Rio's City of God a place where angels fear to tread

The home of Brazil’s first medallist at the Olympics feels like a different world to the glitz and gold of the Games... 

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 “Marvellous 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 programmes that aim to get some kids off the streets and offer a path that keeps guns out of their hands.