Our writer discovers why holidaymakers are being lured by viral drone videos to Rocinha, better known for police raids and poverty
With mixed feelings, writer Laura French signed up for a new drone video experience in the Rio favela of Rocinha
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“This favela is one of the safest places in the whole of Rio,” claimed my guide, Johan Gama, a 22-year-old local resident. “The gangs have their own rule system to keep the peace. If someone dares to break a rule, there’s punishment.”
It’s an unlikely take on Rocinha – Rio’s largest favela, and better known for its drug trafficking, police raids and impoverished living conditions than its safety.
I was there to learn more about the complexities of this overcrowded, largely self-built community – a “city within a city”, in Gama’s words – where tourist numbers have spiked in recent months on the back of a new viral trend: rooftop drone videos.
Keen social media users may have seen the clips in question. A tourist emerges from a metal door, strolls catwalk-style to the edge of one of the favela’s roofs, and poses in a chair as the camera zooms away, before panning over the surroundings. Colourful rectangular houses scatter the hillside, while beyond lies the rest of Rio, and cloud-capped mountains rising above an expanse of opal sea.
The stir these videos have caused is helping drive up visitor numbers to Rocinha. In excess of 1,000 tourists per day are now heading to the favela, according to Renan Monteiro, CEO of tour company Na Favela Turismo and the man behind the drone phenomenon.
Favela tours have long divided opinion. Some say they shine a much-needed positive light on such districts, while generating income for those who live there, and Brazil’s official tourist board, Embratur, supports and promotes them as a fundamental part of Brazilian culture.
But others argue that favela tourism glamourises poverty – especially when it involves filming Instagram-friendly videos – and overlook the very real challenges favelas still face.
The Foreign Office (FCDO), for its part, is unequivocal. “You should avoid all favelas, including favela tours marketed to tourists and any accommodation, restaurants or bars advertised as being within a favela,” its travel advice page for Brazil reads. It adds: “The security situation in many favelas is unpredictable and can be dangerous. Tourists have been shot after accidentally entering favelas.”
With my own mixed feelings, I joined one of Na Favela Turismo’s guided group tours to experience it first-hand, and to hear what locals have to say about Rocinha’s new-found, viral fame.
The ‘Gateway to Heaven’
Our tour began on a hot, humid afternoon. I found myself meandering up a hill on a motorbike taxi among a stream of selfie-snapping tourists as bikes honked and engines revved. We were then guided on foot through a narrow alley, with street art covering the walls between draping cables, four-storey houses and shuttered shopfronts, to reach Porta do Céu (Gateway to Heaven) – the rooftop where the online craze began.
“I’m here in Rocinha, the best place in the world,” read the graffiti on a concrete wall as we entered – a generous description for a place where, according to some estimates, the average life expectancy is 48, more than 20 years below the national average. A Brazilian beat played in the background and I took my place at the back of a queue of around 20 people, all waiting for their turn to be filmed.
As I watched fellow guests strike their poses, I spoke to travellers from far and wide to find out why they’d come. “I’m here to experience the community myself first-hand, even if it’s just for a few hours,” said Carolina Aratha, 46, from Argentina. “I saw the drone videos on TikTok and I wanted to come and see the rooftop view, so I tracked down a guide offering the tour.”
Miguel Ramirez Porras, 25, from Puebla, Mexico, told me he came with two friends after seeing Rocinha on Instagram. “I saw a lot of drone videos when it went viral,” he said. “I wanted to come to Rio to experience the samba, the atmosphere and the energy, and I felt like Rocinha would be at the heart of that.”
Celebrating local culture
After we’d strutted our stuff, the journey continued. We were led into a sports hall to watch capoeira, the Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines elements of music, dance and acrobatics, before being encouraged to join in.
Then we wandered backstreet alleys, where we were told photos and videos weren’t allowed – “because we might see gangsters who want to remain anonymous”, in the words of Gama. At a small, colourful square, we watched an energetic samba performance, before stopping at a basketball court to throw a few hoops with a group of local kids. One of Rocinha’s many social projects, the primary school court was recently renovated through fundraising by Leandro Discreto, Brazil’s first professional 3x3 basketball player, who grew up in the neighbourhood.
I asked Discreto about the spike in visitors. “We’re definitely getting more people coming now because of the drone videos,” he said. “People want to come and see something different and that’s very good for us. Now we have the opportunity to show the favela ourselves and to change perspectives, because Rocinha isn’t how the media talks about it. You can come and see it with your own eyes, talk to the people who live here, and then form your own opinion.”
