What do we do when 115,000 homes are left behind? Mexican artist Teresa Margollés explores at a solo exhibition at CA2M Madrid the phenomenon of Ciudad Juárez, the border city that saw 220,000 residents displaced by violence in 2010.

The show, called El Testigo / The Witness, is a dystopian journey into the reasons for and results of the town's violence-induced displacement. 

The journey has a chilling start with a work called PM 2010 (2012), a room full of covers from tabloids in Ciudad Juárez. All of them depict acts of brutal violence and evidence what the day-to-day looked like in Ciudad Juárez back in 2010.

The show continues through a corridor with a sound installation called Sounds of Death. The horror of the situation sinks in.

This Property Won't Be Demolished pictures, through a series of colour photographs taken between 2009 and 2013, Ciudad Juárez' derelict buildings, left behind as a result of the displacement.

Margollés takes it further in the following room by making visitors feel dereliction. The Promise is a wall made with 22 tonnes of rubble from a Juárez house. Visitors are encouraged to undo the wall with their hands and turn it back to rubble.
  

La promesa / The Promise (2012)

 

The artwork comes with a picture archive and a making-of video: a derelict house in south-east Ciudad Juárez is purchased, carefully demolished, grounded, packed and sent away. 

Archivo La promesa (2011-13) by T. Margollés

Archivo La promesa (2011-13) by T. Margollés

Archivo La promesa (2011-13)

Archivo La promesa (2011-13) by T. Margollés

   
It's a powerful experience to touch and demolish a full size reconstituted wall. It's a way of connecting to the story with the senses rather than with the mind. Feeling an issue rather than understanding it, is what it takes to care about it. 

Margollés' exploration of the power of presence is as brilliant as her reflection on what makes a town. The show evidences how it takes more than buildings and people to create a livable place, and hints that this more might be a social contract or the willingness of a community to sacrifice some personal liberties in favour of a common good.

To the question of what to do when 115,000 homes are left behind, a visitor of the show would suggest exploring the community's social contract to find and mend the broken.
  

About
The Witness, Teresa Margollés | Centro de Arte 2 de Mayo, CA2M, Madrid | 18 February - 25 May 2014

The 33rd edition of ARCO Madrid Contemporary Art Fair offers in 2014 an experience worked around its visitors. There is an oasis for charging phones, a food court arranged as a German Biergarten with live DJ sessions, an open TV set and a radio station. This is a first. What used to happen behind closed doors, including eating, now finally plays in the open. Lovely art as well.

 Below is a selection of artworks. 

Hans-Peter Feldmann, Sonntagsbilder | Mehdi Chouakri Gallery, Berlin

Caio Reisewitz, Pirituba, 2014 | Galeria Luciana Brito, São Paulo

 

Caio Reisewitz, Joaçaba, 2010 | Galeria Luciana Brito, São Paulo

  

Los Carpinteros | Ivorypress, Madrid

   

Michael Najjar, Sands of Mars, 2013 | Galeria Juan Silió, Santander

 

Miguel Rothschild, Insomnia XIII, 2013 | Kuckei + Kuckei, Berlin

   

Ralf Ziervogel, Endeneu Rot, 2012 | Kewenig Gallery, Berlin

   

Sanja Iveković, Sunglasses, 2002-4 | Galería Visor, Valencia

Tomás Saraceno, Sagitarius, 2013 | Andersen's Contemporary, Copenhagen

    

Tomás Saraceno, Carina, 2013 | Andersen's Contemporary, Copenhagen

 

Elger Esser, La Grande Be, 2009 | Kewenig Gallery, Berlin

      

José Dávila, Untitled, 2013 | Galería Travesía Cuatro, Madrid

   

José Dávila, Untitled, 2013 | Galería Travesía Cuatro, Madrid

   

Knopp Ferro, Space 21:31, 2014 | Dan Galeria, Sao Paulo

 

Ian Monroe, Lines of Light 14, 2014 | Galería Casado Santapau, Madrid

     

Carlos Garaicoa, En Construcción (VI), 2012 | Galería Elba Benítez, Madrid

   

Luciano Romano, La Città di Marmo, 2010 | Galleria Studio Trisorio, Neaples

 

Richard Mosse, Lost Fun Zone, 2012 | Galería Leyendecker, Tenerife

Adelita Husni-Bey, Working for a World Free of Poverty, 2014 | Galleria La Veronica, Modica (Sicily)

 

 

Manuel Mérida | Espace Meyer Zafra, Paris

    
The communal spaces look like this:

 




