Creative economy, authenticity and peripheral memories: the favela souvenirs in Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

The aim is to examine the economic and cultural roles of the favela souvenirs for Rio de Janeiro’s slums, with the focus on the work of a male artist from Santa Teresa (an old neighbourhood, on the top tod a hill in the central region of the city, with great tourist appeal and strong contrast between mansions and one of the poorest and most violent communities of Rio). The main argument indicates that favela souvenirs generate income and jobs not only for craft workers, but indirectly for tourist guides, food services and other creative sectors connected to the favela tourism. When these souvenirs are original and truth-telling, they may stimulate a better perception of the favelas in tourists and consolidate them as tourist destinations, despite the aggravation of violence in many slums in Rio de Janeiro. Favela souvenirs also carry the memories of the city’s periphery, which is sometimes seen as secondary in Rio de Janeiro’s long-established tourist images and “generic souvenirs”. They offer greater visibility to the cultural production of marginalized social groups, which fuels potentially transformative views about the favelas and bring about the discussion on the lives of those who live in these areas. In the case of the work of the considered artist, it is possible to say that his paintings have elements of the “objective authenticity” of souvenirs, which contrast with a preconceived idea of an “imaginary favela” in his treatment of Santa Teresa’s poorest communities. However, there are some aspects of standardization in his pictorial production and simulation in the process of elaboration of the artist’s work during tourists’ visits to his studio.