Cinderellas of the Slums Secrets of South America

It's World Cup year and the whole of South America will be celebrating.

I'm Billie JD Porter and in this series I'm going to three

countries across this spectacular and rapidly changing continent,

lifting the lid on young people's passions, dreams and frustrations.

With both the World Cup and the Olympics coming to Brazil,

money has been pouring into an already booming economy.

I'm here to find out how it's changing life here for both

the rich and the poor.

Welcome to Rio de Janeiro, famed for its gorgeous beaches

and carnival spirit.

Now the financial boom has allowed many Brazilians to live

a life of luxury.

Are you a VIP?

Yes, I am!

Brazil is now the seventh richest economy in the world.

I'm here to find out about one of their biggest party traditions -

the 15th birthday, or debutante ball.

Wow!

This is her photoshoot from Vegas.

Since the boom, the parties have become huge,

and I'll be celebrating at some of the most lavish.

-You saw the prince?

-Yeah!

But in Brazil's slums, or favelas, it's a different story.

Here many live in extreme poverty

and battle with relentless crime and violence.

They're literally struggling to survive.

'I'll be meeting the girls who dream of a party.'

TRANSLATION:

For them, 15th birthday debutante balls are like something from a fairy tale.

I follow these girls as they get the chance to be real-life Cinderellas.

Rio is said to be one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

Sitting on its stunning beaches,

it's hard to believe that this city is also notorious for crime and violence.

One in five of Rio's residents live in slums or favelas - shanty towns built

into the mountains, just a stone's throw from the richer areas.

In Babilonia, a small favela in the centre of Rio, police officer

Paula Apulchro is on duty.

She's come to talk to 15-year-old Beatriz Prata.

Beatriz has been invited to a debutante ball being

thrown by the UPP, a community policing unit in the favelas.

I want to find out more about it.

Wow, 15th, that's soon. Are you really excited?

Have you ever been to a debutante ball before?

What do you imagine them to be like?

Who's the prince?

Are you nervous, then, cos you have to get involved?

Debutante balls are traditional in Brazil

but the big celebrations are usually just for the rich.

It's such a huge industry here that there are even magazines

dedicated to covering them.

The girls look stunning.

They're wearing some of the most incredible dresses I think I've ever seen.

It looks really, really lavish.

The parties began centuries ago.

Historically, when a girl reached her 15th birthday,

her parents held a party to introduce her to society.

They have these themes and really, really go to town with it.

What's this theme, actually?

They've got a Charlie Chaplin one. And Alice In Wonderland.

It must be so amazing to have something like that

when you're that age.

I mean, at any age, really.

It's incredible to see how extravagant 15th birthday balls

can be here.

I'm on my way to the house of Stella Fischer,

one of the go-to designers for debutante ball gowns.

I'm gate-crashing a girl called Andressa's dress-fitting today,

and this building's really, really swish

so I'm guessing it's going to be quite a nice pad.

'Andressa, the only daughter of millionaire businesswoman Raquel

'is having the final fitting of her gown.'

Wow! I'm Billie.

Hi, I'm Andressa.

-You look amazing.

-Thanks.

It's a proper ball gown.

No way! Magic!

'Girls in Brazil go all out

'when it comes to dressing up for the big night.'

These are amazing.

'The balls are considered to be the mark of a girl reaching womanhood.

'Andressa's mother has spent almost £5,000 on her

'dresses for the occasion.'

It sounds like you've properly gone all out...

How long have you been planning all of this?

-Since I was 13.

-No!

-Yeah!

-So, you've been planning it for two years.

-Almost two years.

How many people are going?

It's 400? Yeah.

That's a massive party. I don't know if I know 400 people.

And does yours have a theme?

Yes, it's Las Vegas.

Las Vegas? That's going to be quite opulent, isn't it?

'This party sounds like it's going to be all about glamour.'

That's amazing!

I love it. It's perfect.

It fits like a glove.

'Andressa's parents have made a fortune in the boom

'and this ball is sure to show off their success.'

How do you think the party that you had

when you were 15 is going to compare to Andressa's?

-Lucky girl. 15 seems like the best age in Brazil, doesn't it?

