Several sellers of maté, or iced tea, at Arpoador Beach in Rio de Janeiro, on June 4. Many residents fear that Rio’s unique beach culture, where vendors from poor hillside neighbourhoods have long provided almost anything a beachgoer might desire, could be lost to the mayor of Rio’s imposition of a variety of rules and regulations on sellers, music, and other aesthetics on the city’s coastline. Photo / Dado Galdieri, the New York Times
Several sellers of maté, or iced tea, at Arpoador Beach in Rio de Janeiro, on June 4. Many residents fear that Rio’s unique beach culture, where vendors from poor hillside neighbourhoods have long provided almost anything a beachgoer might desire, could be lost to the mayor of Rio’s imposition of a variety of rules and regulations on sellers, music, and other aesthetics on the city’s coastline. Photo / Dado Galdieri, the New York Times
On the beaches of Rio, just about anything you need will come to you.
The sand has long been an open-air, democratic marketplace.
Vendors come down from poor hillside neighbourhoods to sell chairs and umbrellas, grilled meat and beer, soccer balls, and swimsuits.
The vendors — with their colourful outfitsand creative calls for attention — have become part of the Rio beach landscape.
Their flow can be incessant, but they are part of the show.
Up and down Rio’s coast, 600 “barracas”, tarp-and-pole beach stalls, rent chairs and umbrellas and sell coconuts and caipirinhas, Brazil’s national cocktail.
The structures are erected every morning and disassembled every night.
The barracas have long added colourful flair to the coastline, with creative advertisements and distinctive flags.
Gleicy carries her umbrella rack of bikinis for sale at Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro. Photo / Dado Galdieri, the New York Times
But under the new rules, which went into effect this month, the barracas must remove all flags and use standardised black-and-white signs, with the same font and size.
The result is a lifeless, monotone aesthetic — the opposite of the vibrant, diverse scene that Rio’s beaches are known for.
Rio’s Mayor, Eduardo Paes, said the move was meant to prevent “visual pollution” that was “turning Rio de Janeiro’s greatest asset and greatest landscape into a real mess”.
City leaders say the black-and-white design might be temporary if officials can agree on an alternative.
The decree also requires beach vendors to obtain licences, something few have, and prohibits any items used to prepare food, including gas canisters, charcoal, wooden skewers and plastic foam coolers.
Carlos, a fried banana vendor, walks along Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, in May. Photo / Dado Galdieri, the New York Times
That means an effective ban on some of Rio’s most famous beach foods: boiled corn, skewered shrimp, and barbecued meat and cheese.
Some vendors have already been fined, and others have been scared off by the new rules. But enforcement has been mixed.
Vendors said the work represented one of their only options to make a living. Many said they could make US$10 to US$100 a day, depending on the weather.
Eduardo Cavaliere, Rio’s vice-mayor, said in an interview that the rules were necessary to impose some order to a sometimes chaotic scene. But he said the city would seek ways to keep many vendors on the beach.
Marcio do Matte, who sells maté and cassava starch biscuits, at Arpoador Beach in Rio de Janeiro, in June. Photo / Dado Galdieri, the New York Times
The city has tried similar rules in years past.
Paes once threatened to bar sellers of maté, or iced tea, who carry metal tanks of the drink around their necks.
The mayor backed off after a backlash. Instead, he made maté sellers some of the few vendors with licences on the beach.
“No matter what we do, there will continue to be organised chaos,” said Cavaliere.
“That’s the identity and the beauty of Rio de Janeiro’s beaches. But we need to have a minimum of rules.”
He lives right off Ipanema Beach, he said, and his favourite beach snack is now banned: boiled corn.
