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WestminsterResearch http://www.westminster.ac.uk/westminsterresearch The waves of the hills: community and radio in the everyday life of a Brazilian favela. Andrea Meyer Landulpho Medrado School of Media, Arts and Design This is an electronic version of a PhD thesis awarded by the University of Westminster. © The Author, 2010. This is an exact reproduction of the paper copy held by the University of Westminster library. The WestminsterResearch online digital archive at the University of Westminster aims to make the research output of the University available to a wider audience. Copyright and Moral Rights remain with the authors and/or copyright owners. Users are permitted to download and/or print one copy for non-commercial private study or research. Further distribution and any use of material from within this archive for profit-making enterprises or for commercial gain is strictly forbidden. Whilst further distribution of specific materials from within this archive is forbidden, you may freely distribute the URL of WestminsterResearch: (http://westminsterresearch.wmin.ac.uk/). In case of abuse or copyright appearing without permission e-mail [email protected] THE WAVES OF THE HILLS: COMMUNITY AND RADIO IN THE EVERYDAY LIFE OF A BRAZILIAN FAVELA A.Medrado PhD 2010 THE WAVES OF THE HILLS: COMMUNITY AND RADIO IN THE EVERYDAY LIFE OF A BRAZILIAN FAVELA ANDREA MEDRADO A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Westminster for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy October 2010 ABSTRACT This thesis is a study of the everyday listening to community radio by residents of Pau da Lima, a working class neighbourhood with several favela areas, located in Salvador, Brazil. Drawing from ethnographic data, this project aims at exploring residents’ listening experiences of community radio, focusing on how they use community radio programmes, assessing to what extent these programmes represent a public (social, political or familial) resource for its audiences. In order to privilege depth over breadth, as it is the case with ethnographic work, the fieldwork was carried out in one community: Pau da Lima. The focus has been laid on the community rather than on the radio stations , and on the audiences rather than the producers. This was informed by the recognition that little attention has been devoted to the listening dimension of community radio. Thus, my research offers an important contribution to knowledge by bridging this research gap. In addition, this research brings in a methodological innovation to the study of community radio. Being able to capture the richness of everyday life, it aims at offering a nuanced analysis of the place of community radio in the favela. The thesis explores the private and public dimensions of community radio listening, observing its use as a resource in the homes but also on the streets. In the context of the favelas, community radio programming is widely aired through street loudspeakers, making an interesting case study of radio’s use in public spaces and challenging the well-accepted perspective of the medium as being essentially individual and domestic. The cacophony of the densely populated favela implies that one needs to attend closely to the conditions of reception and, specifically, how listening to radio in this context, needs to be understood as part of a continuous and complex spectrum of auditory culture. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This project would not have been possible without the help, dedication and support of various people in these past four years. Firstly, I would like to thank my supervisory team. David Hendy has been an amazing supervisor with his careful and precise feedback, support in various aspects of my academic life, and with his ability to always keep me motivated. I have learned so much from David, not only about how to be a good researcher but also how to deliver inspiring lectures. Roza Tsagarousianou has also been extremely supportive and has had a key role in an important decision in my life: coming to London and joining CAMRI. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Jeanette Steemers. It has been a very enriching experience to work with her and she has always helped me immensely. I am very grateful to many people in Pau da Lima. Krisztina Emodi has helped open the doors of the community to me and has done a wonderful job in helping the people of Baixa Fria, one of the most impoverished areas of Pau da Lima, re-build their escolinha . I would also like to thank my writing students and all the families who invested their time and energy to participate in my research. I will never forget the lessons they have taught me about the importance of always exchanging. Special thanks go to Raimunda Cruz, who I really admire, Sara Tartof, for sharing memorable moments in the field, Roney Maciel, Nivaldina Ferreira dos Santos, Gustavo, Dalva and Uelinton Nascimento and too all my creative writing students. My mother and father have deeply inspired me in many ways: Maria Helena has taught me to teach and to care and has awakened in me the curiosity to find out more about the world. She has always supported me in every imaginable way to pursue my dreams. Paulo has taught me to debate, to argue, to reason, and to enjoy very long conversations. He has been key in making me feel confident about myself and about my potential in so many ways that I can never thank him enough. The other members of my family also deserve a big thank you: Marcelo, Paula, Vó Fátima, Alê, Ana Cristina, Dinda Ione, and Edite. It’s always wonderful to be close to you. My husband Ike has been extremely patient during all this process. He has had to endure hours of boring academic talk about community radio and the favela to such an extent that, at some points, he seemed to know more about the project than even I did. Thank you, Ike, for being so supportive and loving and for making my life so much happier and the London days so much sunnier. I would also like to thank my friends in London for making me feel at home, wonderful friends like Carolina Costa, Lewis Caley, Letícia Camargo, Juliana Hughes and Ana Lazkano. My colleagues and friends at the University of Westminster have also given me a lot of support whilst going through the ups and downs of a Ph.D. and, particularly, Kristin Skoog, with whom I have exchanged some great ideas. Finally, I would like to thank my friends in Brazil for all the fun stories that we can tell together: Fernandinha Bastos, Carolina Guedes, Clarissa Siqueira, Karina Terso, Renata Lebram, Daiana Vasquez, Rosana Carvalho, Tissiana Oliveira and Ângela Carvalho. I want to dedicate this thesis to two Josés: José Henrique and José Joaquim. With José Joaquim, I have learned to live my life in a musical way. DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP I, Andrea Meyer Landulpho Medrado, hereby declare that all the material contained in this thesis is my own work. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 1 – THE FAVELA 5 1. Introduction........................................................................................................ 5 2. The Favela in Relation to the City 2.1. The Favela as a Problem Versus the Favela as a Solution................ 8 2.2. The Marginality Theory...................................................................... 9 2.3. The Favela Versus the City................................................................. 10 2.4. The Favela Integrated to the City....................................................... 11 3. Inside the Favela 3.1. The Favela as an Organised and Heterogeneous Environment........ 12 3.2. Race in the Favela............................................................................... 13 3.3. Crime in the Favela............................................................................. 15 4. Media Representations of the Favela................................................................. 16 5. The Favelas Outside of the Rio de Janeiro Context 5.1. The Favelas in Salvador...................................................................... 20 5.2. Salvador: A Dissembling City............................................................. 22 5.3. Pau da Lima......................................................................................... 23 5.4. Social, Economic and Demographic Aspects of Pau da Lima.......... 24 6. Conclusion......................................................................................................... 25 CHAPTER 2 - THE MEDIA ECOLOGY IN BRAZIL 30 1. Introduction........................................................................................................ 30 2. Important Historical Developments in the Brazilian Mediascape 2.1. The Early Years of Broadcasting........................................................ 31 2.2. The ‘Golden Years’ of Radio and the Rise of Television................... 33 2.3. The Military and the Globo Network.................................................. 33 2.4. The Emergence of FM Radio.............................................................. 35 2.5. The Evangelical Media: Religion, Money and Politics...................... 37 3. The Brazilian Mediascape Today 3.1. General Features.................................................................................. 41 3.2. Politics and Broadcasting Licenses..................................................... 44 3.3. The Radio Industry............................................................................. 45 3.4. The Community Radio Sector...........................................................