Terrao de Cima

All the pictures of Terrao de Cima series were taken by helicopter and these fields are located in the southern and western outskirts of Sao Paulo, the most populated areas of the biggest city of South America.

A terrao is an oasis in the urban landscape. The reddish tone of a soccer field turns into a stage of the resistance of popular soccer. These fields are increasingly rare to see because of property speculation and land occupation, standing as a spirit of resilience.

Some of them have their own football clubs, while others are public spots. Some of them are mainly dirt, while others are made of sand, or even rests of weathered grass. But they are a breath for the hard daily life of those who lives in the city of Sao Paulo outskirts. These fields show the urgency for public and communal places to practice sports and to improve community living, a portrait of those who fights for leisure and a better life in a city as Sao Paulo.

These fields are a solid basis of soccer’s spirit in Brasil, being colored and powerful in face of the greyish scenario of the periferia houses. It’s not hard to find friends, relatives, adults and children cheering together for their local teams. Even in face of social and political difficulties, a terrao show us the real soccer, far away from a society mediated by powerful media groups. The rawness of a terrao can’t be fitted as a media spectacle.

Working as a professional photographer since 2002, Renato Stockler is graduated in journalism and works also as a photograph director in documentaries and short films. Living in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Renato writes about mobile photograph in several media. He believes in the capacity of social mobilization by photography.