Home to an estimated 30 thousand people, it had a fearsome reputation. It was controlled by a drug gang known for its viciousness. They had a habit of starting bloody wars against the gang controlling the bigger neighbor on the opposite side of the hill, Rocinha, the biggest favela in Rio. The battles, some lasting days, forced some of the main traffic arteries in the city to close for traffic, while the police, outgunned, stayed clear. In the meantime, some of the areas of Rio most visited by tourists hunkered down to the sound of assault rifle fire and grenades.
In preparation for the two major global events it would soon host, the 2014 Fifa World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games, authorities in Rio devised a policy to attempt to put an end to the reign of drug lords over several of the city’s favelas, among them Vidigal. For a while, it was a major success.
The new peace allowed residents of Rio to finally discover another side of Vidigal: its feisty mellow vibe and the stunning views of the city below.
Soon gentrification followed.
Young locals and foreigners moved in after the low rents and the fun atmosphere. A famous architect built a boutique hotel on the place where the former drug lord had his headquarters. Across from it, an entrepreneur from São Paulo built a fancy lounge bar, where famous DJs often kept crowds dancing well past sunrise. The artist Vik Muniz opened an art school for local kids. Several locals started hostels and restaurants to cater to the mobs of tourists roaming through its narrow alleyways. Others began to make a good living as local guides. Celebrities became regulars to the thriving local cultural scene.
There were rumors that David Beckham had bought a house there, others that Madonna had joined Beckham in the neighborhood.
For a time Vidigal seemed to be the trendiest place in Brazil, a novelty that both Rio’s locals and visitors were thrilled to discover. Longtime residents felt the change was disorienting, some seeing it as a threat while others saw it as a blessing, if not both at the same time. Between 2015 and early 2016, at the peak of the buzz, I spent a few months immersed in the life of Vidigal. That project became a long feature published by Geo magazine, from Germany.
It was a privilege.
Just as soon as the Olympic Games were finished, the successful policy that brought a fragile peace to Vidigal and other favelas was dismantled. A series of major corruption scandals engulfed Rio’s government, sending to jail all of the state's living former governors. The city descended into a deep economic crisis, from which it still has not recovered, and Vidigal went back to its old violent past.