 
About
ARCO International Contemporary Art Fair | Madrid | 19 - 23 February 2014

Previous Articles
ARCOMadrid 2013
ARCOMadrid 2012 and 2013 Prospect

Featured Artists
Adelita Husni-Bey
Caio Reisewitz 
Carlos Garaicoa
Elger Esser
Hans-Peter Feldmann
Ian Monroe
José Dávila
Knopp Ferro
Los Carpinteros 
Luciano Romano
Manuel Mérida
Michael Najjar
Miguel Rothschild
Ralf Ziervogel
Richard Mosse (see last year's ARCO article to learn more about the Eastern Congo infrared series)
Sanja Iveković
Tomás Saraceno

Photos by PS

17 February 2014

There is something special about Rocinha, the dense informal neighbourhood in Rio's South Zone. Newcomers keep arriving and long term residents don't move out despite the infrastructure shortcomings and the security issues of the place. Its convenient location and cheaper rents could explain the phenomenon but there are surely more reasons to add. Personally, I find Rocinha deeply moving and after a closer look, I came out with a few reasons why.

1. The setting

Photo by Globe Traveller

West view to São Corrado

  
Rocinha has a stunning setting. 

It is a 200ha area on a sea facing hang that spans from the Dois Irmãos peak, the majestic rock you see from Ipanema beach. Not sure what the mountain formation is and whether it radiates the heat it absorbs, in any case you get something coming its direction. 

You get an idea of what the place was like right on top of the neighbourhood, when you are still surrounded by fruit trees and a lush vegetation. Rocinha - ie "little farm" - was once Rio's farm land. In the area around it were the sugar cane fields and coffee plantations. The workers, wanting to live close to their work, built small homes in the thick jungle where Rocinha is located today. The rapid growth of the favela in the early 20th century was due to the growing demand on cheap labour to build the infrastructure of the surrounding neighbourhoods and the lack of housing options.   


2. The people



Rocinha has caring, friendly and proud residents.

"What? You don't take pictures of people?" Luciano, a construction worker, complained. "You are missing out the most important part of Rocinha". And right he was.

According to the IBGE (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística) Rocinha has 69,161 residents but Léo, the president of a local residents association sets the number between 180,000 and 220,000.

One of these extraordinary residents, and a game changer, is Lino dos Santos Filho, known as Tio Lino. With the motto "trade your weapon for a brush" he set up Rocinha Mundo da Arte, an organization that teaches music and arts to children with the intention of keeping them away from drug trafficking.

I met Felipe, an 18 year old Tio Lino student who was selling his art, lovely miniatures of Rocinha made with recycled materials. There was a wonderful mix of gratitude and pride in Felipe's explanation of his work.


3. The community

Photo by Rocinha em Foco

  
Rocinha residents love their community.

They work hard to improve their living conditions and speak up from the many associations they've created.  

They are proud of the community. First thing you hear is that Rocinha is a much safer place in terms of petty crime than the wealthier surrounding areas, where entrance doors are never kept open or kids don't play unattended.

Their care for each other, the strong bonds, the commitment to the group and the protective spirit, something arising in lieu of state care, have also turned out to be a source of happiness. 


4. The music

Picture by Daniel Hoffman

Rocinha loves music.

Especially samba, forró and funk carioca. You can hear it from the windows while walking around and at the weekends at the Baile Funk (funk dance), an event that has grown so popular that even attracts local celebrities. 

Rocinha has also a samba school, Acadêmicos da Rocinha, that is good enough to parade at the Sambodrome during the Rio Carnival.


5. The architecture

Picture by Yann Arthus-Bertrand

Rocinha has beautiful constructions.

2010 Rocinha got a pedestrian bridge designed by the Rio-born architect Oscar Niemeyer who, allegedly, did the work pro bono. Funded with the Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) resources, the bridge links the community with the new sports facilities. 



  
The same Growth Acceleration Program has financed a lovely social housing complex in the Rua 4. The project by Atelier Metropolitano is built on a former bus depot and houses local residents that have been evicted by the widening of the road (Rua 4). They received the flats for free and will after 5 years get full rights on them.


6. The streets



Rocinha has some lovely streets.

In an extraordinary upgrading operation a small alley, Rua 4, was widened to a 12m landscaped road. Before the works, the alley was 60cms wide and had, according to the Municipal Health Authorities, one of the highest tuberculosis incident rates in the country. The new road is a wonderful space, with brightly painted buildings, small squares and stairs linking the various levels.  Despite it being closed to car traffic, residents and shop keepers love it. According to Rio on Watch there aren't any drug stands (bocas de fumo) or armed guards there either.


7. The squares

Photo by Atelier Metropolitano

There are many public squares in Rocinha.

