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I live in São Paulo and fly to Rio almost every week ... Sad to see what has happened to Rio...The city is broke, crime is out of control, and favelas are growing out of control... Hard to beat the view of Rio from it's neighbor Niteroi and yet so sad when you arrive. Is Rio the biggest tragedy of SA?
Some tour busses take European tourists to attend African-American church services in Harlem, New York city. It is a good experience for people who have known only sedate, quiet Catholic worship their whole life, to hear spirit-filled emotional Gospel music, hallelujahs, and preachers who shout portions of their sermon.
Sunday church services in Harlem, which bring in thousands of foreign travelers each week. At least 60 of Harlem's 338 churches take part in the gospel sightseeing trade. Twenty-five years ago,the thought of sending visitors to Harlem for any reason was abhorrent to New York's tourism board. Now, thanks to all of the tourists in the pews, Harlem is one of the top places for international vacationers to visit in New York.
The church services—and the neighborhood itself—became mainstream attractions after the Harlem Chamber of Commerce realized it could tap into the mythical place that gospel and jazz music—and African-American worship services—hold in the minds of many foreigners.
In the 1980s, Lloyd Williams, president of the chamber, went to Europe with former New York Secretary of State Basil Paterson—the father of the current governor—to promote Harlem as a tourist destination."The further we got away from New York, the better the image of Harlem was," says Williams. French and German publications began covering Harlem tourism and the churches, encouraging more tourists to venture above 96th Street. Eventually the city's established tourism industry—the hotels, the guide books, the tourism board, and the guided bus tours—recognized the neighborhood's economic potential.
Since then, tourists have flocked to the churches by the busloads, sometimes as part of guided tours and sometimes individually on the advice of guidebooks, hotel concierges, travel agents, and friends. Many of the churches have well-developed systems for welcoming visitors, with special greeters at the doors and prominently displayed house rules forbidding flash photography, eating, drinking, shorts, and flip-flops. Ceremonies usually start at 11 a.m., and most visitors take in the choir performance and announcement portions of the service before departing prior to the start of the sermon.
Every week, Greater Highway Deliverance Temple hosts between one and four busloads of visitors from Harlem Spirituals, the first company to have started taking tourists to Sunday services more than 20 years ago. Co-pastor Hazel Page said Greater Highway receives $3 per visitor from Harlem Spirituals, which charges $55 to $99 per ticket for Sunday tours. In July, I visited Greater Highway Deliverance with a group of 42 tourists from Belgium, Denmark, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia, and Japan, on a Harlem Spirituals tour.
What happened with Lula's economic/social programs? I thought they had turned Brazil around.
The price of oil crashed. Petrobras has its headquarters in Rio. Brazil is in suffering its longest and deepest recession in decades, some even argue in 100 years.
"A reeling Petrobras had to slash expenses. Its decision to reduce investments and curtail projects like the construction of a big petrochemical complex was a major blow to the state, where many depend on the company for jobs."
How many people that participate in favela tours abroad are willing to participating in ghetto tours in the USA?
Just wondering.
I certainly don't see the appeal of touring places like this:
No doubt that Detroit wins the North American tragedy award... But Detroit never had the natural beauty and the beaches of Rio and is good riddance as far as I'm concerned.
No doubt that Detroit wins the North American tragedy award... But Detroit never had the natural beauty and the beaches of Rio and is good riddance as far as I'm concerned.
It actually has a nice looking Downtown, which is a shame. But you're right, nobody cares about Detroit outside of the US. Everybody cares about Rio
There is a pocket of people in Western Countries that love to travel the world and pretending they are "one with the people" and all that BS. They want to walk in to "ghetto areas/ lower income areas" and use that experience like a merit badge suggesting they are good .. or open minded or dont descriminate. Some use it to make themselves feel like they have street credibility ex Ya I went to this rough area of this country and nothing happend to me". Poverty is not a joke. It is tragic. It not something that should be glorified or gawked at.
There is a concept that I heard of in relation to Colombia that I now get. It was something about people not taking too much empathy towards people walking around that flaunt the fact they have money and then get robbed. If you are taking a tour of these areas you KNOW that these people are econmonically destitue or at least extremly disadvantaged. So when you run in to trouble you out right looked for it. You are basically waving fresh meat in front of a straving dog and expecting him not to bite. Unless you are actually volunteering with a oraganization actually helping people I am not sure what the point of taking a tour of a ghetto area is? Maybe poor people should start charging people for taking pictures of them and their homes/ living conditions just like those people dressed up as characters in Time Square otherwise they are just getting expolited.
Vs.
If you are not actually going to help ... then why are you going?
If you get robbed inside Disney World you have every right to complain. You get robbed or killed by a stray bullet while taking a tour of the "ghetto" it should be your problem because you had no business being there and it pretty common knowledge there are problems in the area. People who are there are usually not there by choice. The whole idea of formal tours of these types of areas makes it seem like the problem and tragic nature of proverty is not being taken seriously.
It is like running in to a burning building to take a photo, while people that are trapped there are fighting to get out.
Favela is not ghetto in favelas people aren’t starving. In Brazil there are ghetto but they are much smaller than favelas, ghettos are under bridges or close rivers some houses built of tin or wood where live homeless.
Favelas in fact are district of low skilled workers because in Brazil until 1995 we had crazy monetary inflation, making impossible mortgages so the solution for the poorer worker was built themselves their houses in public areas without any planning.
What happen in Rio is that some hills make impossible enter cars, trucks and also police force in cars… So drug dealers gangues are strategically at these favelas, but not all favelas in Rio or in others Brazilians city have this trouble.
I guess favelas in Rio where they do this favela tour don’t have violence problems or more violence problem than average whole Rio de Janeiro with pick pockets of wallets, mobile phone, cameras or robers seeking gold stuff.
Look these two British ladies in one tour in the biggest favela of Sao Paulo. When someone are inside favelas they look as a poor income district, they look worse when they are remote viewed
Favela is not ghetto in favelas people aren’t starving. In Brazil there are ghetto but they are much smaller than favelas, ghettos are under bridges or close rivers some houses built of tin or wood where live homeless.
Favelas in fact are district of low skilled workers because in Brazil until 1995 we had crazy monetary inflation, making impossible mortgages so the solution for the poorer worker was built themselves their houses in public areas without any planning.
What happen in Rio is that some hills make impossible enter cars, trucks and also police force in cars… So drug dealers gangues are strategically at these favelas, but not all favelas in Rio or in others Brazilians city have this trouble.
I guess favelas in Rio where they do this favela tour don’t have violence problems or more violence problem than average whole Rio de Janeiro with pick pockets of wallets, mobile phone, cameras or robers seeking gold stuff.
Look these two British ladies in one tour in the biggest favela of Sao Paulo. When someone are inside favelas they look as a poor income district, they look worse when they are remote viewed
These comments are not specifically to one area, city or country.
To me I am equating this to ethical issues like video taping tragic incidences.
Ex What is the point of running to a crime scene or the scene of a crisis if you are not willing to help?
You go in to a poverty stricken area... if you are not there to actually do something to help these people then why are you there? To Gawk and photograph their suffering to create a it sucks to be them theme article, blog or instagram feature? I can understand going to an area like this if you are going to see a cultural event, historical or interesting buildings or sites. But if not ... what exactly if the point and who exactly is suppose to benefit from this?
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