RIO DE JANEIRO - A line of tourists touch up their makeup before strutting across a rooftop in Rio de Janeiro's largest favela, posing for a drone as it zooms out to show dramatic aerial views of the hillside community.
Set to an infectious beat, the video of the Rocinha favela has exploded on social media at a time when the city is drawing record tourist numbers.
It has also created a sense of unease, with dozens of comments accusing visitors of glamorising poverty and crime in a low-income community dominated by drug traffickers.
However, Renan Monteiro, founder of the tourism company Na Favela Turismo, told AFP that the drone footage was the fruit of efforts to show tourists "the positive side of the favela."
"We are not romanticising poverty. We want to change the prejudice that exists in people's minds."
He explained that tourists cannot just go to the Porta do Ceu (Gate of Heaven) rooftop, where there has at times been a wait of up to two hours for the drone selfie, which costs at least 150 reais ($30).
They can only get there via a tour, navigating a maze of narrow alleyways as residents go about their daily lives while stopping to visit local artists or see a capoeira show.
The success of the drone video has drawn influencers, local officials, and even a marriage proposal.
Ingrid Ohara, a Brazilian influencer with 12 million followers on Instagram and 20 million on TikTok, walks across the rooftop in a shower cap and towel, which she casts aside to reveal a skimpy dress, twirling as the drone zooms away.
She said the videos were "showing our country, showing our Rio de Janeiro, this is part of our culture."
Monteiro, who grew up in Rocinha, recalls the early days of "safari-like" tourism in the favela, when visitors guided by outsiders would show up in open-air jeeps, much to the chagrin of locals.
Monteiro was inspired to find a safe way to show visitors the sprawling favela, which is home to over 70,000 people.
Working with community leaders, he mapped out set tourist routes, monitored by locals. He also created an app to track guides' locations and manage the flow of tourists.
If there is a police operation against drug traffickers, guides communicate through the app to cancel ongoing tours.