Filming in Vidigal

One of the nice things about blogging is that once in a while some interesting spin-off opportunity comes along. A little while back I was contacted by a British television company who were looking for information about the restaurants and food scene in Rio. They were preparing to make programme in which a celebrity chef would travel through a selection of countries, learning about the local food and taking part in various cooking challenges. We had a couple of meetings, went for some drinks, I offered some suggestions and a few months later we were filming!

Filming took place in the neighbourhood of Lapa and also in Vidigal, a favela next to Leblon. This is a shot of Vidigal taken from the beach in Leblon at sunset.

Before I get too carried away, I should point out that I was a very small part of this thing and for all I know, the footage may not even make the final programme. But regardless of that, it was an interesting experience and a lot of fun.

The celebrity chef was Aaron Craze. Aaron made his name back in 2002 by winning a place in Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen restaurant – a project set-up to help disadvantaged young adults by teaching them kitchen skills. He was a nice guy.

For our first filming session I had to rush down to a bar in Lapa after work (no mean feat when you work in Barra!). The ‘bar’ was in fact a barber shop that happens to be situated right next to one of Rio’s most popular/fancy bars, Rio Scenarium. Some time ago, the enterprising barber decided to try selling a few caipirinhas to the many clientèle milling about outside his next door neighbour. I’m fairly sure that he now makes more from the caipirinhas at night than the haircuts during the day! There’s some jeitinho in the best sense of the word!

So, Mrs Eat Rio and I had radio mics installed and were then filmed introducing Aaron to Brazil’s national cocktail, the caipirinha! But you know what TV is like – they never get it in one take! After the fifth caipirinha I was starting to feel extremely relaxed – Aaron, ever the professional, managed to maintain a sober exterior!

Aaron Craze saying “Cheers!” – Tom Le Mesurier saying “Hic!”

The next day we filmed in Vidigal (sounds like vidgey-GOW). To me, Vidigal is that rather picturesque favela that sticks out into the sea near Leblon (see the first picture on the post). But people who lived in Rio during its darker days may remember Vidigal as one of Rio’s most violent favelas. Happily, nowadays it seems to be at the other end of the scale. The stunning views and perfect location (situated between Leblon and São Conrado) have made this extremely desirable real estate.

Perched on the side of Dois Irmãos at the end of Leblon, Vidigal has some of the best views in Rio.

Still suffering from the caipirinhas of the night before, we hopped off the bus near the entrance to Vidigal and made our way up the hill.

There are so many cool things that I would love to photograph in favelas, but I often feel a bit self-conscious about taking my camera out. That’s not because I’m worried about having it stolen, but because people live there. People have only ever been friendly or ignored me in favelas, but still, I suspect that some might have mixed feelings about privileged outsiders snooping around their homes and taking photos as if it’s a zoo. I don’t know, maybe I’m being paranoid or over-thinking things, but I’d rather do that than blunder in and offend people.

Having said all that, I did manage to get a few shots!

I couldn’t resist getting a quick snap of this surfer made of rubbish as we walked up the steep hill (it also gave me an excuse to have a little rest and catch my breath!).

We continued our climb and eventually came to the place where the filming was going on – Tia Léa’s:

This simple entrance leads up to tasty delights! Tia Léa (real name Léa Silva – tia means ‘aunt’) has become famous for the delicious food she creates and serves up on her rooftop (laje).

The filming involved a cooking challenge – Léa and Aaron went head-to-head, doing their respective versions of a classic Brazilian dish. I won’t tell you what the dish was or who won, but I will say it was a fun day and there was some good eating! We were joined by some kids from Nós do Morro (We of the Hill), a youth acting/dance/music group that provided actors for City of God.  They helped us judge the food and, later on, provided some entertainment too.

The taste test!

Tia Léa and some of the gang from Nós dos Morro. Happy smiles all round!

As well as good food, a visit to Léa’s also comes with great views of the mountain, the beach and Vidigal itself.

Vidigal disappears off and up into the distance.

Looking down the hill towards Leblon and Ipanema.

As the filming finished, the moon came up and it was time to head home.

This was my first time in Vidigal and I have to say it was well worth the climb! Léa put it very well in an interview with Globo:

If they painted the houses white, Vidigal would look like Greece. People don’t need to be afraid – they should come up and get to know the place.

Tia Léa’s facebook page is here: http://www.facebook.com/lea.silva.988