A friend of mine was visiting from Rome, Italy last week and he gave me a few updates.

First of all, he said that life in Rome has changed a lot since Covid started. He said that wild boars have begun roaming the streets and that seagulls are also moving into the city. Apparently, the seagulls are fighting the rats and winning. As someone who lived in Rome for 8 years, the above sounded pretty strange and I wanted to see it for myself. Wild boars running around the center of Rome? Seagulls moving in like a gang and ousting the Rats (who are apparently starving because there are no tourists!).

He recommended that I check out an Instagram account called “Welcome to favelas”

The account is actually pretty hard to find. It is an account that posts funny clips of crazy things happening in Italy right now. Think of it like a “world star hip hop” but instead of fights, it is anything quarantine-related. If something crazy happens, Italians yell “Welcome to Favelas!”

As you may or may not know, “A favela is a type of low-income informal settlement in Brazil that has experienced historical governmental neglect. The first favela, now known as Providência in the center of Rio de Janeiro, appeared in the late 19th century, built by soldiers who had nowhere to live following the Canudos War. Source: Wikipedia

Hence, the term “welcome to favelas” is like saying, here we are in a “low-income informal settlement.” The term is probably not considered very PC.

So, how do I find this account? here is the link to the Welcome to Favelas Account

They also have a backup account here: https://www.instagram.com/welcometofavelas_4k/

Enjoy!