over an old nature goddess. Tithes or offerings would be placed or offered to statues or egafies in the Church and I sometimes would see Black Candles burning and spluttering in hidden corners of the outside walls of the church.
I do stand to be corrected by it seems that the Catholic Church knew that they would never be able to survive and be able to afford the upkeep of all the churches in the city , so this strange true would be in place allowing the old gods and the new one to be worshiped under the same roof.
On Fridays there would be ladies who dressed in brilliant white lace tops and head bands would sell food stuffs with strong hints of Caribbean foods. The Friday ladies would be collecting and generating money for some of the many old nature worshiping religions . I always marveled how similar the fridays ladies would resemble Voodoo Priestesses I would see in Haiti many years ago.
Nothing is simple in Rio , If you look you will see many solutions that the locals have devised to make Rio what it is today. Its not perfect . but this city has deep beautiful multi layered history and manages to always be half in the fantastical musical and magical past and still be pushing its corporate and industrial side to a modern bright future