-Yeah.

I can't wait for Andressa's big night.

15th birthday parties are so important in Brazil that some

girls even hire a set designer to transform the venue into their party theme.

'Walmir Peixoto and his business partner

'Paula Martins are industrial printers by trade and two

'years ago, they began offering services for debutante balls.

'Today they're helping Nathalia Calaca and her mother,

'Luciana, plan their event.

'Their theme is crowns.'

Have you done many 15th birthday parties before?

Nathalia's parents are from Brazil's growing middle class and they're

dipping into their savings to spend £50,000 on her big day.

A third of Walmir's business is now devoted to debutante balls.

It's certainly lucrative work.

That must have cost so much.

Wow! That's like 30 grand. Is that right?

I underestimated the debutante ball thing.

I didn't think I'd be seeing a 15-year-old girl who had

a themed party with 400 guests.

It's really full on.

But obviously not everyone can afford to do

anything near that scale.

It must be so difficult.

The chance to have a debutante ball is a dream come

true for the girls in Rio's favelas, where life can be extremely

difficult and many struggle to put food on the table.

One of the lucky ones,

Beatriz, lives in Babilonia in a house her family built themselves.

And is it just you guys here, just you two?

Beatriz's mother is a maid and her father works at a petrol station.

Together, they bring in just £100 a week.

Beatriz competed with other girls in the favela to get the

ball her parents couldn't afford.

Why do you think the UPP chose you?

What is life like as a young person here?

Most of Rio's favelas are violent, lawless areas

run by drug-traffickers and criminal gangs.

There are regular shoot-outs between rival factions and the police.

In 2008, the government started what they called a pacification process

to try and take back control.

Heavily armed military police invade the favela to try and

re-establish law and order.

Then the UPP, a community police force,

set up base there to patrol the area and keep it calm.

So far, just 36 out of 1,000 favelas have been pacified,

and Babilonia was one of the first.

Lieutenant Paula Apulchro is now in charge here.

Nice to meet you.

The UPP has a tough job on its hands to win the people's support.

In the past, the police did little to stop the gangs

and drug-traffickers. There have also been instances of corruption,

where officers took a cut from the criminal activities.

Now the UPP are trying their best to gain trust from the local people.

Yeah.

How long have you been working here in Babilonia?

And what brought you here?

Do you think that you're going to be able to maintain the peace

that you've brought to Babilonia?

Are you ever scared in the job you do?

The UPP ball is all about promoting this vision.

But at the moment, the lives of the kids here are still drastically

different to those living just a few hundred metres below in the city.

15th birthday balls are normally a privilege only the better off

kids can dream of, and tonight I've been invited to Nathalia Calaca's.

Wow!

No expense has been spared to get every detail right.

You look amazing.

Is this all as you imagined it would be?

According to Brazilian tradition, this is the moment

when Nathalia comes of age.

And it's symbolised by the giving of a ring.

And a dance with a prince.

Nathalia's is a school friend she's known for years.

MUSIC PLAYS

Have you had fun?

'In a nearby favela,

'the UPP have selected all the girls for their ball.'

-Hi.

-Hi.

'There's a week to go and the venue has just been confirmed.'

The ball is a celebration

of the first five years of pacification.

One girl has been selected from each of the 36 pacified favelas.

The girls have high hopes for their prince.

I guess that's the UPP's answer to a Prince Charming.

One of the soon-to-be debutantes is 14-year-old Ana Luiza Costa,

who is here with her two older sisters, Carol and Maria.

She lives in Barreira do Vasco, one of the poorest favelas in Rio.

It was pacified less than a year ago and some parts of it still lack

sanitation and electricity.

Hi, how are you?

'One of the reasons Ana Luiza was chosen by the UPP was

'because of her difficult family situation.'

So, you don't live with your parents.

'It's a familiar story in the favelas where, on average, people

'die 20 years younger than those in the rest of Rio.'

Hello.

'The family still live in their parents' two-bedroom house.'

And what's your name?

Pedro.

How old are you, Samuel?

'Ana Luiza's sister Maria isn't home.'

Do you work as well?

