Published by Editora FGV in 2005, the book A invenção da favela: do mito de origem à favela (The invention of the favela: the myth of the origin of the favela), by Licia do Prada Valladares takes readers on a journey, interrogating the origin of prejudice against favela populations.

the book is a highly inventive academic effort with an impressive degree of breadth and depth, considering both material and symbolic dimensions that constitute social reality.  

The inter-disciplinary reserach that informs this work by the acclaimed sociologist  seeks to uncover the metamorphoses of the Rio slum in the minds of the city's governors and inhabitants.