Rocinha
Encyclopedia
Rocinha is the largest favela
in Rio de Janeiro
, Brazil
, and is located in Rio's South Zone between the districts of São Conrado
and Gávea
. Rocinha is built on a steep hillside overlooking Rio de Janeiro, and is located about one kilometre from a nearby beach
. Most of the favela is on a very steep hill, with many trees surrounding it.
Although Rocinha is technically classified as a neighborhood, many still refer to it as a favela
. It developed from a shanty town
into an urbanized slum
. Today, almost all the houses in Rocinha are made from concrete and brick. Some buildings are three and four stories tall and almost all houses have basic sanitation, plumbing, and electricity. Compared to simple shanty towns or slums, Rocinha has a better developed infrastructure and hundreds of businesses such as bank
s, medicine stores, bus lines
, cable television
, including locally based channel TV ROC (TV Rocinha), and, at one time, a McDonalds franchise. These factors help classify Rocinha as a favela bairro, or favela neighborhood.
Rocinha is home to most of the service workers in Zona Sul (the South Zone of Rio). Within Rocinha you can find numerous NGO's staffed by both Brazilian and Foreign teachers, volunteers, and workers. The diversity of people that inhabit this area, and the lodgings they live in in this densely populated area make it a unique environment for social movements to arise within.
discusses Rocinha in his book entitled Shadow Cities.
(during the Earth Summit
of 1992) and actor Christopher Lambert
. Contrary to popular belief Michael Jackson
did not shoot the first version of the music video for his single "They Don't Care About Us
" there. This video was instead shot in the favela of Dona Marta
, another neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro. Some episodes of the Brazilian television series Cidade dos Homens (City of Men
) were filmed there.
The 2008 film The Incredible Hulk
featured an aerial take of Rocinha, an impressive low-altitude helicopter footage that gives a fair idea of the immensity of the favela and its complex assortment of seemingly endless chaotic constructions. Rocinha is also the setting for a map of Infinity Ward's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
. It was also featured in the 2011 film: Fast Five.
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, and is located in Rio's South Zone between the districts of São Conrado
São Conrado
São Conrado is an affluent neighborhood in the South Zone of the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. It is nestled in between the wealthy neighborhoods of Barra da Tijuca to the southwest and Leblon to the northeast...
and Gávea
Gávea
Gávea is an affluent residential neighborhood located in the Southern Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro. It borders the São Conrado, Leblon, Lagoa and Jardim Botânico neighborhoods and is famous for its high concentration of artists and intellectuals. PUC-Rio, one of the most important...
. Rocinha is built on a steep hillside overlooking Rio de Janeiro, and is located about one kilometre from a nearby beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
. Most of the favela is on a very steep hill, with many trees surrounding it.
Although Rocinha is technically classified as a neighborhood, many still refer to it as a favela
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
. It developed from a shanty town
Shanty town
A shanty town is a slum settlement of impoverished people who live in improvised dwellings made from scrap materials: often plywood, corrugated metal and sheets of plastic...
into an urbanized slum
Slum
A slum, as defined by United Nations agency UN-HABITAT, is a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing and squalor and lacking in tenure security. According to the United Nations, the percentage of urban dwellers living in slums decreased from 47 percent to 37 percent in the...
. Today, almost all the houses in Rocinha are made from concrete and brick. Some buildings are three and four stories tall and almost all houses have basic sanitation, plumbing, and electricity. Compared to simple shanty towns or slums, Rocinha has a better developed infrastructure and hundreds of businesses such as bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
s, medicine stores, bus lines
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
, cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
, including locally based channel TV ROC (TV Rocinha), and, at one time, a McDonalds franchise. These factors help classify Rocinha as a favela bairro, or favela neighborhood.
Community
There are a number of community organizations at work in Rocinha, including three neighborhood associations and numerous NGOs and non-profit educational institutions.Rocinha is home to most of the service workers in Zona Sul (the South Zone of Rio). Within Rocinha you can find numerous NGO's staffed by both Brazilian and Foreign teachers, volunteers, and workers. The diversity of people that inhabit this area, and the lodgings they live in in this densely populated area make it a unique environment for social movements to arise within.
2011 police and military occupation
In November 2011, Rocinha was occupied by hundreds of police and military, in an attempt to crackdown on rampant drug dealers and restore government control in the neighborhood.Size
Rocinha is the largest favela in Brazil and one of the most developed. Rocinha's population is estimated at between 150,000 and 300,000 inhabitants.In literature
Robert NeuwirthRobert Neuwirth
Robert Neuwirth is an American journalist and author. He wrote Shadow Cities: A Billion Squatters, A New Urban World, a book describing his experiences living in squatter communities in Nairobi, Rio de Janeiro, Istanbul and Mumbai. His articles have appeared in the New York Times, The Nation, and...
discusses Rocinha in his book entitled Shadow Cities.
In mass media and popular culture
Many celebrities have visited Rocinha, including Mikhail GorbachevMikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
(during the Earth Summit
Earth Summit
The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development , also known as the Rio Summit, Rio Conference, Earth Summit was a major United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro from 3 June to 14 June 1992.-Overview:...
of 1992) and actor Christopher Lambert
Christopher Lambert
Christophe Guy Denis "Christopher" Lambert is an American-born French actor who has appeared in French, European and American productions. He is best known for his role as Connor MacLeod, or simply "The Highlander", from the movie and subsequent movie franchise series of the same name...
. Contrary to popular belief Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
did not shoot the first version of the music video for his single "They Don't Care About Us
They Don't Care About Us
"They Don't Care About Us" is the fourth single from Michael Jackson's album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I, released on April 1, 1996. The song remains one of the most controversial pieces Jackson ever composed...
" there. This video was instead shot in the favela of Dona Marta
Dona Marta
Dona Marta or "Favela Santa Marta" is a slum located in Botafogo in the South Zone Rio de Janeiro of Brazil. It has about 8000 residents, with 500 wooden houses, 2000 brick houses, 4 kindergartens, 3 bakeries, 2 sports fields, 1 block of a samba school, 3 military units and 1 smallmarket...
, another neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro. Some episodes of the Brazilian television series Cidade dos Homens (City of Men
City of Men
City of Men is a Brazilian television programme created by Kátia Lund and Fernando Meirelles, the directors of the film City of God....
) were filmed there.
The 2008 film The Incredible Hulk
The Incredible Hulk (film)
The Incredible Hulk is a 2008 superhero action film based on the Marvel Comics character the Hulk. It is directed by Louis Leterrier and stars Edward Norton as Dr. Bruce Banner. It is the second film to be released in the Marvel Cinematic Universe...
featured an aerial take of Rocinha, an impressive low-altitude helicopter footage that gives a fair idea of the immensity of the favela and its complex assortment of seemingly endless chaotic constructions. Rocinha is also the setting for a map of Infinity Ward's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 video game consoles and the Microsoft Windows operating system. Officially announced on February 11, 2009, the game was released worldwide on...
. It was also featured in the 2011 film: Fast Five.