I'm guessing you and your sister have to work a lot to earn enough to raise your younger siblings.

So, whose bedroom is this?

'I'm given a quick tour of the house.'

Are you a good cook?

You are. What about you, Ana Luiza? Do you have to, sort of,

chip in and help look after your little brothers as well?

That's very responsible of you.

'I want to find out how excited Ana Luiza is about her big night at the ball.'

What do you think your sisters are going to say

when they see you dressed like a princess?

And what about the waltz, are you excited about doing that?

Shall we have a rehearse together?

What do I do? Like this?

Yeah?

How am I doing? Am I OK? Are there any spins? Any spins?

Let me do one.

Ta-da!

It's quite shocking to see how cramped they are here.

Ana Luiza's older sister, Carol, earns 25 reais a day, which is

equivalent to about £8.

And, you know, when people talk about the boom in Brazil, it's very

difficult to see that it's affecting this family in any positive way.

But things used to be even worse for Ana Luiza and her family.

Before the UPP arrived, Barreira do Vasco was under

the control of a notorious drug gang called the Red Command.

What were the biggest dangers living here back then?

'Pacification hasn't sorted out the electricity supply here.'

There are so many wires tangled everywhere.

That doesn't seem fair that some people pay and other people don't.

There's still a long way to go where Ana Luiza lives,

but I've heard of another pacified favela that has undergone quite a transformation.

From here on Ipanema beach, you can see a favela over there,

creeping up that mountain. It's called Vidigal and I've heard that since pacification,

it's become really trendy. It's like the place to be now.

Vidigal was pacified two years ago and changed from a violent

no-go zone to a peaceful, desirable neighbourhood.

I've come to meet Geronimo, a local resident turned estate agent

and property developer.

Hello.

Nice to meet you. Can I sit?

Yeah, good. How's business?

It's quite unexpected to find an estate agent in here,

because I thought people built their own houses to live in in favelas.

'Geronimo is keen to show me his latest sale.'

Wow, so you've more than ten times'd the value of it.

Yes.

'Selling their homes is helping some local residents out of poverty

'but it's also changing the face of the favela.

'Properties are being bought and rebuilt by people from the city below.'

That was fun.

'At the top of the favela, prices are even higher,

'and it's easy to see why.'

Perhaps one of Vidigal's most ambitious new projects is

a boutique hotel.

-Hello.

-Hello, come on up.

-Thank you.

'I've been offered a tour by the manager, Graziela.'

So "Bem-Vindo" - welcome.

'The hotel's been bankrolled by a consortium of Rio's top

'entrepreneurs, with an investment of half a million pounds.'

That's amazing.

In every bathroom you get to see the view when you're showering.

That's so cool. And how much does a room like this cost?

-300.

-So that's about £100 a night?

-Yeah.

'24-year-old Conrado Denton is one of the investors.

'He made his money trading stocks and shares in the boom,

'and this hotel in the heart of the favela is his latest business venture.'

Did you ever think it was a gamble to settle on this place?

We don't see that as a gamble, we saw it as the beginning of a big

change that is starting to take place here in Rio.

-You're a pioneer.

-Yeah, in Rio we think we are.

We're bringing a lot of people that we know to start to invest here.

But do you not think that the poorer people here should see

the benefits of the boom as well?

Of course, of course.

The community here of Vidigal, they really see us as a change in

their lives, because the jobs will increase, will benefit them too.

'I imagine the ones who'll benefit the most are Conrado

'and his friends who are buying up the neighbourhood.'

The boom has created a new group of uber-rich.

Last year, the number of billionaires in Brazil went up by a quarter.

More than half of them live in Sao Paulo, Brazil's wealthiest city.

Here, many people travel by air.

Bar New York, there are more helicopters than any other city in the world.

The city centre seems a playground for the rich.

I'm just scoping out the area

and it's just wall-to-wall designer shops - Dior, Armani.

Louis Vuitton's here, this is their most profitable store worldwide,

so that just goes to show how many rich Brazilians are shopping here.

A high-society online magazine called Glamurama covers

the VIP events here in Sao Paulo.

'I'm meeting its owner, Joyce Pascowitch, to see

'if I can get myself on the guest list for a party tonight.'

