Dario De Dominicis

With this project I wanted to accompany the deep urban transformation that involved the hill of Providencia, the oldest favela in Rio de Janeiro. I came here for the first time in autumn 2011 when the construction of a cable-car, for touristic reasons, led to the removal of many families. I have been falling in love with this place and its people, and I uderstood that what was happening here was emblematic of the real situation in Rio. The pacification process generated an increase in the market value, triggering a very strong property speculation. The rents as well as the general living costs run out of control, becoming unaffordable for the lower-middle class. The urban landscape of the whole city is changing, affecting the social geography and pushing the poor in the suburbs. In the last year, narco-traffic has gradually regained its territory and people's lives are on the line again. A year from the next Olympic Games, I firmly believe that institutions cannot and shouldn't forget that the Providencia Hill is a living part of the historical memory of Rio, where the carioca identity sink its roots.