“Don’t be fooled by the flashy cloths and the bodies. These are not superheroes. They ache and bleed and sweat. They get tired.  They experience the same fears and anxieties that we do. They are humans just like us. And that humanity is what we find so extraordinary. Because they are people like us, we chase them with our lenses and microphones. We gather to watch their every action and reaction. We discuss their performance and results with passion and excitement. We want to get closer. Not just to know more about them, but ultimately to learn more about us. Humans have bodies and bodies have limits. The Olympic Games are the time to test them. It’s not about how fast you are, how high you can jump, or how strong you can be. Sometimes it’s about how long you can stay at the top. Give it all you’ve got, the unwritten rule of the games, is also a riddle to be solved by those who reach for Olympus. What if all you’ve got is just not enough? Winning and losing are objective concepts but the feelings they ignite just can’t be measured in seconds or cm. True glory can be found in the most unexpected places. Joy can be expressed in different ways. Achievements can have very personal meanings. If Olympic idols have one power it is the ability to show us we can always try harder, be better, and inspire others to do the same. They’re obsession is our delight. Celebrate the champions, but remember they are men and women, not machines. Their humanity is what we gather around to watch. Their perseverance to get up after a fall. The respect for each other’s struggle as if it was their own” (Days of Truce – the IOC Documentary of the 2016 Rio Olympics).

The voices.           

So does this story have redemption? I’ll leave that answer up to you. The Olympic committee defines the legacy it hopes to leave in every host city as one of education, infrastructure, venues turned into schools, funds given to non-profits, trees planted in parks, re-construction. The majority of these promises were as empty as the stadiums now stand. While I had taken thousands of images depicting the footprints of the games in Rio de Janeiro, some spaces functional and some in ruin, the resounding answer of the public when questioned on the Olympic legacy is laughter and confusion.  Wrestling with this reality led me away from the stadiums and toward a song. The concept of voice is crucial to identity. It’s central to any movement. The Olympic anthem is the oldest of the Olympic traditions, written by a Greek poet, it came before the rings or the torch. Although the Olympics are a secular movement, there is a ceremonial aspect to them which has always been closely intertwined with music, although the majority of our focus is generally given to the sports ⁽¹⁸⁾. Just like in ancient battles when a nation would send orchestras out before their troops, every athlete upon winning a metal waits for the moment their countries anthem is played on the podium.

Most casual sports fans do not even realize there is an Olympic anthem. The song is officially just called “Hymn,” and was originally composed by a Greek musician known as Spyros Samaras. It has been part of the opening and closing ceremonies of the games since 1896 ⁽¹⁹⁾. The lyrics address the idea of people coming together in friendly competition instead of in war summarizing what the games have represented since the First World War ended: “Olympian flame immortal, whose beacon lights our way, emblaze our hearts with the fires of hope on this momentous day. As now we come across the world, to share these Games of old, let all the flags of every land, in brotherhood unfold. Sing out each nation, voices strong, rise up in harmony. All hail our brave Olympians, with strains of victory. Olympic light burn on and on, over seas and mountains and plains; unite, inspire, and bring honor to these ascending games ⁽¹⁹⁾”.

The anthem lyrics might embody a message of the games, but it was the individuals singing it who personify the heart of Brazil.  The group chosen was forty children from Project More, a NGO in Vila Ipiranga, Niterói (a favela the Metropolitan Region of Rio). The organization works among the communities there promoting cultural and sport activities for children.  The kids were invited to sing the anthem after the ceremony’s music composers saw a video of the choir, that had gone viral on the internet, produced by the children themselves. Maybe more fitting than the Olympic anthem to represent the underrepresented public, is the manifesto written by the director of More describing the mission of this project. “Project More was born because of you. It was your cry, your pain; voices too afraid to call for help. It was the violence day after day; and those shots fired, awakening you in fear. It was the lack of opportunity, the total lack of help and encouragement. It ended calling loudly inside my chest; a call for help. I felt your pain, I cried your cry, and even yelled to myself, ‘there has to be a way!” I had to find a way that love could be poured into your lives and could drag you out of the limits of the favela. I don’t accept the limits of the favela. I don’t support the abuse, violence, hunger and misery so what could be done? The more project was birthed. This love poured over you all; eye to eye, truth, justice and opportunity. I believe in you all. I believe that you will see peace, that you will see love. I believe that you will break this cycle and write a new story I believe I will see you break through limits, breaking chains and reaching high places. I believe I will see you as champions, winners, conquerors ⁽²⁰⁾.

