Selaron Stairs

Chilean artist Jorge Selaron operated a gallery on the stairs connecting the Santa Teresa artist district with the Lapa entertainment district from 1977 to 2013. In 1990, he began to beautify the dilapidated stairs with self-painted and waste tiles, ridiculed by the locals. It grew into a unique artwork highly recognized by the city. Tiles from all over the world, many from Germany, were sent to the artist for his work. His violent death in 2013 remained unsolved and is associated with the mafia. He was found lifeless with severe burns on his famous stairs. His beautiful monument now attracts crowds of tourists, and we lived just 2 minutes away in the trendy Lapa district. Our favorite restaurant, Ximenes, was located at the foot of the stairs. The food here was so delicious and abundant that we went there 3 times. There was still enough left for a few poor souls living in the streets. The leftovers of our meals were conveniently packed by the friendly waiters and supplemented by us with things we had collected, turned into small gifts. It is safe not to stay in dark alleys at night in Rio. However, there was no need to fear the unfortunate beings we encountered here every evening. They had just enough energy to accept the bags and shout 'god bless you' after us.