Jacarezinho is a Brazilian neighborhood and also a

favela Favela () is an umbrella name for several types of working-class neighborhoods in Brazil. The term was first used in the Providência neighborhood in the center of Rio de Janeiro in the late 19th century, which was built by soldiers who had ...

with more than 60,300 residents living in an area of 40 ha. The place is located in the North Zone of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

city, and it borders the neighborhoods of Jacaré,

Méier Méier is a middle class and upper middle class neighborhood in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The neighborhood is the historic center of the "''Área dos Engenhos''", or "Mill Area", which today is known as ''Grande Méier'' (Great M ...

, Engenho Novo and Triagem. It is the third largest favela in Rio de Janeiro, only behind

Rocinha Rocinha (, ''little farm'') is the largest favela in Brazil, located in Rio de Janeiro's South Zone between the districts of São Conrado and Gávea. Rocinha is built on a steep hillside overlooking Rio de Janeiro, and is located about o ...

and

Complexo do Alemão Complexo do Alemão (, ''German's Complex'') is a group of favelas (low-income historically informal neighborhoods) in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. History An article published by ''O Globo'' in 2007 revealed the origin of Complexo ...

. The favela expanded along with the city's industrialization, and it became the biggest favela in Rio de Janeiro by the mid-20th century, with a population of 23,000 in 1960. The crucial element in its growth was the industrial boom in the nearby Méier district after World War II, according to historian by Julio César Pino, author of a book about the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. Jacarezinho suffers common favela problems, including violence, poverty and drug dealing. In 2021, at least 25 people were killed in a

shootout A shootout, also called a firefight or gunfight, is a fight between armed combatants using firearms. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used to describe those that do not involve military forces or only invo ...

with police. Jacarezinho means ''Little Jacaré'', and it is named after Jacaré River. Jacaré is also the

Portuguese language Portuguese ( or, in full, ) is a western Romance language of the Indo-European language family, originating in the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. It is an official language of Portugal, Brazil, Cape Verde, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau and ...

name of the

yacare caiman The yacare caiman (''Caiman yacare''), also known commonly as the jacare caiman, Spanish yacaré, Paraguayan caiman, piranha caiman, red caiman, southern spectacled caiman, ''jacaré'' in Portuguese, and îakaré in Old Tupi, is a species of cai ...

, but the river name actually means tortuous, sinuous, and it is not named after the animal. The favela's

samba school A samba school ( pt, Escola de samba) is a dancing, marching, and drumming (Samba Enredo) club. They practice and often perform in a huge square- compounds ("quadras de samba") and are devoted to practicing and exhibiting samba, an Afro-Brazilian ...

is called Grêmio Recreativo Escola de Samba Unidos do Jacarezinho, and it was founded on June 16, 1966. Its colors are pink and white.Tradição do Samba
/ref> The famous football player Romário was born in Jacarezinho.

References

External links

Revista Época

An excerpt from Julio César Pino’s book about Jacarezinho, “Family and Favela: The Reproduction of Poverty in Rio de Janeiro”
{{Rio de Janeiro city neighbourhoods Favelas Neighbourhoods in Rio de Janeiro (city)