Silence in the favela: Love and Soccer in Brazil’s best worst place

As part of its cleanup for the World Cup, in 2008 the Brazilian government began a police crackdown to sweep criminals out of the urban slums known as "favelas." The government has boasted of its success in bringing down crime, but the patrolling squads have made life in the favelas’ crowded corridors feel like an armed occupation, with a sense of security seemingly more fit for international headlines than peace of mind.

For one week, I lived with the Costa family in Bangu, one of the...