-Welcome to Sao Paulo, to Brazil and to Glamurama, to Casa Glamurama.

-Thank you.

Do you think the Brazilians know how to throw a party?

Oh, of course! Brazilians are the ones.

We are a tropical country and with an open mind and a growing economy.

So a lot of things that help.

How has it translated into the parties that you're going to?

Have you noticed that they're becoming more extravagant, more lavish?

More extravagant, mainly.

Our economy, and our country, everything is very fast

and everything is new, so a lot of new money.

And I think Brazilians, they love to show off.

-Hi.

-Hi, how are you?

-I'm good.

'With the help of Joyce, I'm about to go to the launch of a new

'fashion store in the centre of Sao Paulo.'

Let me tell you, upstairs are the famous people. Let's go there?

OK. Come on.

This is the owner.

'The store is owned by Flavio Rocha, one of the richest men in Brazil.

'It certainly seems like the hot ticket in town tonight.'

It's a way bigger party than I was expecting.

I don't know. This seems, like, really big.

-The VIPs are all sitting here.

-Are you a VIP?

Yes, I am.

'I've been clocking all the designer labels.'

Do you think that in order to be considered fashionable

-you have to be wearing, like, high-end brands?

-Yeah.

-You do?

-In Brazil, yeah.

And everyone here knows if the brand is expensive or not.

So if you're wearing, like, something like...

"Oh, no, she's not wearing..." - I'm not talking to her.

-A fake-designer bag from Japan, for example.

-Yeah.

It's not a bad life, though, is it?

It is, because you have to spend all your salary on it.

Yeah, I guess.

Yeah. Yeah.

Thank you.

I've just made it in Sao Paulo.

I'm going to be on Glamurama tomorrow with any luck.

But this display of wealth makes people into targets.

Last year, while crime rates fell overall,

robbery and kidnappings were on the increase.

Rio is also experiencing a crime wave against the wealthy.

In Andressa's neighbourhood, security is tight.

So it seems Andressa lives in a bit of a gated community.

We've had to go through two security gates

and speak to people before we're let into where she lives.

Andressa lives in a rich estate in the south of the city.

PIANO MUSIC PLAYS

-Wey-hey! Budge up.

-Thanks.

-That was so good.

-Thanks.

-How long have you been doing piano?

-Since nine.

-Since you were nine? So a while, then.

-Yes.

Your English is perfect. Do you just learn English at school?

All the subjects are in English.

-So, is it a pretty, like, exclusive school?

-Yes, yes.

What do both of your parents do? If you don't mind me asking.

And can you see Andressa following your footsteps?

SHE LAUGHS

No?

There's no rush for Andressa to start thinking about work

while her parents are taking full advantage of

the upturn in Brazil's economy.

-I want the grand tour.

-The living room.

-That telly is quite big.

-Yeah.

'They've built a business empire worth millions.'

-Is this living room number two?

-Yes.

-Living room number three?

-Yes.

That telly is even bigger!

'And it shows.'

-So, who's this?

-She's the kitchen lady.

Kitchen lady. What's her name?

-Lu.

-Lu? Hi, Lu.

We have one for cleaning and one for cooking.

-Really?

-Yeah.

'Andressa lives like a princess.'

Wow! This is huge, this walk-in closet.

-Jimmy Choo.

-Louis Vuitton and Tom Ford.

Over here is the dress for the party.

'Her parents have spent more than £100,000 on her debutante ball.'

Are you really excited?

A little bit nervous, but yeah, I'm really excited.

It's huge.

There are five days to go till the UPP ball,

and in a very different dress shop to Andressa's,

the girls are choosing their gowns.

I like this one. There is just so much here.

I'm sure the girls are quite overwhelmed by

how many sparkly ball gowns there are.

I want all of them.

There are second-hand dresses in every shape, size and colour.

Beatriz and her mum are here rooting around to find the perfect one.

Hi. How are you?

Have you chosen your dress already?

Wow!

I can't wait to see you in it.

'Ana Luiza is here alone. Her sisters are working.'

Wow! It's so pretty.

'In the fitting room, suspense is building.'

