Major favelas

Santa Marta

A small hillside community in the Botafogo neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, internationally familiar as the location of Michael Jackson's 1996 music video They Don't Care About Us and as the site of the first UPP installed in November 2008.

Geography and setting

Santa Marta climbs the steep eastern flank of the Morro Dona Marta, immediately above Botafogo and the Largo do Boticário. The community is small in footprint but very dense, with vertical construction following the contours of the hill. A funicular installed by the city in the 2000s connects the lower entrance to the upper part of the favela.

History

Documented settlement of the Morro Dona Marta begins in the 1930s; the community grew through the postwar decades. The Catholic Church, particularly through pastoral work associated with liberation theology, was active in Santa Marta from the 1970s. The community resisted removal pressure during the dictatorship and consolidated through the 1990s and 2000s. In 1996 Michael Jackson filmed part of the music video They Don't Care About Us, directed by Spike Lee, in the community; the episode is locally remembered and a small statue of the singer was installed on a viewing platform.

Population and demographics

The IBGE Census 2010 recorded around 4,000 residents; local estimates are higher. The population is multigenerational with strong family networks across the community.

Economy and infrastructure

Service penetration is high: piped water, metered electricity, mobile internet, and reasonable sewerage by Rio favela standards. The community's commercial activity is small but established, with bakeries, bars, and small services along its main staircase corridors. The Catholic parish maintains social-service programs.

Public security

Santa Marta became the test case for the UPP model when the first such unit was installed in November 2008. Lethal-violence indicators dropped sharply in the immediate post-installation period and remained relatively low for several years compared with other Rio favelas. The Santa Marta UPP was one of the longest-functioning of the program, though it experienced the same erosion as the broader program from 2017 onward.

Culture and notable residents

The community has produced cultural projects including the Grupo Eco, founded in the 1980s as an environmental and youth organization; the local samba school Estação Primeira do Morro Dona Marta; and various funk and hip-hop artists associated with the South Zone scene. Residents' association leadership in Santa Marta has been historically significant in city-wide favela politics.

Further reading

See UPP — Pacifying Police Units for the program for which Santa Marta was the pilot.