Skip to main content

The Rio de Janeiro community, once a one-word shorthand for Latin America's worst problems, has stabilized

Open this photo in gallery:

Rocinha’s narrow roads becoming congested with bus traffic at rush hour.Nadia Sussman/The Globe and Mail

1 of 9
Open this photo in gallery:

The ‘pacifying police,’ known in Portuguese as the UPP, took over control of Rocinha in 2011. Their presence has been controversial.Nadia Sussman/The Globe and Mail

2 of 9
Open this photo in gallery:

Cristian Gomes de Sousa, 39, works in his parents’ shoe store in Rocinha. He had to move out of the neighbourhood when his rental house washed away in heavy rains.Nadia Sussman/The Globe and Mail

3 of 9
Open this photo in gallery:

Helena and Felix Gomes de Souza outside their shoe store.Nadia Sussman/The Globe and Mail

4 of 9
Open this photo in gallery:

Maria de Barros Araujo 40, was granted an apartment through a public housing lottery.Nadia Sussman/The Globe and Mail

5 of 9
Open this photo in gallery:

Roberto Araujo, 43, owns and runs a hardware store. He has worked in Rocinha for 27 years.Nadia Sussman/The Globe and Mail

6 of 9
Open this photo in gallery:

Foreigners visit Rocinha in a Jeep on a favela tour.Nadia Sussman/The Globe and Mail

7 of 9
Open this photo in gallery:

A boy passes a mural in Rocinha.Nadia Sussman/The Globe and Mail

8 of 9
Open this photo in gallery:

The Zuzu Angel tunnel carries evening commuters past a main entrance to Rocinha.Nadia Sussman/The Globe and Mail

9 of 9

Interact with The Globe