On the sound car, the announcer asks revelers to applaud the sex workers: “It’s a difficult life and they deserve respect.” The song begins and the verses are directed to the women of Vila Mimosa: “this samba is yours”.
Despite tributes and words of support, most workers do not join the carnival group. He prefers to dance and watch the party from the sidewalks and inside the bars. This is the case of Estrela, 58 years old.
“I’m going to dance here from afar, because I don’t want to draw too much attention,” he says.
“At the club, I don’t care, but I’m afraid that the group will think it’s bad for me to dance with them, so I stay dancing here, because I respect it”, he adds.
This is one of the challenges of the “Bloco Zona do Mangue and Vila Mimosa”, which paraded on the rainy night of last Friday (6) through the streets of Praça da Bandeira, in Rio de Janeiro. Residents of the region created the party in 2018 to celebrate the memory and cultural power of the place, historically stigmatized for being home to prostitution spots.
Integration with sex workers, however, does not always occur in the desired way, explains Cleide Almeida, president of the block and social worker.
“Some workers run away, because they are afraid of being filmed and appearing in the media. Others, when they see us in the block, go down to the street and want to parade. But we can only be closer to them when there is financial support and social projects happening. And that hasn’t happened. We need that support”, says Cleide.
One of the leaders of the band “Enxota que eu vou”, which has been playing in the block for three years, Felipe Vasconcellos understands that socioeconomic barriers are one of the reasons that prevent greater participation and protagonism of female workers in the party.
“Our struggle all this time is to integrate these girls into the group. But it’s difficult for many reasons. They work late, they have children, they live here. They go to bed late, they have to take care of their family. And, in the midst of all this rush, they may not even be interested in taking a percussion course or another activity”, says Felipe.
Carnival and community
Laísa, 21 years old, has worked at Vila Mimosa for five years. Even without parading, he sees the block as something positive for everyone.
“This is a good place to work and the block is a joy. Many people end up having to work on time, but the parade helps to value the region and us. The reality nowadays is a lot of prejudice, but the block is very good at raising awareness about this”, says Laísa.
“I arrive here on Friday and go home on Monday. It’s the only way to make money to pay rent, pay for things at home properly. I ask that here never closes, because we are working.”
The president of the block guarantees that the main objective of the parades is to change the negative view of the place.
“Everyone who lives in Rio should come here and learn more about the life of sex workers. They are women like others: mothers, sisters, daughters and grandmothers. People need to know the stories of these women, not judge them. And the block brings that. It’s a block to break down taboos”, says Cleide.
The life of Estrela, who preferred to enjoy the block from a distance, helps to break down some of these taboos.
“I’m a nursing technician and I’m looking for something extra. I started here because of high debt. I fell for a scam and lost more than R$100,000. I managed to pay everything, but I continued because I make a lot of money here. I don’t owe anything to society, I have two raised children. I’m here to keep what I have and acquire more”, he explains.
Administrator Daniela Tarta came to the block for the first time, precisely with the idea of getting to know the region better and breaking down prejudices.
“It’s time to come here, to try to get closer to this population that is so belittled, so disqualified. We came here to support them”, says Daniela. “There are people here like any other place. It’s an open space, completely democratic. I believe in that.”
Transformations
Vila Mimosa is heir to a history that comes from the old Mangue Zone, at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century. The main place for prostitution in the city was around the Canal do Mangue and the current Avenida Presidente Vargas, the central region of the city.
Urban interventions and “ordering” policies in the center pushed bars and nightclubs elsewhere throughout the 20th century. Praça da Bandeira, with warehouses and industrial land, began to welcome workers. The consolidation of Vila Mimosa as a place for sex work occurred in the mid-1990s.
Today, the struggle of social movements, residents’ associations and sex workers is for the so-called VM to receive more attention from public authorities with the promotion of services, rights and improvements in the urban structure. In other words, actions that take into account the social and historical complexity of the region.
