Cidade De Deus... City of God

 

I have to write this as it's fresh in my mind and I'm still decompressing. I have to say shooting in the City of God will be an unforgettable and emotional experience. It's personal projects like this that remind me over and over how fortunate I am. The stories that have come from there are crazy. If you haven't seen the movie, City of God, you should as it is a true story of the drug trafficking that goes on there and is a great depiction of the reality of a this place. Almost every day there is hostile gunfire in these Favela. For those of you who don't know what "Favela" means, it means  "slum" and there are around 513 of them in Rio De Janiero. The drug trafficking is a huge problem, as the favelas are so poor that most young kids fall into it as a way to make money to provide for their families. The sad reality is that boys as young as 11 are on the streets with guns. Guns and selling drugs are power and run the favala. The police are always arresting the traffickers, and the traffickers fight back, is always gunfire going on. People die every day from this.

So now imagine what it takes to get into this place and how dangerous it is. My Brazilian friend Mari is one of the most amazing people I've ever met. She also knows everyone, and was able to lead us to a touching story of one of her best friend's husband, MV Bill. MV Bill is a legend and a hero. He grew up in the City of God, and became a well known rapper who's lyrics are all about inspiring youth to stay out of trafficking. He created a non-profit organization called CUFA to provide classes and recreation for kids to keep them out of the trafficking. He is active every day in the lives of so many people helping them, and most of all mentoring kids. Bill is a big guy with an even bigger heart.

Little did we realize how much work was involved for us to come. On Saturday, the day before we came, there was a gun fight in the morning between the traffickers and the police. It was what they say in portuguese "Chapa Quente" which means "Hot Grill". To make it safe for us to come the next day, Bill had to walk around all day to every drug dealer and ask them not to sell while we were there. Even when we called a taxi to take us there, they called us back to ask us if we were actually going "IN" to the City of God. The locals know how dangerous it can be. When I'm in the zone or the moment of shooting things like this, I tend to be oblivious to the things going on around me which is why I like to travel with a small entourage of key people. A translator and someone who knows the area. I always like to have at least one person from the area walking with me. As we were walking and shooting, Bill had to say ok, this area you can't shoot because there are dealers here. The risk of getting killed if I happen to get a dealer in on of my shots is a likely one.

For me the impact and emotion comes from the stories of the people in these images. Most of the time when people come to shoot in a favela, they show the dark side. They focus on the bad things that happen inside, and not the other side. This is a huge deal. To see a Bill get emotional when seeing the joy captured in the souls of the people in the images is hugely impactful. People who's stories he knows first hand of children without parents, and parents with kids who've gone into trafficking, and that have been in prison. This was the first time in two years that the has brought anyone into the City Of God.

It was a great feeling to be able to show the joyful side of the people in the favela. I'm very grateful for the opportunity to make an impact with my work. We are working on ideas to help Bill and Cufa and get and involved.

See the rest of the story here:
http://www.nickonken.com/Stories/CityOfGod/

Comments

[suzanne]

wow....what an amazing shoot and the story of the city just makes my heart ache. I love that you captured the happiness and the goodness that can surround harder things. These faces are beautiful and I hope for them to get a chance at a great life too, away from that kind of daily fear that must exist.

[Kristen Close]

Awesome Nick! You did such a great job of capturing the heart of the people. Isn't it amazing no matter where you go the fact remains...people are people. Especially chidren. They have a universal language. You have a God given talent. I believe you are just beginning to scratch the surface of all you are meant to do.

[jay Reilly]

big thumbs up

[bruno-ken]

amazing shots, amazing story, Nick.

thanks for putting those up. i am passing them on to my friends.

[Josh]

Awesome stuff nick. One of my favorite movies and a place that I have wanted to go to for some time. If you ever go back and need an assistant, I am available. :)

Joshua

[Matthew]

Amazing, Nick. Bold and deeply personal. The work speaks. I hear a faint whisper of a calling. Keep us posted. Maybe you will inspire us to see God in our City.

