Episode Information

Rio de Janeiro is a city of six million inhabitants of which 20% live in the slums (or favelas) located on the hills around the city. There are more than 700 slums, and many of these are dominated by armed drug dealers who control the entrances to these fragile communities. The police enter the slums from time to time to confront the drug dealers, causing shooting wars to erupt where innocent bystanders are the victims of stray bullets. The vast majority of the inhabitants are honest, working people who live there because it is cheap and close to their work, but the media paints a tainted image of slum dwellers. This is the story of eight individuals from the favelas above Copacabana and how each has overcome hardship and adversity to have a good life, living in the slums.