In Rio de Janeiro, a month-long culinary event is shedding new light on life in Maré, one of the city's largest favela complexes. Beginning October 1, sixteen local bars and restaurants within Maré are participating in a competitive food trail designed to attract visitors and challenge prevailing perceptions of the community.
Maré, a network of 16 favelas home to approximately 140,000 residents, is often associated in the media with poverty, violence, and police operations. However, organisers of the food trail, known as Favela Food, aim to highlight the rich culture and entrepreneurial spirit found within the neighbourhood. The initiative is now in its fourth edition, having launched in 2015, and was recently named a finalist for Best Culinary Festival in Latin America at the 2026 World Culinary Awards.
Many of the participating establishments are Black-owned, and the programme provides management and marketing training to the selected vendors, along with guidance on addressing sexual harassment in the customer environment. Winners, determined by public vote, receive cash prizes.
Maria Cristina de Sales, co-owner of a burger restaurant in Maré, is among the vendors showcasing their dishes. Originally from Brazil’s impoverished north-east, Sales moved to Rio de Janeiro seeking better opportunities and eventually opened her eatery in the favela’s Parque União neighbourhood with her husband. Her contest entry features a pork leg burger called Peppa Pig, a nod to her personal journey and resilience.
“The doors that aren’t open to us in the rest of the city, we open for ourselves here,” Sales said, reflecting the determination shared by many in Maré. She credits Casa das Mulheres da Maré, a local women’s centre supporting the food trail, for helping refine part of her recipe, a pineapple jam infused with chili and ginger.
Mariana Aleixo, the centre’s coordinator and a chef raised in Maré, emphasised the broader community impact of empowering women through such initiatives. “When we improve the quality of life of a woman in Maré, we’re improving the whole community,” she said. Aleixo also noted ongoing challenges, including the presence of armed drug traffickers and intermittent police operations, but stressed that violence does not define Maré.
Another participant, Beatriz Santos Antônio, operates a snack bar in the nearby Nova Holanda favela. Having arrived in Maré 16 years ago and experienced hardship, Antônio turned to her mother’s cooking lessons to start selling cassava fritters, her entry for the food trail. She described her journey as one from hunger to hope, expressing pride in supporting other women entrepreneurs.
Despite the area's challenges, organisers hope the food trail will encourage visitors to experience Maré beyond negative stereotypes and recognise the vibrancy and resilience of the community.