MARE, Brazil -- In Mare, Brazil, last year's World Cup still evokes happy memories. Its normally drab alleyways and ramshackle homes were painted a dazzling yellow and green. Brazil's matches were accompanied by beer and barbecues; each victory greeted with dancing and the sound of Samba long into the night.
Even the guns fell silent with the three gangs that control this favela of 130,000 residents close to Rio de Janeiro's city airport calling a truce for the duration of the tournament.
"It was a great party and Mare became a really happy and fun place," Eder Micaelly, a local football coach, told ESPN FC.