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Economy
In reply to the discussion: STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Monday, 20 May 2013 [View all]xchrom
(108,903 posts)35. Gringos in the Slums: Expats Move In as Rio Favelas Improve
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/expats-move-in-as-rio-favelas-improve-a-900626.html
A gentle wind blows across Ipanema, and the air is soft and velvety. Diego Baronio hails from Brescia near Milan, yet here he is, high above the beach at Rio de Janeiro. He has just placed a fruit basket with papaya on the table, the espresso machine is hissing, and his Brazilian companion is serving freshly squeezed pineapple juice. A tourist from Berlin is stretching on a lounger. Baronio has rented his guest room to him.
The Italian charges 500 reais (191/$246) per month for the room, a price that includes breakfast and a spectacular view. At the hotels in Ipanema, that amount of money is only enough for one night's accommodation with a courtyard view at most. But the hotels aren't located in a favela, or shanty town, like the apartment that Baronio has purchased.
He lives in the impoverished district of Cantagalo, a rust-red labyrinth of interlaced brick buildings. The homes in these poor neighborhoods cling to the hillsides like honeycomb, far above the gated communities of Ipanema. "The people up here are poorer than those who live farther down below -- the buildings are crammed on top of each other, and trash litters the narrow streets," admits Baronio. But he says that it's not much different in many Italian cities: "I thought the favelas would be much worse."
In fact, they were. Three and a half years ago, Cantagalo was controlled by gangsters. There were frequent gunfights and tourists occasionally got caught in the line of fire.
A gentle wind blows across Ipanema, and the air is soft and velvety. Diego Baronio hails from Brescia near Milan, yet here he is, high above the beach at Rio de Janeiro. He has just placed a fruit basket with papaya on the table, the espresso machine is hissing, and his Brazilian companion is serving freshly squeezed pineapple juice. A tourist from Berlin is stretching on a lounger. Baronio has rented his guest room to him.
The Italian charges 500 reais (191/$246) per month for the room, a price that includes breakfast and a spectacular view. At the hotels in Ipanema, that amount of money is only enough for one night's accommodation with a courtyard view at most. But the hotels aren't located in a favela, or shanty town, like the apartment that Baronio has purchased.
He lives in the impoverished district of Cantagalo, a rust-red labyrinth of interlaced brick buildings. The homes in these poor neighborhoods cling to the hillsides like honeycomb, far above the gated communities of Ipanema. "The people up here are poorer than those who live farther down below -- the buildings are crammed on top of each other, and trash litters the narrow streets," admits Baronio. But he says that it's not much different in many Italian cities: "I thought the favelas would be much worse."
In fact, they were. Three and a half years ago, Cantagalo was controlled by gangsters. There were frequent gunfights and tourists occasionally got caught in the line of fire.
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