DIGITAL ECONOMY
The content creators making a living by sharing their lives in the favela
Valter Rege found an audience by chronicling his life as a Black gay man in a favela — always with humor and optimism. Photo: Instagram/@valterrege
When Valter Rege graduated with a degree in radio and television in 2011, he aspired to be a screenwriter and director. He began his career in post-production but quickly felt stagnant. In 2015, he took matters into his own hands and launched a YouTube channel. His goal: to showcase the “positive side of favelas.”
Now 41, Rege grew up in Vila Clara, a working-class neighborhood on the outskirts of São Paulo, with his father, a metalworker, and his mother, a maid. As an adult, he moved to Americanópolis, a neighboring favela — or, in local slang, a quebrada (a dodgy area).
Brazil is home to nearly 15,000 favelas, according to the latest census data, with over 16 million residents. These communities, often underserved in infrastructure and public services, are typically…
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