Tourists Flock To Brazilian Slums While Locals Avoid

"To many Brazilians, favelas are dirty, violent, frightening places. But to many foreigners, they are exciting, interesting, and romantic. More and more outsiders are coming from overseas to live, work, and just visit favelas, observers say. In doing so they are highlighting the difference between Brazilians who regard favelas with fear, rejection, and even disgust, and foreigners who embrace them as vibrant crucibles of modern Brazilian culture."

"Although about 1-in-5 residents of Rio live in favelas, the communities hold little interest, and a great deal of fear, for the elite and middle class."

"Much of the daily bloodshed that has made Brazil the second most violent country in the world, according to UNESCO, takes place in the favelas. With basic amenities like sanitation, running water, roads, lighting, and policing often absent, few dare venture in."