Ask a VENDOR THIS COLUMN IS A PLACE FOR DENVER VOICE VENDORS TO RESPOND TO QUESTIONS FROM OUR READERS AND STAFF. Q Over the past year, what was something you couldn’t do that you’re looking forward to returning to? COURTESY OF REUTERS / INSP.NGO CLOWNING IS SERIOUS BUSINESS FOR DOCTOR TO HOMELESS COMMUNITY IN A RAELENE JOHNSON Being able to visit in people’s homes. Being able to go sight-seeing at places that have been closed for the last eyar. Also, being able to travel more! JERRY MULLENIX Getting back to work for the VOICE and getting my camper running so I can get on the road. LARMARQUES SMITH Going to an amusement park. I used to go to amusement parks every summer. I plan to get a season pass to Elitch Gardens. BRAZIL’S “CRACKLAND” BY JAKE SPRING Costumed as a jester with a bright red nose, psychiatrist Flavio Falcone has become an icon in Brazil’s “cracolandia,” treating a growing number of Brazilians driven onto the street by the COVID-19 pandemic which has devastated the country’s economy. Working with actress Andrea Macera, Falcone uses costumes and music to break the ice with those who are homeless as a first step to getting them the mental health and addiction treatment they need. IN HIS WHITE DOCTOR’S JACKET, psychiatrist Flavio Falcone could not get homeless drug addicts to talk. But costumed as a jester with a bright red nose, he has become an icon in Brazil’s “cracolandia,” or crackland: a dangerous wasteland of about eight blocks in the historic center of Sao Paulo where addicts twitch and pushers roam. Falcone’s patients know him as The Clown, not as a doctor. He treats a growing number of Brazilians driven onto the street by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has devastated the country’s economy. Early government support, a lifeline for many, has also wavered. “This character represents the exposure of mistakes, of the fragility of what exists in the shadow. The exposure of failures,” said Falcone. “What makes you laugh is the clown that trips, not the What do YOU want to ask? If you have a question or issue you would like vendors to discuss, please email community@denvervoice.org. 4 DENVER VOICE May 2021 clown who walks straight. The people who are on the street are really the failures of capitalist society.” Falcone is not your average carnival clown. Infused with hip-hop street culture, he sports a gold chain and flat brimmed cap and struts the streets followed by a speaker blaring rap. Working with actress Andrea Macera, Falcone uses the costumes and music to break the ice with the homeless as COURTESY OF REUTERS / INSP.NGO a first step to getting them the mental health and addiction treatment they need. During “radio” time organized by Falcone and Macera, homeless people in crackland can request songs and even rap along. Around the public square, addicts huddle together and openly light up slim crack pipes. His work in the neighborhood since 2012 has earned him a loyal following. One man who received addiction help from Falcone tattooed the word “clown” in Portuguese on his wrist. With government support receding from crackland, Falcone has tried to fill the void. In April 2020, one month after the pandemic first hit Brazil, the government closed down a homeless shelter as part of an effort to clean up the city center to make way for construction. The nearest shelter is about 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) away. Falcone and Macera helped find housing for about 20 of those displaced and distributed 200 tents provided by a Brazilian non-government organization. In late 2020, they launched a new program called “Roof, Work and Treatment” to offer support to the homeless, with funding from the local labour prosecutor’s office. NATIONAL STORY
5 Publizr Home