I've got you. Come out. I'll do you up.

Do you like it?

'Many of the girls have never seen a dress like this close up.'

Are you crying? No?

You are.

Aw...

Fits perfectly.

'Now it's Beatriz's turn.'

Wow!

It's a Barbie dress, isn't it?

What do you think?

How much does a dress like this cost?

Aw...

It felt like a lot more than just a dress-fitting in there.

Emotions were running high.

Back at home, Ana Luiza's day-to-day life is taken up with

looking after the younger family members.

I guess quite soon

Ana Luiza is going to have to find a job, isn't she?

Ana Luiza and the two boys attend local state schools,

and she herself wants go on to become a maths teacher.

Her chances of a happy ending depend on her education.

Bye, Samuel!

What's it like at school? Does it tend to be good there?

What difficulties?

And what are the teachers like?

Education and public services in general

have a bad reputation in Brazil.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been taking to the streets

to protest at the huge sums being spent on the upcoming World Cup

and Olympics, which they believe should be spent elsewhere.

On top of that, there's real concern that the World Cup venues

won't be finished in time, as almost half are still under construction.

Now there's controversy about the Olympic Stadium, too.

Here we are, at the Rio Olympic Stadium.

It really doesn't feel like that long since we had the Games at home.

And whether you loved them or hated them,

it was certainly a massive moment for Britain.

But close by in the community of Vila Autodromo,

the games are not welcome.

I've come there to meet activist and urban planner Renato Cosentino.

I drove past the Olympic Stadium on the way here, it's literally a stone's throw away.

So, all of this is set to be destroyed?

Here in this favela,

more than 400 families are threatened with eviction.

Hello. That's your goat, isn't it?

What's his name?

The government says it's offering them

better accommodation with more facilities.

Will you be sad to leave this area?

11 kids?! Are they all your kids?

You seem like you've given up hope.

It's such a happy community here.

I've been really touched by how close knit it all is.

-Hello.

-Hello. There's just kids everywhere, playing.

But all this could disappear,

making way for the benefit of wealthier people.

As Rio gets richer,

more and more land is needed for development,

and the favelas are prime targets.

Andressa's house has been built in an area where there were once slums.

She and her friends have views on how Rio should be changing.

What about the Games, then? The Olympics and the World Cup?

-Are you guys all excited about that?

-Yes.

-Yes.

We had many debates in school, and some people say,

"Why are they building all these expensive facilities?

"Shouldn't the money be going elsewhere?"

Where do you think the money should be going?

-Hospitals.

-Hospitals.

-And education.

And the favelas.

Getting the favelas to a point where they are better,

so that those people can have the same opportunities.

So, I mean, have you visited the favelas?

-Do you ever hang out there?

-No.

-No.

We don't have friends that hang out there.

That's very dangerous.

We see in the news all the huge problems that happen.

We had a huge shooting in some of the favelas,

and everyone watching the TV was so afraid.

It's too divided.

In the past few months,

there have been increasing numbers of confrontations

in pacified favelas between police

and drug gangs trying to make a comeback.

The dream of pacification has started to fade.

This is CORE - a police unit whose task it is

to get rid of the drug-traffickers and gangs from all the favelas.

In their training centre,

they've built a fake favela where they can practise their tactics.

As a British person,

it's quite shocking to see a policeman with a gun like that.

It's quite intimidating, because you've got that gun, that gun.

-Is that a knife?

-Yeah.

You look like you're about to go to war.

At the shooting range,

they learn how to handle the heavy weaponry they use in the favelas.

I'm scared.

Have you ever come under criticism for this approach?

And are these similar to the guns that the drug-traffickers use?

It's just so difficult to imagine a place being so lawless,

and people who aren't the police

are carrying the same weapons as these guys.

That's really a scary thought.

And what I've been told is brought to life one night

when I hear a number of loud bangs coming from a favela

nearby to where I'm staying.

After all I've heard, I suspect that it's gunfire.

What's that? There's smoke up there now.

But these fireworks aren't for celebration,

as Andreas Morales, an activist from the favelas, explains.

Is that normal?

What actually happened the other night?

