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In the US of A most buildings don’t have a long history, considering there are churches in old Europe telling a story stretching over a thousand years. Basically everything in the states has the charm of something new and fresh. And they made a great twist out of it, because everything is convenient and tries to hit the need of the one that uses it. Take stadiums or convention halls. While in Europe football stadiums tell a lot of stories, but it’s freaking cold and you might don’t see the whole picture. There it’s more about the glory instead of the functionality. But with every new stadium we are learning and by now we have a lot of those very practical Multi-Purpose-Sport-And-Convention-Thingies. And we learn from the best there is: The Staples Center.
The Staples Center was build and is owned by the Anschutz Entertainment Group. A multinational company that not only owns various sport teams in the USA and Europe but they also own ... aeh….how can I say that….well bits and pieces of Michael Jackson. Hence they tried to do these fabulous shows in London and he deceased shortly before they tried to make money with everything left. So the “This is it”-movie was there idea and you could even keep the entrance ticket for the shows in London for a little fee. But let’s come back from bones to stones. The final farewell of MJ was celebrated in the Staples Center. But what is good for the king of pop is also good for the queens of basketball: the LA Lakers. I was lucky and Microsoft paid me a ticket for the final series last year. Quite exciting, not only the match against Orlando, but also the architecture of the center. In these halls it is possible to change the interior design within hours. There are also NHL matches and concerts. Quite contradicting actually. But everything’s possible in LA. Highest capacity is 20.000 visitors. And still they have built the center in 1999 in a way, that every show, every match is looking packed. It is almost 100.000 square meters big, but it looks that there are many tens of thousands spectators. For the Lakers, the stands are assembled very steep under the roof. Therefore you have from almost every spot a great view. The seats up front are reserved for celebraties like Jack Nicholson or Heidi Klum. Most of the stands is covered in Black shadow, the plentiful lights are all directed to the court. Like a coloseum, where the gladiators meet. It is actually quite a challenge to get a ticket, which are often sold out for years. So what happens is, that groups share a certain capacity of season tickets. And they are shared among them like a trophy. So seeing a match is a priceless treasure. The Staples Center is close the Convention Hall where many fairs are held. You get there by car on S.Figueroa Street 1111, though it might be tough to get a parking lot, at least if you travel in a limo, like most people do.
I would never have thought that I will ever be in a Favela, not even imagined sleeping there. But the beautiful thing about life is, that things just happen. Even before I visited my friends Bru and Andi in Brazil they had chatted about a hostel in Rio de Janeiro, that is located on top of a Favela with a splendid view on the city and the sugarloaf. A Favela is theoreticaly a slum or shanty house. But a Favela is too complex to leave you with such a short description. The first favelas were created in the end of the 19th century, as the big cities couldn't handle the masses, who wanted to be part of the economic development. So they just took land and started to build their own houses. This is still very much the principle. Therefore a Favela is a fantastic urban structure with thousands different styles of houses. Also the streets and stairways are made individually, so it enfolds a puzzle with thousands elements, that don’t actually fit together. All the water-pipes, canalisation and electricity is build by the citizens of a Favela.
It doesn’t necessarily mean, that the inhabitants of the Favela are the poorest of the poorest. It could be, but on the other hand, many of the houses have satellite TV, kids go to school in the city and some run businesses, like shops, hairstudios or car repair stations in the Favela. So it is a city of it´s own with connection to the public transport and with the mailman coming every morning. And theses cities have their own rules and jurisdiction, many are controlled and run by drug-dealers or other criminals. But this is also a twosided affair. Surely for outsiders going there means trouble. But on the other hand, for all the ones living there it means some sort of structure and system, it maybe even delivers a fair deal for everyone. This is very well depicted in the great movie “Cidade de Deus” and the serial “Cidade dos Homens”. One thing is for sure, a Favela is a vibrant and exciting place.
Thirty years ago an English musician, journalist and painter came over to Rio and was good to stay. Bobby mainly worked first as a BBC correspondent and then as a stringer for international TV-productions. He started to build his own house with his own hands in the Favela of Catete, in the centre of the city. His married to his second wife and has two lovely young kids. The reason why I am digging deep into his personal life, is, that this is explains why he opened the greatest Hotel ever. Bobby is 65 years old and figured, that he should quickly start a businesses that would support his family, even if he is not around anymore. So he started to build his house bigger and bigger. One storey above another, with more rooms, more windows and more walls. Now the maze, or casa do bobby how it is also called, is the grandest building of the whole Favela and has about 8 to 9 rooms. Lovely unorthodox styled chambers with direct sight to the sugarloaf and with mosaics in the bathroom.
Three of the chambers are currently occupied by German musicians who, together with Bobby, run a very popular Jazz night every last Friday of the month. Which is highly frequented by people from the city. I think the roomrate is going from 40 to 80 reais, which is basicly nothing. And Bobbys stories are included, and they are certainly priceless. The maze has been location for many videoclips, my favourite one is “beautiful” by Snoop Dogg and Pharell, so Bobby is going down with you with stories about the dogg! Also he wraps up tales about killing squads and bandites quite entertainingly. So you might ask yourself ‘Do I buy myself a ride on the wild side when I am going to the maze?’ Well, you are never sure, but the Favela in Catete, part of Rio, is a save one. This is mainly due to the fact, that there is a massive police department on top of the hill. I even found myself all of a sudden in a police maneuver. Masked gunmen running down the little alleys securing the paths. I froze for a moment but a quick smile of one young soldier put me in the microwave again.
If I would go back to Rio I would definitely stay at the maze again. The atmosphere is so pleasant and Bobbys stories are a priceless asset. The roomrate is very competitive and the sight is marvellous. You are quickly in the city and close to the public transport system. And discovering the narrow streets of a Favela really was a lifetime experience for me, which I will never forget.
You should visit the webpage of the maze before you arrive and give bobby a call to make sure there are vacancies. If you arrive in Rio you should take the cab to Rua Tavares Bartos, but you shouldn’t tell the taxi-driver, that you are going to a favela, that might not be a motivating announcement to him. If you are on top of the hill it is easy to find the maze, hence there are signs and everyone around knows Bobby.
You can find more of my work on my homepage:
http://www.bkspicture.com/ _________________________________________
Also have a blog where I write about my photo experience, tips and trick etc. . . . . . . . .
http://www.blog.bkspicture.com/ _________________________________________
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/BKSPicture/171493582895927
You can find more of my work on my homepage:
http://www.bkspicture.com/ _________________________________________
Also have a blog where I write about my photo experience, tips and trick etc. . . . . . . . .
http://www.blog.bkspicture.com/ _________________________________________
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/BKSPicture/171493582895927
This 1940's bakelite beauty is really a nice little camera. I was happy with the Ilford XP2 roll so I thought I would try the redscale XR. I think it really wants a bit faster film but some of these came out decent anyway. Even though it only has one shutter speed you do have some control with it however as it has three apertures.
There were several versions of this camera made. This is the earlier and somewhat simpler version, not the "Model 400" that usually comes up on Ebay.
☼ Grazie ♫ is one of the nicest, sweetest, most talented gals I've had the privilege of meeting here. I was very happy to do a film swap with her!
http://www.lomography.com/homes/grazie
