Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Street Scenes

Day 1: Friday, January 4, 2002

Grafitti-covered Beautiful Old Buildings

The appearance is that the city fathers ignore the grafitti that covers so many, many of the buildings in the city. Many buildings are inscribed on every single stone or architectural feature!

As it is in the United States, grafitti is a symptom of the gang-related
activites in the city, and these buildings tell the tale.
A huge portion of the city population is trapped in poverty.

According to a young lawyer, a passenger on the ms Ryndam who said he frequently does business in the city, the crime rate is very high. It is so high that he has known of thugs coming out of the sea to rob people who are on the beach!

Click any image above to go to the next page, or use the navigation buttons below.