00:00At the bottom of the hill of the Rossinia favela,
00:03Malu is starting a career as a French-speaking tour guide.
00:11Hello everyone, my name is Malu.
00:13I'm a tour guide in Rossinia and we're going to start the tour.
00:19For a fully immersive, 100% local experience,
00:23Malu leads them all the way to the top of her favela,
00:26with a breathtaking view of Rio.
00:30If this former hairdresser, born here in Rossinia, made the switch to French…
00:37Here there are schools, a hospital, a health clinic and a residence association.
00:46It's because French tourists, like this group from Marseille,
00:50are increasingly keen to discover life in Latin America's largest favela.
00:55Is the water drinkable here?
00:57Yes, in Rossinia everyone has drinking water.
01:03Still a bit new to the trade, her French teacher Joanna accompanies her.
01:08700?
01:09Yeah, 700 favelas.
01:11Officially there are 700 favelas, but it's only possible to visit four.
01:17It's different to have someone who lives here rather than someone who has done their research and studied the place,
01:22whereas here, this is truly what she's always lived.
01:26It's touching to see these people so far from us, from our culture, from France,
01:29who want to learn French, that they're interested in it.
01:33It's different, because here it's reality. It's my reality. I've lived here my whole life. This is my life.
01:43A new generation of French-speaking guides,
01:46whom Joanna Ryu trains here for free at this NGO in the heart of the Rossinia favela.
01:52Originally from Brittany in France, she started the course in 2023.
01:57Formerly spoken by the Brazilian elite, French is becoming more accessible here.
02:01These young guides can earn up to 600 euros in a busy month, more than double the minimum wage in
02:06Brazil.
02:09I want to work in tourism because it's an opportunity for me and my family.
02:14When I discovered Joanna's course, wow, it's my biggest dream, to speak French.
02:22Today they can't afford French classes, they're expensive.
02:25It moves me to feel like I can change their lives like this through a course and then through their
02:30own efforts.
02:30Sure, there's the course, but then there's their effort.
02:34It's beautiful to inspire people from the favela to change their lives.
02:41Changing lives like Malou's, our guide from Rossinia.
02:45Though she's still a beginner in French, she's also finishing up her business administration degree
02:50at the same time, with hopes of one day starting her own tourism business.
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