Conclusion

The idea of voice, of protest, of injustice was so embedded in the Rio Games. These struggles were silenced, oppressed, ignored and exploited in many ways. Some were successful, many ended in violence. Legacy speaks of something long lasting, of a generational investment. Songs don’t cost money, they don’t decay with time. The Olympic Anthem, sung by 40 children, as the Olympic flag was raised at the opening ceremony and lowered two weeks later as the games were pronounced closed, is perhaps the most overlooked portion of the event.  But sitting around a table in Niteroi, I encountered one boy in his early teens named Leonardo with a different response to the games.  “It was an incredible opportunity” he said, “to be there in the Maracanã, singing that anthem in front of presidents from every nation. Is there a higher honor?”  On a micro level, the children from the Project More music school embody the story of Rio’s struggle. They are the voice that proclaimed these “Days of Truce” (as the IOC refers to the games), throughout the city, and they represent the ones who had everything to gain or lose from them. The founder and Director of More, Sergio Ponce and his wife Silvia, tell the organizations story.  He was once a social worker who oversaw eight orphanages and signed for the safety of over 300 children removed from, or without families. But nothing in Brazil is immune from corruption. The red tape and lack of funding in the system led to the closure of all the homes. Instead of losing his kids, Sergio and his wife Silvia decided to invest in these lives through cultivating gifts outside the system. So, they opened a sports and music school. Kids can live and train at the center; they are given shelter, food, community, and high level coaching. The music school has classes for guitar, voice, piano, strings, and drums. But neither of these projects are simply after school programs. The centers are placed strategically near the favelas of Niteroi, and the children who attend would be at high risk for trafficking and violence.  To combat the mentalities of these poverty driven realities, the schools are equipped to teach sports that open international opportunities which most individuals would not have access to, such as tennis. Some of their boys are currently considered to be among the most talented in the city.  No expense was spared when preparing the facilities for the children. Sergio explained, “I want them to know the standard they can achieve for their own lives, that they don’t have to be victims of their situation. I want them to know there is more.” Several of their musicians are now professionals performing in different parts of the world. The destruction and injustice that took place throughout Rio surrounding the Olympics, could not be undone, but the picture of resilience, the sound of resilience, the call to resilience, was still resonating among the lives who stood boldly proclaimed an anthem of victory in the middle of the struggle. The macro story of Rio finds a degree of meaning mirrored in the story of Sergio and Silvia’s refusal to give up on these lives when every resource seemed to fall away. It speaks to the same creativity, the drive to do more with less, that the directors of the opening ceremonies made their very theme. The couple finish recounting the unfolding of events around Project More’s invitation, “[paraphrased] I remember getting the call from the IOC asking if our choir could sing at the games. The guy said he saw a video on youtube, the one the kids created and posted themselves; it had gone viral. They sang ‘We are the World’ and filmed it in various places around the community. I took a deep breath and asked him if I could call back in a few minutes. I needed some time to think about what the ramifications of this would be. The Olympics are a big deal.  After some time I felt a peace to accept.  Based on the honor it truly was, a once in a lifetime opportunity for these kids.  Yes, we were promised some things in return, support, equipment. Those things were never given. But I have no regrets about the decision. That moment for them was worth it all; the dreams it cultivated, the memories”. Leonardo continues singing; he still has the anthem memorized 3 years later.

I look out the window towards the privately funded boarding school. There is no legacy without investment. At a press conference in 2016, a member of the International Olympic Committee pointed out that nearly everyone who experiences the games today, does so through TV or another online platform. Once these broadcast ends, the world will forget Rio and the drama leading up to the games ⁽⁷⁾. This is unfortunately true and perhaps the greatest tragedy of all. The Olympic legacy of Rio de Janeiro will be realized only through building its people like the stadiums had been built, as temples in the city. Unselfishly, without agenda. Not two weeks, not a game, but the day in and out care necessary to raise a generation. Isn’t this the ongoing return on a deposit?  This is what I saw happening at the More Project. A place that had always been, and was still committed to rebuilding the city through rebuilding lives.  Restitution is defined as the restoration of something lost or stolen to its proper owner. It can occur in many forms. Besides cultivating dignity and giving people’s stories the space they deserve, truly seeing re-arranges the heart. It makes room for a response. While so many broken promises remain, I hope that viewers would be empowered to invest in Brazil’s legacy; a legacy that is yet being defined day by day through the dreams of its children.

“We are well accustomed to the way of the phoenix.” Sergio comments, reflecting on the events of the past few years. “It will take take some time, but we will rise again.”