janela

This past weekend, residents of a community in the Praia do Futuro area, east side of Fortaleza, moved to a hill right next to the Morro da Vítoria favela where we work.

These people took over the abandoned land, owned by the government, to create their homes. They used scrap material such as cardboard and wood and plastic to build their shacks. Guess what they called the community? America! Ah, god bless that place!

I could not get over the hilarity of it all, when I heard the name. There are obvious juxtapositions that come with calling a shantytown in Fortaleza, Brazil, America. Though the funniest part is that using this name makes clear people's absolute obsession with soapopera culture here. The newest and most popular novela (soapopera) right now is called America.

I think the action of taking over the land is important. These people need shelter and they are taking direct action to get it. And I'm not even sure it would be called squatting, as oftentimes these events lead to people staying in an area permanently. No one succeeds (though the police/military police may try) to kick them off the land, as these hundreds or thousands of people have no where else to go. This is how favela communities are formed.

I haven't seen the place yet, although I imagine it looks like the other favelas.