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A man prepares a float at the Mangueria samba school in Rio ...

(AP) — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 23:10:40 GMT

(AP) - A man prepares a float at the Mangueria samba school in Rio de Janeiro, Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2008. Carnival is a big business in Rio de Janeiro's slums, where seamstresses work around the clock to produce thousands of costumes and artisans build the enormous over the top floats. (AP Photo/Ricardo Moraes)

Aurea Carvalho, 33, prepares costumes at her mother-in-law's ...

(AP) — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 23:09:38 GMT

(AP) - Aurea Carvalho, 33, prepares costumes at her mother-in-law's house at the Mangueira slum in Rio de Janeiro, Wednesday, Dec.2, 2007. 'For me it's total 18 to 20 hours days. It's so intense I need to take the rest of the year off,' said Aurea Carvalho, who has worked in her mother-in-law's house constructing carnival costumes known as 'fantasias' for the past 12 years. Carvalho employs 11 seamstresses and is adding a night shift next week in order to have 100 costumes ready in time for the parade. (AP Photo/Ricardo Moraes)

British painter Bob Nadkarni is seen at his home at the Tavares ...

(AP) — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 23:40:17 GMT

(AP) - British painter Bob Nadkarni is seen at his home at the Tavares Bastos favela, in Rio de Janeiro, June 21, 2007. Nadkarni moved to the Tavares Bastos favela in the 70's. One glimpse of the spectacular Sugarloaf mountain view was enough — he decided to build his own home there. Now he rents rooms to visitors and features a monthly Jazz night that attracts scores of outsiders. (AP Photo/Ricardo Moraes)

Italian Barbara Caroli talks with boys in front of her office ...

(AP) — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 23:39:58 GMT

(AP) - Italian Barbara Caroli talks with boys in front of her office at the Rocinha slum, in Rio de Janeiro, April 13, 2007. Caroli caught her 'favela fever' after glimpsing the thousand points of light gleaming each night from the jumbles of hillside houses. 'I felt it was an invitation,' said Caroli, who quit her job at a real estate agency in Milan, moved to Rocinha, married and opened a pre-school. 'This is life. There are shootouts, and sometimes you can't sleep because of the gunfire, but you almost never see a body. People don't celebrate death — they commemorate life.' (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Italian Barbara Caroli speaks at her home in the Rocinha slum, ...

(AP) — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 23:39:34 GMT

(AP) - Italian Barbara Caroli speaks at her home in the Rocinha slum, Rio de Janeiro, April 13, 2007. Caroli caught her 'favela fever' after glimpsing the thousand points of light gleaming each night from the jumbles of hillside houses.'I felt it was an invitation,' said Caroli, who quit her job at a real estate agency in Milan, moved to Rocinha, married and opened a pre-school. 'This is life. There are shootouts, and sometimes you can't sleep because of the gunfire, but you almost never see a body. People don't celebrate death — they commemorate life.' (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

British painter Bob Nadkarni smiles at his home at the Tavares ...

(AP) — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 23:39:03 GMT

(AP) - British painter Bob Nadkarni smiles at his home at the Tavares Bastos favela, in Rio de Janeiro, June 21, 2007. Nadkarni moved to the Tavares Bastos favela in the 70s. One glimpse of the spectacular Sugarloaf mountain view was enough — he decided to build his own home there. Now he rents rooms to visitors and features a monthly Jazz night that attracts scores of outsiders, Brazilian and foreign. (AP Photo/Ricardo Moraes)

Italian Barbara Caroli, right, receives a telephone call at ...

(AP) — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 23:38:42 GMT

(AP) - Italian Barbara Caroli, right, receives a telephone call at her office in the Rocinha slum, Rio de Janeiro, April 13,2007. Caroli caught her 'favela fever' after glimpsing the thousand points of light gleaming each night from the jumbles of hillside houses.'I felt it was an invitation,' said Caroli, who quit her job at a real estate agency in Milan, moved to Rocinha, married and opened a pre-school. 'This is life. There are shootouts, and sometimes you can't sleep because of the gunfire, but you almost never see a body. People don't celebrate death — they commemorate life.' (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)