In the days after

A before photo taken from the top of the cable car.

 

It is obvious from my last post that I really was not tuned into the scope of the disaster in Nova Friburgo.  Only after arriving in Rio, talking with all our friends and family that had been looking for us, after reading news posts, reviewing photos, and watching international news coverage last night did I finally understand how devastated Friburgo is.  Conversations I have had this morning ranged from how to help now, to how will the city rebuild; replacing homes and businesses without using those areas that now show themselves as unsafe?  In this minute there seems to  be no answers.

As you can see from the before photo above  the city is built on steep hills along a river that runs right through its center.     On the outskirts of Friburgo - on the 116 between the new bus station and the city center is an old factory.  It is for sell, and could be converted to many small apartments.  The asking price last year was $R5,000,000.00 - to rich for my pocketbook, but have always thought it would make a great 'loft' apartment complex – Could the government buy this building now.  Now maybe it could house many of the homeless, temporary but stable, and much better than living in a school cafeteria.  And later turned into homes that could be sold to the poorer but strong middle class of Friburgo. 

 

More before shots, so we can all remember how beautiful it is up here in the mountains.

  
If people aren’t allowed to build on the steep hills, where will they live?  Does the government just say ‘sorry, the good building areas are full you have to move to a slum in Rio’?  Where, by the way, most are built on unsafe sides of mountains.

Out with the Old and in with the New

During the five years we have lived in the apartment in Ipanema we have heard many stories about the two houses and one apartment building sitting vacant across the street.

It is (or was) apparent that at one point they were quite handsome homes. They had the look of many of the houses that are still scattered throughout Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon - houses preserved with loving care.

We heard that at one point they were private homes, beach houses or vacation homes for the rather rich that lived in the old central Rio or possibly even Sao Paulo. At the turn of the century (20th) this was the country - incredible thought isn't it? It was farm land, none of the tunnels that ease access to this part of town were there, driving over (hum, driving? maybe coming by wagon or horse, and surely byway of trail or small dirt roads) for the weekend or the summer at the beach just like all Brazilians love do today.   

 

Back to the houses across the street - we heard that these houses and the building were once a famous school. We heard that all this property was owned by one family. That at one point it was all for sale, and sold and then one of the family protested the sale.

We heard that the government (or the family member or other parties depending on which porteiro was telling the story) wanted the property protected as a historical sight. It (the property) was in limbo.

In limbo means - no maintenance was done. I imagine no taxes paid. One weekend about 3 years ago there was pounding in the dark of night and part of the roof and some of the windows disappeared before the police came. At that point a high white wall went up and was topped with barbwire (razor wire) - so someone cared. (the wall was soon dirty and 3rd world looking)

 

The three years passed. Even though great expense was expended to put up a fence, iron bars on the lower windows and to post a guard at night, no effort was made to patch the roof and the natural vegetation began to take back the land. Yes, trees began to grow out of the roof. Green slime and other growth began to cover the outer walls, run down the side of the houses generally creating a great eye sore. I am sorry but I didn't take photos of the trees - I was going to one day and never did.

On the 29th of December 2008, an engineering sign appeared, then workers. About 20 workers came and took the remaining roof tiles, all the doors and windows, piping and who knows what else that might be considered recyclable. In less than one day the houses were shells. (the old apartment building was always a shell)ON the 30th a gate in the wall appeared and then a bulldozer arrived and the houses began to come down. Today the 31st, more work with the bulldozer finished off one house, and two men began with sledgehammers on the apartment building.

Now it is clear that this is a very big piece of land. We now can see that there was a large 3 story building at the back, by the architecture looks mid 70s. Maybe this was added when the school was there.

So now there will be a new apartment building or a fancy hotel inserted in this space. The battle between family members and the government was won through neglect. But no matter on what battlefield it was won - after 5 years of looking at inner city decay and blight in our own front yard, we can only benefit by the taking out of the old and bringing in of the new.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Ginger and Camillo