[lydia]

Nick!!!!
Wat an amzing tour.You are one of a 100 who can risk their lives and equipment.
May God reachly bless you.
Will make sure I forward it to many. Coz that place needs to be prayed for. They need restoration.
Pliz do not hesitate to send me any of that kind.
I promise to pray for those people to see the light in Jesus name.
Keep up the good spirit.

Stay blessed.

[lydia]

Nick!!!!
Wat an amzing tour.You are one of a 100 who can risk their lives and equipment.
May God reachly bless you.
Will make sure I forward it to many. Coz that place needs to be prayed for. They need restoration.
Pliz do not hesitate to send me any of that kind.
I promise to pray for those people to see the light in Jesus name.
Keep up the good spirit.

Stay blessed.

[Chad]

you have an amazing talent, Nick. so glad that you're sharing it with the world. best of luck to you!
chad

[Esther Saavedra]

wowowowowo vc viveu uma experiencia esqueciveil aqui em Brasil...Muito obrigada por sempre estar enviando suas historias.....Se pode fazer missoes ainda tirando fotos. DEus tem dado a vc um don maravilhoso.
Com carinho e lembrança de vc

Esther (do Equador mais morando no Brasil):)

[Matthew]

Nick,
Amazing work, thank you for including that story along with the photographs. I love how you chose to show the joyfulness of the children in Favela. Thank you for sharing and speeding more light on the situation there.

[julie]

i have to say i mirror the above comments of "wow". what an amazing way to view what is going on there...to not focus on the dark side. i can't wait to see more. great job nick and glad you made it safe.

[Steven Hopkins]

You are my new favorite photographer. I heard your podcast on Lightsource and I have enjoyed your pictures since. Everyone I talk to about photography is so into making their own light and you are finding the most beautiful light everywhere. You have no tricks up your sleeves, no fancy equipment. You just love your subjects and it shows. Awesome.

[Grant]

Amazing story and amazing series of photos. I love the tone in the pictures.

[jessica seawell]

lovely photos...great story thanks for sharing

[Andy Dunn]

Hi Nick

I've been reading your blog for a while among a rapidly swelling number of other photoblogs of some your peers. There doesn't seem to be quite the community here in UK that exists in the states of exciting young (ish) :) photographers sharing inspiration and experiences.

Anyway, the reason I'm moved to post this time is that I shot a documentary series on Brazilian music for British television not long ago and filmed in Cidade De Deus and other favelas. I also met MV Bill and found him to be the gentle giant you captured here. Your photographs took me back to an intense experience I'd not thought about for a while.

If you're interested I can send you DVDs of our series on Brazilian music which takes in Salvador and Recife too, both places where you have to remind yourself to take your eye away from the viewfinder once in a while to speak to people!

Let me know where to send them if you want...

Thanks for all the openness in your blog to date and look forward to the next story.

A

[Benjamin]

WOW man! I found out about your work through the lightsource podcast as well. your work inspires/motivates/moves me mate. keep doing what your doing!

[Tim]

Awesome man. It hit me what you said about showing the positive side of things vs what's usually shown. Very cool.

[Jenny Verador]

Compelling story Nick. Images are amazing as always. Keep it up my friend.

[Clarissa Stranger]

loved what you wrote!
bjs c.

[Mari]

Um dos dias mais incríveis da minha vida.
Obrigada e volta logo.

Beijo,
Mari

[Desiree Burk]

Thank you. I love the image of the kids looking up to this man. My favorite images that come back from Iraq are of our soldiers loving on the kids over there and your picture reminds me of that. Thank you for sharing the positive story of what one man is doing to change his sphere of influence.

[LadonnaCastro]

I propose not to hold back until you earn enough amount of money to buy different goods! You can just take the home loans or sba loan and feel yourself comfortable