The Other Beaches of Brazil

While wealthier sunbathers may opt for Ipanema and Copacabana, there exists another coastline checkered with picnics of roasted chicken and “farofa.” Farofa, a typical Brazilian food made from toasted manioc flour and mixed with bacon, onion, parsley, eggs, bananas or vegetables, was the inspiration for this project by photographer João Castellano. “Middle and upper class Brazilians frequently use a pejorative  term to refer to the lower income beachgoers: “farofeiros,’” Castellano explained. He spent four years traveling to farofeiro beaches, exploring the colorful culture of a community that is often looked down upon. Often unable to travel to the famous beaches of their country, farofeiros cool off near favelas, public pools, and the beaches of dams. “The main idea of this project is to take us, viewers, to a place we don’t want to go,” he said, “to show us a reality we don’t want to see, and then make us start questioning our own prejudice.”

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