Photo by Rich Press
With soccer’s World Cup and the Summer Olympics just two and four years away respectively, Rio de Janeiro has been under some fierce deadlines for cleaning up its act. As the Cidade Maravilhosa gets ready for its close-up, the powers-that-be have committed numerous and varied resources first to eradicating the violent criminal fiefdoms in the city’s vast and numerous favelas, and then to improving the quality of life for the residents within those hillside shantytowns.
Besides bettering such basic infrastructure as electricity, running water, and sewage, Rio has given the residents of the Complexo do Alemão favela a novel way of getting downhill: cable cars.
Luciana and I were there in December 2011, and while riding in a cab we were surprised to see for the first time the Teleféricos, as they’re known, busily hustling passengers up and down the hills of Alemão. We queried the driver about them, and he said that they were installed in the past year, and that if we wanted we could indeed hop on one and venture into the favela – an excursion that would have been unthinkable before the 2010 “invasion.” We had other plans, but maybe next time.
According to the Rio Times, the cars are capable of moving 3,000 passengers per day; rides are one Brazilian real (about 60 cents) and favela residents get two free rides per day, not to mention terrific views.
