Funkeiros and criminal organizations in Rio de Janeiro’s Bailes de Corredor

Abstract

This article examines cultural interchange between criminal organizations and Rio de Janeiro’s bailes de corredor (corridor events). Bailes de corredor feature fighting between two opposing groups of men, separated by a space called the corridor, while DJs play Rio funk—a local electronic music. Each side is composed of galeras (crews), groups of hundreds of funkeiros (funk adepts) who represent their neighborhoods and, in perpetuity, either Lado A (A-side) or Lado B (B-side). Although a minority of galera members have crossed over into criminal organizations, the above all tacit interactions between galeras and criminal groups show that galeras may (1) find ways to differentiate their identities from criminal organizations; (2) instrumentalize cultural expression to hinder criminal groups from warping group distinctiveness; and (3) express their own sense of humanity through a form of violence which stands in contrast to that of criminal groups, even though corridor violence may also be, at times, brutal.