The World Cup may be over but passion for the game burns bright in the world’s most dangerous slum. Petare, is a slum in Caracas Venezuela and home to more than half a million people, it is considered by the United Nations to be the most deadly slum in the world. It is plagued with poverty, drugs, a high murder rate and chronic teen pregnancy. To make matters worse Venezuela is currently suffering its worst economic crisis in modern history. When Ivan Torres and the other coaches formed their soccer schools, there were no grass fields to play on. Children come out of other small streets that shape the veins of the slum and begin following him. It’s the hour they have been waiting for all day. ‘Soccer,’ Torres believes, ‘is more than a game. It’s a way of life that builds character and makes children into men and women.’ Now 41, Torres started playing soccer when he was seven and continued playing throughout his life. He played in tournaments outside of Petare, the slum where he grew up, and won many trophies, but was unable to become a professional. He decided that the tools that soccer taught him would be the way prevent the children in his community from entering a life of crime or ending up dead before they even became men and women. So he created his own informal soccer school. The economic crisis began to affect the children too. Some trainers began to report children fainting on the soccer field due to lack of food and fewer children coming to practice due to their parents’ inability to find food. Severe malnutrition and lack of food began affecting their ability to play soccer. Maria Gabriela Rivas, the sports psychologist of Pasion Petare, explains that through soccer children learn discipline, values, team work, respect, communication, socialization and self esteem. ‘We want soccer to be a project for life,’ Rivas says. ‘We try to make sure children occupy their free time playing and practicing soccer.’ Torres is adamant when he explains that the worst thing that can happen in Petare is to have a child with nothing to do. ‘They will become easy prey for criminals looking to recruit,’ he says. ‘And as you know, Caracas is one of the most dangerous cities in the world. We need to protect our children.’ And we can do it with soccer.
Event: Vans Park Series Skateboarding, August 4, 2018
ASAP Please FTP pictures as usual, then email Licensing@zumapress.com
Thanks, Katrina
ZUMA’s talented picture editing staff : Photo Editors: Scott Mc Kiernan, Ruaridh Stewart, Julie Rogers, Mark Avery, Shalan Stewart, Seth Greenberg and POM Editor Jim Colton contributed to this show.
Photo Credits ©
Aaron Lavinsky • • Andrea Hanks • Andrew Mccaren • Andrew Parsons • Aristidis Vafeiadakis • Armin Weigel Ashraf Amra • Bernd Von Jutrczenka • Blondet Eliot-Pool • Cao Can • Cao Yang • Celestino Arce Lavin • Chen Bin Daniel Fernandez • Danilo Balducci • Danny Lawson • David Stockman • Dinendra Haria • Dominika Zarzycka • Doug Peters • Eurokinissi • Felix Kastle • Frank Gunn • Friso Gentsch • Greg Lovett • Han Yuqing • Hao Qunying • Hector Amezcua •Howard Lipin • Jack Abuin • Jack Taylor • Joel Goodman • Jose Luis Villegas • Ken Cedeno • Kevin Warn • Kiko Huesca • Kristin Callahan • Laurie Dieffembacq • Li Ming • Liu Dawei • Ma Ping • Marcelo Machado De Melo • Marijan Murat • Mark McKenna • Marvin Ibo Guengoer • Matt Dunham • Michael Brochstein • Michael Jordan • Mikhail Metzel • Neal Waters • Nigel French • Nikolsky Alexei • Owen Humphreys • Patrick Pleul • Petter Arvidson • Stephane Mantey • Ricardo Maldonado Rozo • Rob Pinney • Robin Loznak • Rolf Vennenbernd • Serg Glovny • Sergei Bobylev • Shi Tang • Simon Cooper • Skanda Gautam • Slavek Ruta • Stanislav Krasilnikov • Stephen Lock • Steven Paston • Su Yang • Tomohiro Takahashi • Tracy Barbutes • Uwe Anspach • Valery Sharifulin • Veri Sanovri • Viktor Drachev • Vilaphon Phommasane • Wisam Hashlamoun • Wissam Nassar • Yang Wenbin • Yegor Aleyev • You Qing • Zach Roberts
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The book : “KUÇEDRA” is a collaboration with Patagonia and others environmental NGOs and it has been used as part of a campaign to end financial support for hydropower in the Balkans.
Skatopia is an Appalachian farm where hardcore skating, punk rock and hillbilly culture collide. Mad-Max style demolition derbies and spontaneous car burning partners with 24/7 skate sessions. Tony Hawk calls Skatopia a ‘rite of passage’ for hardcore skaters. Skatopia’s owner, Brewce Martin, dreamed of a place where he could live and breathe skating, a place where people forget their ‘outside’ lives by diving into high speed insanity. This eighty-eight acre skatepark near Rutland, Ohio is owned and operated by pro skater Brewce Martin. For almost 20 years its been known for its anarchist atmosphere and annual skate and music festivals ‘Bowl Bash’ and ‘Backwoods Blowout.’ Heavy metal and punk bands from Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia, play at the barn that is the center of activity. On one side, there’s a stage, and the other, a deep bowl for skating that’s known either as the ‘Epcot Bean’ or the ‘Punisher.’ One week before Bowl Bash XIV, Martin was severely injured by an explosion at a local tire shop which put him in an extended coma. Since the injury things at Skatopia have settled down a little, signs appeared cracking down on the use of heavy explosives and discharging firearms and he has also discouraged the burning of cars. Martin’s son Brandon is an anarchist, and a proponent of ‘Natural Law’ – which operates on the idea that people can work together to figure out whats best for themselves without a state based authority setting the rules. As for Skatopia’s future, Brandon wants to invite speakers to share his anarchist philosophy. Skatopia is for those who wish to live the way they want without feeling trapped by todays modern society.
Genevieve Castree – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneviève_Castrée
ASAP Please FTP pictures as usual, then email Licensing@zumapress.com
Thanks, Katrina
