Resources

Glossary

An alphabetical guide to the principal Portuguese terms used in writing on Brazilian favelas. Each entry provides a short explanation; cross-references link to the body pages where the term is treated in more detail.

Aglomerado subnormal

The Brazilian census bureau's technical category for informal settlements meeting specific criteria (at least 51 housing units, occupation of others' land, irregular layout or lack of services). Used since the 1991 census. See Census and demographics.

Baile funk

A large dance event held with massive sound systems, typically in or at the edge of a favela, playing funk carioca. The principal social institution of the genre.

Bairro

Neighborhood; a formal administrative subdivision of a Brazilian city. Several major favelas have been designated bairros, including Rocinha, Complexo do Alemão, Complexo da Maré, and Mangueira.

Beco

A narrow alley or staircase in a favela, typically passable only on foot or by motorcycle. The principal internal-circulation network in steep hillside communities.

Boca de fumo

Literally "smoke point" or "drug-sale point." A retail location operated by a drug-trafficking organization. See The drug trade in favelas.

Boteco

A small neighborhood bar serving cheap food and drinks; a workhorse social institution of urban Brazil. See Food in favelas.

Carteira assinada

Literally "signed work card." Refers to formal employment with full labor-law protections, contrasted with informal work. The phrase "sem carteira assinada" describes informal employment.

Comunidade

Community. In favela contexts, used by residents and increasingly by municipal governments as an alternative to favela. The two are not synonymous; the choice of word is itself politically meaningful. See Terminology.

Contrato de gaveta

Literally "drawer contract." A private real-estate contract that has force among the parties but is not registered in the public real-estate registry. Common in favela property transactions where formal title is absent.

Cortiço

A tenement-style multi-family dwelling, typically in older central-city districts. Distinct from a favela; cortiços are a separate Brazilian informal-housing category and are the subject of distinct municipal-policy work.

Empresário

In football contexts, a player agent; more generally, a businessperson. The role of empresários in football player development is the subject of recurring regulatory debate. See Football and favelas.

Escolinha

Literally "little school." In football contexts, a community youth-football training program; the entry point of the player-development pipeline that runs through to professional clubs.

Favela

An informal urban settlement with structural features including resident self-construction, irregular tenure of origin, and late or partial public-service provision. The senior Brazilian Portuguese word for the form. Derives from the favela shrub (Cnidoscolus quercifolius). See What is a favela.

Gato

Literally "cat." An informal connection to a utility, particularly electricity. Once near-universal in many favelas; now substantially regularized in larger communities. See Infrastructure.

Invasão

Literally "invasion." In Salvador and parts of the Northeast, the local term for an informal settlement comparable to a favela. The word is direct about the act of occupation. See Terminology.

Kombi

The Volkswagen Type 2 van, used extensively as informal transport in Brazilian metropolitan areas. By extension, any van-style irregular passenger transport.

Laje

The flat concrete roof slab of a favela house. Functions as outdoor space, drying area, and structural base for any future additional story. The phrase "subir na laje" ("going up to the slab") is part of everyday Rio Portuguese.

Literatura marginal

A self-conscious literary movement of writers from the urban periphery and from favelas, organized in the 2000s around Ferréz and others. See Favela literature.

Loteamento irregular / loteamento clandestino

An irregular or clandestine subdivision: an informal urbanization that originated in unregistered or fraudulent subdivision by a private developer rather than in resident self-organization. Distinct from a classic favela in origin, though the practical conditions may be similar. See Terminology.

Mocambo

The historical Recife term for reed-and-wattle floodplain housing. Now largely displaced by favela and comunidade in everyday use; appears in older sources.

Morro

Literally "hill." In Rio Portuguese, a synonym for favela, since most early favelas were on hillsides. "Subir o morro" ("going up the hill") means going to the favela.

Moto-táxi

Motorcycle-taxi service. The principal mechanized internal transport in larger Rio favelas, organized through local stands (pontos). See Transportation.

Mutirão

Collective labor by neighbors, often returned in kind. Common in favela house-building, in community public works, and in residents'-association projects.

Pedreiro

A bricklayer or builder. Often a neighbor or community member working on weekends; the principal labor of favela self-construction.

Pelada

An informal pickup football match. The social setting of the early development of most Brazilian footballers.

Periferia

Periphery; the outer working-class neighborhoods of major cities. Not synonymous with favela, though there is overlap. In Rio, periferia refers more to the Baixada Fluminense than to South Zone favelas.

Proibidão

A sub-genre of funk carioca produced for and by particular favela armed-group affiliations. The Brazilian state has periodically attempted to criminalize it.

Quebrada

Used principally in São Paulo, a periphery neighborhood that may or may not technically be a favela in the IBGE sense. Carries cultural pride in São Paulo rap. See Terminology.

REURB

Regularização Fundiária Urbana. The 2017 federal framework for the regularization of informal urban settlements. REURB-S targets low-income settlements. See Land tenure and regularization.

Sambódromo

The Carnival parade venue. Rio's was designed by Oscar Niemeyer and inaugurated in 1984. See Samba and favelas.

UPP

Unidade de Polícia Pacificadora, Pacifying Police Unit. The community-policing program launched in Rio in 2008 and effectively deteriorated after 2017. See UPP.

Usucapião

Adverse possession in Brazilian law. Usucapião especial urbano, introduced by the 1988 Constitution, applies to urban residential property of up to 250 square meters held in good faith for at least five years. See Legal status over time.

Várzea

Originally the flat river-meadow ground where pickup football was played in São Paulo and Rio. Now generalized to mean amateur or informal football. See Football and favelas.

Vila

In Porto Alegre and parts of the South, the regional term for an informal settlement comparable to a favela.

ZEIS

Zona Especial de Interesse Social. A planning category introduced by the 2001 City Statute, applied by municipalities to favelas and other low-income areas to allow flexible building standards and prioritize public investment. See Legal status over time.