He explained how income generated via tourism has helped to support the renovation and enhance the court’s facilities. “For example, we now have a bathroom next to the court that we didn’t have before that we were able to fund through tourism,” he said.
Discreto’s thoughts were echoed by several others I spoke to in the few hours I spent here.
“You hear in the media that the favela isn’t good for tourists, that people could be in danger,” Gama added. “But the favela is actually a very vibrant place, full of people trying to live in a good way. The community really takes care of each other, and I love being part of that. We always say this is the real heart of Rio; nearly a quarter of the city’s population lives in favelas, so I personally feel that this is the way to really get to know Rio and to understand Brazilian culture.”
New opportunities
Next, we were whisked off to another rooftop terrace, where the party was in full swing, with thumping music and flowing drinks. I spoke to 59-year-old Adriana Ribeiro, owner of the house and its rooftop bar, and born and bred in Rocinha. She also argued that favela tourism is a force for good.
“Around 20 or 30 years ago, the government started to build more facilities here and pay more attention to favelas, enhancing the hospitals, which we didn’t always have, and schools, and taking care of single mothers,” she told me. “But it still wasn’t enough. There were still many people poor and in need.
“Tourism in recent years has brought a big change,” she said. “My family and I are among those who have had the opportunity to open our own terrace and make money from tourism, which is helping us raise our children.”
Aware that I was only speaking to those directly benefitting from tourists, I asked her about opponents in Rocinha. “Most support it,” she said. “I believe anyone who doesn’t isn’t looking at it with perspective – they don’t see the future and how tourism is making the favela a better place.”
Sergio Alvarez, 44, another guide for Na Favela Turismo, added: “Tourism in the favela means local people have opportunities they didn’t have before. Now they can choose to become tour guides, or drone operators, instead of joining gangs, and that’s what many are doing.”
According to Monteiro, his company has trained 300 tour guides and 10 drone pilots, and only employs guides who live in Rocinha. He added that owners of rooftop terraces also receive income for allowing visitors to come.
Ongoing challenges
Alongside tours, Monteiro also created the Na Favela Turismo app, which monitors the location of tour groups and keeps guides informed of police operations or other incidents to improve safety.
The very existence of this app, of course, reveals that there are still risks when visiting Rocinha, as with all of Rio’s favelas. In April, Vidigal, a neighbouring favela, made headlines when tourists were temporarily trapped atop a hill during a police raid, and while Rocinha is considered one of the city’s safer and more developed favelas, gangs and police clash here too. In 2017, police notoriously shot dead a 67-year-old Spanish tourist in the favela.
I didn’t feel unsafe during my tour, and I didn’t see any overt signs of gangs, but I recognise that others would prefer to steer clear on the grounds of safety.
There’s also the question of whether money from these tours ends up in the hands of favela gangs, who operate an informal system of rules and social support in these neglected neighbourhoods. This is a highly complex issue, and while the risk is real, it can likely be minimised by booking with a reputable operator.
Other opponents believe favela tours are voyeuristic. Monteiro said this is something he, and other companies, have actively tried to change. “This is not about a ‘safari’ in the favela,” he said, referencing how, in the early days, visitors were driven along Rocinha’s main street in a jeep. “The focus now is on shared experiences and belonging, not exploitation.”
A complex story
The real crux is on how tourism here is carried out. Did I personally feel comfortable parading above Rocinha on camera? Not entirely. Might unchecked tourism cause issues for locals? Of course – and it needs to be carefully managed. But if the drone trend helps to improve the image of these communities, foster pride in residents, and generate jobs and income, it feels wrong to just denounce it.
In the early evening, as our tour came to an end, we wandered along Rocinha’s main street, Estrada da Gávea. Locals spilt out of bars and restaurants as motorbikes weaved along the road, mountains rising beyond. It almost felt like any other neighbourhood, where the majority of people are trying to live peacefully and enjoy life, and where entrepreneurial minds are finding new ways to innovate, and improve living conditions.
I’m not blind to the challenges that lie beneath the surface, but felt genuinely energised by the positivity of the people I met. I’ve explored Brazil extensively, and this was one of the most memorable and insightful experiences I’ve had. Like the wider country, Rocinha felt vibrant, beautiful and complex, all at once.