Brazil: Police peacekeeping unit makes proms come to life for young girls in a Rio favela

Debutante balls have been a custom among upper-middle-class and wealthy Brazilian families. They mark a girl’s transition from childhood to adulthood. Home to around 53,000 people, Mangueira is the most symbolic shantytown so far to be occupied by the so-called ‘pacification forces’.
Famed for producing legendary samba artists such as Cartola, Nelson Cavaquinho and Carlos Cachaça, Mangueira is also home to the city’s best-known samba school, the Grêmio Recreativo Escola de Samba Mangueira. The favela is located behind the high rises in Leme and is one of the easiest and safest to visit. Hundreds of thousands of people live in Rio’s favelas, with most of the dwellings illegally constructed and occupied; power and water supplies are poor at best. And the neighborhoods are often controlled by drug gangs……. Read Article

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