Tag: geography

Rio de Janeiro is So Much More

I was on Reddit, a popular crowd-sourced news site when I noticed one of the breathtaking photos of Rio, shot from atop the highest point at Sugarloaf Mountain. Of the more than 500 comments it garnered, the most interesting, or rather surprising, were by a mix of about 10-15 people made up of Brazilians and non-Brazilians, with all of them basically saying “Rio = favelas”. Of the non-Brazilians commenting, half of them had been to the city. One of them vaguely mentioned something about ATMs being blown up by gangs, and another, of his love for the city but his absolute fear for his safety. The most level-headed response was by a Brazilian who acknowledged Rio’s pluses and minuses, which any city has.