Rio de Janeiro in the racialized (inter)national circuit of tourism: the “Marvelous City” built on regimes of (im)mobility

Abstract

This article investigates the intersection between the fabrication of Rio de Janeiro as a touristic destination and the territorialized management of urban violence. Starting from an analysis of the photo album “Life Style” produced by Riotur, the city’s official tourism agency, I argue that the image of Rio circulating in the (inter)national market is constructed through racialized regimes of (im)mobility. These regimes position the beach and the white bodies as legitimate representations of everyday life in Rio, while restricting the visibility of black people and the spaces they predominantly inhabit. I contend that this process goes beyond the aesthetic choices of photographic framing, reflecting a broader political representation that structures the urban space in racialized ways. To develop this argument, I examine the effects of the public security policy known as “Operação Verão” (Summer Operation, in free translation), which targets Rio’s beaches and significantly impacts the mobility of black and suburban youth. Drawing on a relational and non-essentialist understanding of “people” and “spaces”, I suggest that racialized regimes of (im)mobility actively shape the making of a marketable Rio de Janeiro for the (inter)national circuit of tourism.