Vila Recreio – broken dream

Author: Rubermária Sperandio

Translated by: Jamille Araujo Cupertino da Costa

Review: Jessica Alves Thiebaut and Ana Luisa de Castro Soares

Synopsis

Jorge Santos is a poor man who came from the countryside of the state of Rio to the city of Rio de Janeiro. In the beginning, he was afraid of living in the community. He lived for a long time paying rent until he was persuaded by his sister to purchase a house in a favela, because it was a unique opportunity for a poor person to have his own house. 

Jorge started to build his house, first a room with a bathroom, with the help of friends. Sometimes, they worked until one o´clock in the morning. After many job and financial sacrifices, his dream of owning his own place came true. In January 2010, Rio de Janeiro city hall announced the clearance of 119 slums situated in a  privileged area of the city. According to the mayor this was part of the construction of the Transoeste expressway, which connects the neighbourhoods of Campo Grande and Santa Cruz to Barra da Tijuca. For urbanistic Mike Davis, it is a strategy of elitization of urban areas.  Vila Recreio 2, a community where Jorge lived, was one of the targets of the city hall. A large part of the residents, after facing many threats and psychological pressures, were relocated to small apartments, forty kilometers away from where they lived. Jorge resisted and this is the story that is going to be told in the documentary “Vila Recreio 2 - Sonhos Demolidos” [Vila Recreio 2 – broken dreams], shot by the team of the Núcleo Piratininga de Comunicação (NPC).