This day was one for the books. We got up early to join in on what would be the first session from outsiders at a skatepark built in a Brazilian Favela in Rio De Janeiro.
To be honest I was kinda nervous to venture into the favela. As a gringo, I really don't have business exploring the slums that surround the city of rio de janeiro. As an artist though, I was immediately drawn to how they look, and wondered what they were. They reminded me of the gnar world video game i am making and even more so, when you see them from inside.
Everybody said, "Dont take pictures"... it's because there are gangsters chillin' around with machine guns and they dont want that shit on the internet lol. Understandable. I've been in sketchy situations in mexico before, and they suck. because you can get into situations where you don't know what anyone is saying, like they could be screaming "lets kill this gringo" and you wouldn't know.
While we were in the car though, which didn't have any seat belts, (drinking and driving was legal in Brazil until only 15 years ago) the dudes assured me that nothing bad was gonna happen to us. This was one of the more peaceful Favelas, as you go north from rio, it gets more gnar. Like danger level max. There are just no laws and the drug lords control everything.
Before we went in, there was a outlook area on a cliff, that used to be just all parked cars, but again, Pharra and his team helped turn it into a beautiful scenic outlook spot. Favelas are so interesting, this one should be like a huge tourist attraction, but then maybe it wouldn't be a favela anymore? weird thought.
Because if it was a legit tourist attraction, then tourists would start asking questions as to the nature of how the favelas operate, and I think its basically a shady agreement with the military police, who sell the favela crime boss's guns for them to continue to peddle drugs, employing children to run the drugs.
Pharra said he and his crew were super respected in that favela community because of the park. When I saw the park, i knew that was for sure true. the park is SO well built ... i was very impressed.
Before the park was built they built this crazy ledge at the beginning of the hill in the photo above and debuted it on GO Skate Day.
The Aesthetic of the Favelas is so sick. I believe they serve as inspiration for so much art in video games, and contemporary art. like the cyberpunk aesthetic, and lots of contemporary painting. this place was like an inspirational goldmine for a visual artist like me.
I feel like i could write like a 20 page paper on the relationships between the Favela Aesthetic and visual art that is in museums and popular culture.
The night before, 
The "art culture" of the people of Rio, come from the spirit of the favela people, aka the OG black people and their descendants. The juxtaposition between this african vibe with the Portuguese architecture makes Rio have a super unique style.
The history of the favelas is that the slaves from africa began to build them after they were free because they were released with nowhere to go so they just started building on the hillsides of the city. the city is now surrounded by favelas. the situation is kinda fucked up because there are tons of people that live in those neighborhoods and none of them have access to the public utilities. they steal the electricity (which is very impressive) and gather water in those Blue tubs you see on top of their roofs. I didn't find out how they fill those water container with water. it does not rain very much in the summer.
Back to the story, we walked a distance through the gnarled tunnels of handmade multi colored buildings until we reached the end which felt like finding buried treasure.
We skated, and I could have skated there all day but was stoked to continue our adventure. Everyone Shredded. 
| blasting a melon |  frontside grind | the little cria (homie)  who is 8 years old! we are trying to get him a hive account |
|---|---|---|
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Behind them is like a little interior lounge spot with tons of skateboards they use to host community skate sessions for the kids. They are eventually gonna get some computers in there to educate kids-- they could make skatehive posts there.
The kids helped build the park, by hauling cement deep into the favela which was the most difficult part. The community was directly involved in building the park. I even met this other little kid who was probably 12 he told me using google translate that when he gets older, he wants to work in the skatepark building industry with Pharra.
On the way out, Marbal found a spot. It was a black and white tiled drop spot with a crusty downhill rollaway. This was nearby the guy with the AK47. i didn't see this guy on the way in, and i didn't even see him even when i was standing right next to him, where i was guarding the motorcycles from being hit by
The guard with the gun (a drug cartel member guarding the favela) began to get nervous and started to try to kick us out, not because we were skating but because he was in the line of sight of our camera. I didn't even realize he was holding a machine gun. When i realized what the commotion was about with us filming and skating, he kinda nodded at his weapon and it was a super nice AK47, not a shitty one at all. it was like a top of the line military ak47, it even had like a decorative camo on part of it like in call of duty or something.
Before we left we stopped at a little restaurant and got some bom Acai.
Marbal told me how his father actually built the first skatepark in brazil back in the day. They make their own boards in brazil from Marfim which is a super heavy wood. They say it sucks, but thats what most of the old heads have been using most of their life. Maybe thats why they are gnarly, its like swinging a super heavy baseball bat right before you get up to bat, then when you switch to a normal weight one, you can swing it way faster.
Here is the edit i managed to piece together.
Music by Meta Meta
