Rio de Janeiro Residents
The country of Brazil is a melting pot of racial populations: 55% white, 6% black, 38% mixed and 1% other. Rio de Janeiro is no exception with Portuguese, Indian and African lineages also mixing things up along with the immigration of Italians, Spaniards, Germans and Japanese just to name a few. The Brazilian spirit seems to be a split personality at times, celebration life to full during Carnaval then drowning in nostalgic melancholy of saudade. However what is constant is kindness and patience, something that Brazilians have no shortage of. Residents of Rio are called ‘Cariocas’ and are one of the many Brazilian groups that make up the kind hearted yet complicated soul of the country. Cariocas welcome everyone to their city and it’s hard not get caught up in their free-spiritedness and sensuality.
Having said that, Brazil has a reputation of having one of widest gaps of income between the rich and the poor and you won’t find that more obvious then in Rio. Dating as far back as the mid-19th century, mass immigration has given birth to favelas (urban slums) that surround major cities in Brazil. Dwellings are nothing more than a few boards put together and access to fresh water, sewage, schools and healthcare is almost non-existent. Crime is rampart in the favelas and drug lords control the streets.
