Russo is truly the best guide a person could hope for. A native of Vidigal, he knows his way around the favela as well as he knows the rest of town. Every excursion with Russo is a lesson in botany, local culture, national history, and even Portuguese. We hiked several trails, had several outings on the town (both day and night) and saw some live music. Russo is very resourceful and well-networked. If you want to do something that he doesn't know about directly, he has lots of friends he can ask! For instance, he helped point me in the direction of a chôro concert, which is not the easiest thing in the world to find, even in a big city like Rio. He also knows a lot of great places to eat! And everywhere we went, he seemed to be running into old friends. I know for a fact that when I book my next trip to Brazil, Russo will be my first call!
