IN RIO DE JANEIRO
SIMONE, BRAZIL AND RIO
What do you think when I say Rio de Janeiro? To the colors, to the carnival, to an exotic destination I imagine. Today, however, we explore the more hidden sides, thanks to Simone's guidance. In Rio de Janeiro is the blog where for years it has been collecting stories, itineraries and information for those who are about to visit this very interesting city and Brazil.
Hi Simone, welcome to Easy Travel Hosting! Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, what brought you to this land and how was your site born?
Pleasure! I have always been passionate about Latin America and my studies in sociology took me to Brazil. In 2004, thanks to a scholarship from the "La Sapienza" University of Rome, the supervisor of my thesis in international relations asked me if I wanted to leave for Rio de Janeiro and carry out field research. I didn't think twice and got on board.
Once I completed my work in Rio's favelas and graduated, I never broke ties with the great South American country. InsideRiodejaneiro was born a few years later. Initially, like many web projects born in those years, it was a simple site with which on the one hand I wanted to express my gratitude towards Rio de Janeiro, the city that had conquered me and, on the other, to help those like me who needed information to organize the trip and stay in the wonderful city.
Over time, the portal has grown and, in addition to an online tourist guide, it has become a blog which, in addition to my articles, also hosts contributions from other authors. In addition to recounting places and experiences lived in Rio and other areas of the country, the themes are Brazilian culture and events involving Italy and Brazil, two countries that share a lot even if, unfortunately, they are not talked about much.
Today, InsideRiodejaneiro it is a point of reference for all those who have to travel to Brazil or simply love the large tropical country and want to read quality content that talks about it. The people who write to me from the site or via the page Facebook asking for information is a lot and this can only please me immensely.
We read a very interesting article about Pasolini's trip to Brazil, where he spent time with Maria Callas in exceptional circumstances. Would you like to talk to us about this episode?
What you are talking about is a great little example of the bond between the two countries. The piece was written by a blog contributor, Cláudia, who completed her doctorate in Italy and is an expert in Italian and Brazilian literature and Pasolini in particular.
Cláudia's story explains well the trip to Brazil of the great poet and the immense Maria Callas, his friend. The two passed by chance through Recife and met Rio de Janeiro and Salvador.
Pasolini was particularly struck by the reality of the favelas and saw several analogies with the Italian suburbs: the popular air, the injustices and the pressure of consumerism which causes cultural flattening. Some poems that Pasolini collected in the book “Trasumanar e Organizar” published in 1971 are dedicated to the brief Brazilian parenthesis.
Lights and shadows of Rio, how complex is the situation of this city and of a country like Brazil? What is it that tourists don't see and don't want to see?
Rio de Janeiro is a huge city that encompasses many worlds and Brazil has the size of a continent where different cultures and ethnicities have merged and coexist. By necessity we find ourselves faced with a very complex reality.
I always think that the way the image of Brazil is transmitted here is bizarre and superficial. On the one hand, the country is seen as the home of joy and colors and, on the other, it is considered a violent, dangerous, extreme place where everything is exaggerated.
There is probably some truth in both aspects but I believe that Brazil is talked about little and badly and this is not right when you are dealing with a country that has around thirty million descendants of Italians.
Specifically, Rio de Janeiro is a city of contrasts and varied identities. The tourist, in general, knows a small extract of it which, geographically speaking, is limited to two or three neighborhoods in the southern area of the city (Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon, which together occupy a negligible surface area) and to the two best-known attractions (Christ the Redeemer and Sugar Loaf).
Everything else is unknown territory to most, although there is much to explore and learn about. Suffice it to say that Rio de Janeiro has a coastline of 197 km or that the samba tradition comes from the central districts of Rio, the oldest, and it is most alive in the favelas and bars of the northern area. Limiting yourself to knowing only the most touristy spots also means ignoring that Rio de Janeiro is not only a postcard city but is also a place of strong inequalities, where around 20% of the inhabitants live in the favelas.
How is the Brazilian situation regarding recycling and respect for the environment?
From an environmental point of view, Brazil is experiencing a decidedly negative season due to the many political choices, questionable at the very least, undertaken by the current federal government: cuts to the resources of environmental control bodies, privatization of national parks, legalization of mining in indigenous lands and relaxation of the fight against deforestation have caused the country, which is a treasure of biodiversity and scenic wonders, to take many steps backwards.
With respect to policies on waste management and recycling of materials, it is difficult to give a univocal answer, given that the situation is different in each individual state and even at municipal level there are different responses to the topic.
What I feel I can say is that, especially among young people, there is growing attention to the issues of reduction (especially disposable plastic), recycling and reuse but that in too many cases adequate infrastructure and collection systems are lacking.
This is why large landfills are still central to the waste management cycle (despite Brazil having decided to overcome them in 2010) and this is why, to date, Brazil recycles only 4% of the waste it produces.
A real shame for both the environment and the economy.
Easy Travel Hosting thanks Simone so much for giving us this insight into a city as complex as Rio de Janeiro.
If you want to find out more, you can follow him on his website by clicking here.
And on social media too!
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