'Now, I steal attention' The Brazilian newspaper being sold and made by city's 'invisible people'

The Brazilian newspaper being sold and made by city's 'invisible people'

- Constance Malleret

Every Tuesday afternoon, Michel Vasconcelos goes to an open-air market in Porto Alegre, a city in southern Brazil, his backpack full of newspapers to sell. Within their pages are words and pictures he has contributed to. "I used to steal and deal drugs," says Vasconcelos, 43, who ended up living on the streets because of a family fall-out. It was there that he became involved, nearly 10 years ago, with the project Boca de Rua (Word on the Street) and became, in his own words, a paperboy and journalist. "Now, I steal people's attention and deal in information," he says, flashing a smile.

Boca de Rua is one of more than 90 such newspapers across 35 countries, according to the International Network of Street Papers, an anti-poverty organisation that supports these types of publications, which are typically sold by people experiencing poverty or homelessness.

At the Porto Alegre-based quarterly sellers are responsible for content - from choosing topics to reporting the stories and taking photographs. Participants meet every week to collectively write the articles. They are then given about 50 newspapers, which they sell for 3 reais (40p) outside shops and at traffic lights. Each vendor keeps the money they make.