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.”

Read more
Hints: View this page full screen. Skip to the next and previous photo by typing j/k or ←/→.

Most Recent

  • NASA
    • In Focus
    • 2:37 PM ET
    • 35 Photos

    The 50th Anniversary of Apollo 13

    Looking back on the averted tragedies and safe return of NASA’s Apollo 13 mission to the moon in 1970

  • Piero Cruciatti / AFP / Getty
    • In Focus
    • April 8, 2020
    • 27 Photos

    An Unimaginable Toll

    A collection of recent images from around the world, reflecting the huge global death toll amid the coronavirus pandemic

  • Ina Fassbender / AFP / Getty
    • In Focus
    • April 6, 2020
    • 28 Photos

    For Those Who Can’t Go Outside, Images of Spring

    A virtual trip outdoors—a collection of recent images from North America, Asia, and Europe, of tulips, sunshine, and cherry blossoms

  • Yuanshuai Si / Getty
    • In Focus
    • April 5, 2020
    • 33 Photos

    Ohio: Images of the Buckeye State

    A few glimpses of Ohio’s landscape, and some of the animals and people calling it home

Most Popular on The Atlantic

  1. This Is Trump’s Fault
  2. The Three Equations for a Happy Life, Even During a Pandemic
  3. Why Does the President Keep Pushing a Malaria Drug?
  4. How the Pandemic Will End
  5. The Two States Where Trump’s COVID-19 Response Could Backfire in 2020
  6. The U.S. Should Just Send Checks—But Won’t
  7. America’s Other Epidemic
  8. The Best Hopes for a Coronavirus Drug
  9. All the President’s Lies About the Coronavirus
  10. The Four Possible Timelines for Life Returning to Normal
Back to Top