A conversation with Vinicius.

"They woke us up there in the square and gave us three options.
They said we could have an arm cut off, go to jail, or be beaten.
I had to work later, so I said they should beat me."

He's barefoot, limping, and bruised. He's about 18. Skinny. He lives on the streets, sleeps on the streets. His girlfriend just had a baby. A beautiful baby boy.
"Vinicius, do you guys know which ones are 'good cops' and which are 'bad'?"
"All police are the same to me. One who's good one day can turn bad the next day. And one who's bad might be fine another time. Some of them come in talking. But some of them come in beating... They're all the same to me."

-- ( do a google image search of "dormindo rua" to see what millions and millions of Brazilians see every day. )-

observe-and-absorb.

bought a drawing (not of this particular painting) on Sunday afternoon, by this man, an artist on the streets of Santa Teresa, here in Rio. He had such in-depth, interesting explanations of all his pictures and the symbolism in them... thought you might like to see.
This one is called 'Invasion.'

More gunshots yesterday, in the favela across the street this time, not ours. Pray for mothers and children.