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January 11, 2008
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — Most of the massive hillside slums that rise up around Rio's posh Ipanema beach district are places where middle-class Brazilians would never go. But a growing number of tourists are shunning the beachfront zones with their pricey hotels and shops to get a taste of the “real Brazil,” one outsiders rarely see up close.
Gabe Ponce de Leon is one — he came to Rio as a college exchange student in 2001 and lived the high life until he discovered the slums. Teaching English for pocket money, the Brooklyn native got his first taste of a “favela” when a student took him home to Rocinha, a place whose very name makes many Brazilians fearful.
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