Residents of the Turano favela in Rio de Janeiro fly kites during a festival last month. Kites have a long history in Brazil and are particularly popular in Rio's favelas, where a cottage industry uses bamboo and tissue paper to produce kites.
Two groups of men stood on opposite rooftops perched on a hillside overlooking Rio de Janeiro’s Ipanema beach, taunting one another. It was a macho showdown between opponents wielding unlikely weapons — kites.
On this July morning in the impoverished neighbourhood, they were using taut, sharp-edged kite lines — known as “cerol” in Portuguese — to slash their opponents’ lines, ripping their kites from the sky.
Kite fighting has caused horrific injuries and even deaths, and a bill moving through Brazil’s grovernment is seeking to prohibit the manufacture, sale and use of the razor-sharp lines nationwide, with violators facing one to three years in prison and a hefty fine.
The lines are already outlawed in some congested areas of Brazil, including Rio, but that didn’t appear to trouble the men jousting with their kites above Ipanema; indeed, some of those flouting the law were police officers. A couple of them called kites their therapy.
“That’s the logic of kite flying: cutting another person’s line,” said Alexander Mattoso da Silva, a military police officer with bulging, tattooed biceps. He goes by “Jarro” and in 2014 he travelled to France to test his mettle at an international kite festival, where he won the kite-fighting competition.
“We always try to fly the kites in suitable places to not put anyone at risk. There’s no risk here, because the kite falls into the woods,” Jarro said, pointing to the tree-covered mountain above which the kites were dancing. Still, there were narrow pedestrian alleyways below.
この記事は Toronto Star の August 31, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Toronto Star の August 31, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Taking care of business at home
Reds host fellow bubble team Austin, aiming to end woes at BMO Field
King's Plate runner-up vies for $IM at Woodbine
He’s firmly among Canada’s top three-year-olds but My Boy Prince faces a stiff test Saturday at Woodbine Racetrack.
Korda powers early U.S. lead at Solheim Cup
Nelly Korda danced at the urging of teammate Megan Khang as they walked off the first tee together at the Solheim Cup after a pep talk from former U.S. president Barack Obama.
If Dodgers can get playoff relief from Ohtani, they should
When the Dodgers last won the World Series in 2020, the final seven outs were perfectly navigated by a pitcher who had worked out of the bullpen just once that season.
Not alrighty then
How Jim Carrey helped Raptors icon DeMar DeRozan face depression
Latest concussion should be Tua's last
Miami quarterback should retire before life altered forever
Trump or Harris? Putin's preference isn't clear cut
Kremlin's best-case scenario might actually be a contested election
Can joy coexist with suffering?
The idea of coping is central to Annie Baker's 'Infinite Life'
I'll retire when I can't stand to hear my voice'
Superstar singer Andrea Bocelli on his TIFF documentary, his former stage fright and his sadness about Céline Dion's stiff-person syndrome
Condo comes with wrap-around balcony
North York home extends indoor living space to outdoors, overlooks nearby park for $799,900