in fact, living on hills where passages often have no names, individuals matter to the community and to one other.

loved, hated, admired, feared, or perhaps more than anything misunderstood, favelas have been romanticized by films and sang by poets, crushed by violence and thorn by pain.

intriguing in every detail, favelas are part of rio's soul as much as the forest or the ocean. every night, as the statue of christ shines calmly above the city, favelas twinkle like stars on the hills and by the sea - a delicate reminder of their presence and beauty.