Now Taking World Cup Bookings - In Rio's Slums Simon Romero - The New York Times
go to original December 27, 2013

Rio Rents Reach New Heights Video (NYTimes/Newscenter)

RIO DE JANEIRO — With hotel rooms in perilously short supply and even modest hostels in Rio de Janeiro charging as much as $450 for a bed during the World Cup in Brazil next year, the residents of Rocinha and other favelas, or slums, are making the most of the city’s acute shortage of lodging for the event: They are renting out their homes to fans from around the globe.

Maria Clara dos Santos, 49, is preparing to take as many as 10 World Cup visitors into her three-bedroom home in Rocinha (pronounced ho-SEEN-ya), which commands a stunning view of Ipanema’s sun-kissed beaches in the distance. True, Ms. dos Santos notes, untreated sewage reeks on her street and steel bars on her windows are needed to deter break-ins, so she is offering guests a comparative bargain — about $50 a night to stay with her during the tournament.

“We can provide a level of human warmth and authenticity that places down below cannot,” she said, reflecting the growing popularity of favelas for their vibrant musical scenes, cheaper prices and absence of pretension compared with ritzier parts of town.

Housing tourists in Rio’s slums might well turn out to be one of the smoother aspects of preparing for the World Cup, an event that has been more a source of contention for Brazil than a crowning achievement in its push for global acclaim.

Read the rest at The New York Times

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