A Via Sacra da Rocinha

Rocinha is a favela of 150,000 inhabitants built on a hillside in Rio de Janeiro. Many residents feel at home there, despite hard work and scarce resources. Since 1992, the Passion of Christ has been re-enacted every Good Friday.

Director Alexandre Montoro follows the preparations, from rehearsals on the beach to the performance in the streets. There is no set: the actors move among a large audience. Residents feel a deep connection with the Passion — like Jesus and John the Baptist, they are poor and have been through hardship.

“We act in a play, but it mirrors our daily struggle,” says one musician. Another notes with a smile: “there are many Judases in Rocinha.” The actors speak proudly of their roles, of art and even of biblical interpretation with the same passion they bring to the stage. In the words of the man who plays Jesus: “an amateur theatre group from the largest favela in the world — why not? This voice needed to be heard.”