Resistance and empowerment in urban literature of Rio de Janeiro

abstract In the state of Rio de Janeiro the occupation of public areas by art and culture collectives has brought innovative contributions to artistic languages. Exchanges, hybridisms, and experimentations of various cultural manifestations find a welcoming place in streets and public squares. This article will be studying the Roda Cultural in regards to its character as an occupation. This event not only takes art to public areas, but it also uncovers the production of a singular literary expression - the streets' rimes. Nevertheless, since the public areas are regulated and disputed by various segments, the occupation is usually marked by tensions. For a long time, these used to paralyze street art actors who did not believe a negotiation with the public powers was possible. However, with the growth in repression and the increasing need of other types of public leisure and culture, agents involved in the scene have incremented their efforts to negotiate with the sectors in charge of urban development, which, in turn, have attempted generate initiatives aimed at incrementing visibility in order to validate its cultural policies through the "streets." Street art is discovering, albeit it with some difficulty, that the interaction and sorting out of the right tools to cope with public powers, is also a way of resistance.