RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — It is one of Rio's most renowned favelas, the Cidade de Deus made infamous in a film that helped cement a stereotype of the other side of the "Marvelous City" that is host of the Olympic Games — one where ghettos are ruled by drug lords and baby-faced criminals shoot to kill.
The City of God of today, located mere miles from Olympic Park, is not so easily defined. It is a place of contrasts that defies oversimplification, where poverty and violence persist alongside modest programs that aim to get some kids off the streets and offer a path that keeps guns out of their hands.