Teresa

The front door of Teresa’s house is always open to the children of the favela and houses a tiny shop selling sweets. Years ago she used to sell vegetables and has had a number of different jobs in her life including waitressing,  babysitting and even a manicurist. She had a shop and a restaurant which sold all sorts of things. When the shop closed she opened her little shop in the front of her house because the local children had grown so used to buying sweets from her that they used to come knocking on her door! So now she has her little shop that she says keeps her busy in the daytime. She enjoys selling things and also likes that the shop is at home because it would be difficult for her to work in the out in the “work force.” Over the years she explains how she has watched so many children of the favela grow up and now they have children of their own.  She says the people of Vidigal are good people and so she has good relationships with everyone.

The inside of her charming little house is host to collages of religious images that Teresa has put together. She makes all kinds of things and has also collected hundreds of bottle caps and  strung them together to hang in her door way all adding to the character of the place. The religious images represent what an important part of her life her Catholic faith is to her.

Teresa came from Paraiba to Rio in 1969.  Her boyfriend brought her to Vidigal over 30 years ago when the favela was all jungle and the houses were made of wood. Teresa explains how it used to be a dangerous place to live but despite this she has always loved it and believes it is the best place to live in the world!