Continued from excerpt 4: Choque and Awe

After a close shave, a spicy spritz of Pimenta by Choque adds a little zing to the morning’s preparations.  Notes of tangy ammonia linger deep in the nose and tickle the brain.

As the fumes of outrage dissipated I was left with some obvious questions. Why would the Rio city government deploy 4 thugs, 3 squad cars, 2 groups of choque troops and fully loaded armoured personnel carrier against a pathetic little petition delegation? I thought I was doing a piece on football, the Maracanã, the Fifa World Cup and stadium architecture and instead I found myself in an ugly little RIOT.

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Nestled in a corner opposite the front door of the world renowned Maracanã football stadium stands Favela do Metrô, a community founded 33 years ago by rail workers, who had migrated from the Northeast of Brazil, to build the northern…