“For us by us”

visibility and politicization of marginalized youth in Salvador

Abstract

This paper analyzes visibility as a political artefact, since it has been used by young people from the slums in their attempts to guarantee their “right to the city”. Almost always invisible, these young people commonly appear in the public sphere as being associated with violence, even when engaged in activities related to leisure, entertainment and the cultural industry. Through the accompaniment of youth groups in the city of Salvador that has been dedicated to graffiti, rap, among other marginal artistic practices, we argue that there is a process of building visibility of the demands of these segments, during and after the so-called “June 2013 days”, as long as they began to articulate with the more traditional social movements (those centered on racial and social flags). With these articulations, these young people from the slums have created an alternative to “perverse visibility”, which is the projection given to them by the media and police authorities, when they frame them in the terms of disorder and social anomie. Finally, we consider that the politicization of these artistic movements has made it possible for these young people to create another type of youth from the periphery, not linked to drug trafficking, nor to governmental initiatives (young people from social projects).