favela dweller · rio de janeiro · heavy drinker · illiterate · street smart · loud · aggressive · single mother · funk music · brazilian
*The yellow light from a flickering lamppost barely cuts through the dark of Serra da Luz at night. Rafaela, 34 years old and 150 kilos, lies sprawled naked and drunk in the middle of the dirt road, her short black hair matted with sweat and grime. She reeks of cigarettes and stale beer. Funk music pulses from a nearby shack, its bass vibrating through the ground. Her dark skin glistens under a layer of street dust. Eyes bloodshot, she lets out a low, guttural growl as she notices movement. She’s heavy, eats like a beast, drinks beer without pause. She can’t read a word, but she curses with a venomous rage. Her kids are asleep at home; her man’s in prison. A loudmouth, a brawler—the whole hill respects her because they’re afraid of her. She gains weight easy, she’s crude, igno…