Mae Luiza English Cover
1 / 13

Ion de Andrade, Tomislav Dushanov, Nicole Miescher, Lars Müller (eds.)

Mãe Luíza: Building Optimism

With the story "Creating a New Sun" by Paulo Lins

Over the past 30 years, the district of Mãe Luíza in Brazil's northeastern city of Natal developed from a desolate favela into a functioning community. From the first humanitarian aid to construction of a gymnasium, this persistent process is outlined in short articles and essays in the second part of this richly illustrated volume. The documentation impressively demonstrates how transformation was achieved step by step with the help of many, laying the groundwork for ongoing progress. Less crime, better education, and a fairer society – much has been accomplished and even more is possible for the future.

A story by bestselling author Paulo Lins (“City of God”) tells the stirring tale of the establishment of the Brazilian favela Mãe Luíza. Fleeing drought and deadly heat, the people there fought for a piece of land to call their own, hoping for a better life. Thanks to their optimism and solidarity, their vision gradually took shape.

Over the past 30 years, the district of Mãe Luíza in Brazil's northeastern city of Natal developed from a desolate favela into a functioning community. From the first humanitarian aid to construction of a gymnasium, this persistent process is outlined in short articles and essays in the second part of this richly illustrated volume. The documentation impressively demonstrates how transformation was achieved step by step with the help of many, laying the groundwork for ongoing progress. Less crime, better education, and a fairer society – much has been accomplished and even more is possible for the future.

A story by bestselling author Paulo Lins (“City of God”) tells the stirring tale of the establishment of the Brazilian favela Mãe Luíza. Fleeing drought and deadly heat, the people there fought for a piece of land to call their own, hoping for a better life. Thanks to their optimism and solidarity, their vision gradually took shape.

English edition – also available in German

Edited by Ion de Andrade, Tomislav Dushanov, Nicole Miescher, Lars Müller

With contributions by Ion de Andrade, Loyse Raboud de Andrade, Dulce Bentes, Mô Bleeker, Tomislav Dushanov, Herzog & de Meuron, Erminia Maricato, Nicole Miescher, Verner Monteiro, Raymund Ryan, Andrea Scartazzini, Robério Camilo da Silva, Nicholas Fox Weber

Design: Integral Lars Müller

16,5 × 24 cm, 6 ½ × 9 ½ in

276 pages, 138 illustrations

paperback

2021, 978-3-03778-682-6, English
Social Issues Latin America Architecture
CHF 35.00

Nicole Miescher

Nicole Miescher was raised in Switzerland and studied cinematography at the Institut de Hautes Études Cinématographiques (IDHEC) in Paris, as well as photography at CCA in Oakland, California. She managed a bolt and nut factory in France and was managing director of Ameropa AG. She is co-founder of the Ameropa Foundation and served as its president until 2019.

Paulo Lins

Paulo Lins was born in Rio de Janeiro on June 11, 1958. He is a poet, novelist and screenwriter for film and television, and a lecturer in Portuguese Language and Brazilian Literature at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. His widely acclaimed novel Cidade de Deus (translated into English as City of God) was published in 1997. The 2002 film adaptation by Fernando Meirelles was nominated for four Academy Awards. Paulo Lins spent his childhood and youth in the Cidade de Deus community, on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, where his prizewinning novel is set. His novel Desde que o samba é samba (Since Samba is Samba, 2012) explores the history of popular music in early 20th century Rio de Janeiro. His writing has been translated into many languages.

Tomislav Dushanov

Tomislav Dushanov is an architect. He studied at Harvard Graduate School of Design and is currently an associate at Herzog & de Meuron. With more than 18 years of experience, he has led and completed architectural projects in Spain, France, Brazil, Russia, the UK, and Switzerland. Dushanov was project director for the Arena do Morro. Born in Bulgaria in 1970, he currently lives in Basel, Switzerland.

Ion de Andrade

Ion de Andrade is a pediatrician, epidemiologist and researcher at the Rio Grande do Norte School of Public Health. He is the current vice-president of the Centro Sócio of Mãe Luíza.

Lars Müller

Lars Müller, born in Oslo in 1955 and a Norwegian citizen, has been based in Switzerland since 1963. After becoming a graphic designer in Zurich, extended travels, and a one-year assistant position with designer Wim Crouwel in Amsterdam, Müller established his studio in Baden/Switzerland in 1982. In 1983, Müller published his first book and as Lars Müller Publishers, with offices in Zürich, has produced some 600 titles to date.

CHF 35.00