This is great since (1) organized public space is essential for community building and leisure and (2) it is a bit of a rarity in informal communities where space is scarce and not masterplanned. Most of the favelas I have visited did lack public squares.


8. The leisure activities


Rocinha has plenty.

Besides the dancing, the beach and the stunning hiking, there is also since 2010 a new sports complex. The place has a swimming pool, a gym, sporting courts, a football field, a surf school and a skate ramp. It was built with the purpose of getting kids into sports and forge some Olympic champions.


9. The beach

Photo by Rocinha em Foco

Rocinha shares a public beach.

Just a few minutes walk from Rocinha's São Corrado entrance it's a long stretch of a sandy beach. A wonderful asset regardless of water quality and a place to expand shall high density feel too oppressing.


10. The transport

Picture by Daniel Hoffman

  
Rocinha has a wonderfully efficient transport system. 

This is something Rocinha shares with other favelas but still worth mentioning. There are vans and motorcycle taxis moving people around in the community for R$2,50. The mototaxis work out brilliantly. There are stands in various spots but you can stop them anywhere. They carry a spare helmet and are quite fun to ride.

All in all, Rocinha has aspects residents should be proud of and planners and community workers, take good note of. Granted, there are other aspects far from ideal and in need of improvement. There are still open sewers, uncollected rubbish piles and a heavily armed police marching around, not to mention the drug gangs and the associated burdens. But this should in no case be a reason for denying Rocinha some of its greatness or stigmatizing its community for the shortcomings they haven't created and aren't responsible for. 


 

About
History of Rocinha by Mundo Real

Pictures
by PS unless otherwise stated

30 January 2014

The Complexo do Alemão, a 300ha sprawling neighbourhood in Rio's North Zone, has since July 2011 an additional transport system: a cable car that links five of its hills. The system, already used for connecting communities in Medellín and Caracas, is the new black among city planners. But does it work for the community? I went to Complexo do Alemão to find out.



 

First thing I got to know about the Complexo do Alemão is that it is far more populated than what statistics say. My guide Mariluce, a local resident and a census worker gave me a glimpse: "there are 130,000 dwellings in the Alemão. An average number of 3 people per family household would result 400,000 residents but there are far more people per household than that. In any case, the official estimated population of 60,000* is far from reality."

"See?" Mariluce says, "the stations are all at the hilltops and that's an issue. Nothing is under your door here. We have to walk a lot, so when possible we do it downhill. There are already minivans and motorcycle taxis bringing us to the transport hub. There is really no need to make the steep climb to the cable car. We use the cable car for the return trip home when it is an easy stroll downhill." 
 

The steep road to Adeus Station

But I completely get Mariluce's point: transport was not a pressing matter at the Alemão. According to her, there is only one primary school for the whole community and no secondary school. There are no proper public squares and generally, very few places where the community can get together. This is outstanding especially since new space has been cleared around the cable car infrastructure.


"Here at the Complexo the only buildings allowed next to the stations are the UPPs."

UPP at Alemao Station

UPP at Palmeiras Station

Is the cable car project still a meaningful one? Very much so. Although only 30% of the residents uses it, it has become a major weekend attraction bringing up to 7,000** tourists per day. With a return fare of  R$10 for non-residents, the cable car is a good source of income but more importantly: it brings tourism to the community which means increased security, additional revenue (if only more facilities were built!) and social pressure for improvements. 

Stalls at Palmeiras End Station

Having said this, the community feels that, for now, they haven't benefited so much from the cable car and that it would have been far more meaningful to invest the money in improving the sanitation system, which is still in many parts an open sewer. The communities set to receive the next cable cars, such as Rocinha, are fighting the project on similar grounds. They allege that basic sanitation is the priority, followed by an efficient rubbish collection plan. No one who has been to the communities can actually disagree on that: an improved transport system is a great thing but there are other, more important issues to be addressed first. 

Waste spread in Rocinha

About
Cable Car (Teleférico) by Odebrecht Transport, operated by Supervia
Stations: Bonsucesso, Adeus, Baiana, Alemão, Itararé/Alvorada and Palmeiras
Opening times: Mon-Fri 6am-9pm, Sat, Sun & holidays 8am-8pm
Architect: Jorge Mauro Jáuregui at Atelier Metropolitano

Guide via Guia das Favelas
"Conquering Complexo do Alemão" / The Economist / Dec 2nd 2010
"Cable Car Still a Source of Controversy" / Rio on Watch /  Jan 3rd 2014
"Rocinha Says No to Cable Car" / Rio on Watch / July 25th 2013

Pictures by PS

Notes
*Demographics by the Instituto Pereira Passos
** O Globo figures