Because I'm still confused about what exactly I heard.

So, has pacification not made you feel safer?

Do you not think it's a step in the right direction,

to have an increased police presence?

Because people didn't feel safe before, did they?

It seems that people in the favelas face danger from all directions,

not just from the criminal gangs

but also from the police response.

The warmth and the sense of community there

has been so overwhelming that it's been really difficult for me

to properly comprehend the dangers.

In the favelas, they don't have the benefit of guards

and security gates.

It's really depressing

because only a select few are able to buy their safety here.

That's what it is, essentially, isn't it?

The day of Andressa's ball has finally arrived.

And the pressure's on to look the part.

I'm going to a debutante ball tonight.

Do you get lots of girls in here, like, wanting to get

preened before they go to those parties?

Ready to go.

Andressa's parents have splashed out on the bridal package

at the Sheraton hotel so she can get ready in style for the big night.

Hello!

Makeup is in full flow.

And my outfit for the night has arrived.

Perfecto!

Ciao! Ciao, ciao!

I'm dolling myself up DIY style...

..in the loo.

I don't have the luxury of having a makeup artist follow me

around all night, so I figured I'm just going to cake it on.

Andressa's already busy being snapped.

Upstairs, her mother is preparing a surprise,

and a very expensive one at that.

When are you going to give it?

It's a gold Cartier bracelet worth thousands.

-Are they diamonds?

-Yes.

-Wow.

# Here come the girls... #

CHEERING

-Hello! You all look amazing.

-Thank you.

I'll see you at the party.

One-and-a-half years in the planning,

I can't wait to see how it's all turned out.

Wow!

This is her photoshoot from Vegas.

'It's incredible to see the results of all the spending...'

I've just never seen anything like this before.

'..all to make one evening like a fairy tale.'

Cheers!

Hmm. So nice

Have you ever seen a 15th birthday party that's this big?

-Yes.

-You have?

-Yes.

-It's normal?

-Yes, it's really normal.

But a Brazilian debutante ball isn't complete without

a prince for the princess.

CHEERING

And this one is a TV star and teen idol

who's been paid handsomely to make Andressa's dreams come true...

..much to the delight of her mother.

As part of the ceremony,

Andressa's friends are paying a glowing tribute to her.

It really does feel like a wedding. There's so much love in the air.

I felt really touched to be invited into something that's so personal.

-Hi.

-Hi.

-You saw the prince?

-Yeah!

He was really hot. Did he leave already?

-Yes.

-He's gone?

-Yes, he's gone.

Time to party through the night.

I came to Brazil to find out about

the tradition and glamour of a debutante ball

and here, I've experienced it at its most magnificent.

I'm hoping that the UPP ball is going to be

just as special an experience for the favela Cinderellas.

Hello!

How are you?

The big day has finally arrived.

I'm so excited.

Does everyone in the neighbourhood know that you're going tonight?

Our carriage awaits. We're off to hair and makeup...

..picking up Beatriz along the way.

The UPP have turned their base in one of the favelas

into a makeshift salon.

It's not quite the Sheraton.

How do you know when it's your turn?

It all seems a bit disorganised...

HAIRDRYER STOPS

..and the power keeps cutting out.

Oh, we're back on, we're back on. Phew.

But the chaos isn't dampening the excitement.

Yeah, yeah.

'The party starts at seven,

'and the pressure's mounting.

'They need to get into their ball gowns.'

It's really hard.

'But that's proving a challenge.'

Won't go on?

'Everything is either a little too tight...

'..or a little too loose.

'But by the end of the afternoon, all the girls are ready.'

THEY ALL CHEER

Our limo is late and we're starting to wonder

if we'll ever make it to the ball.

We're running approximately an hour late

and we've just been told that a secretary of state

has to arrive at the venue before the girls do,

so they're all waiting impatiently for their carriage to arrive.

LOUD BANG

What was that bang?

Stop laughing at me!

Yeah!

Last time I heard loud bangs, it turned out to be gunfire.

LOUD BANG

Oh, my God.

This is so weird.

There's smoke coming from a few metres away

but Ana Luiza thinks it's hilarious.

LOUD WHIZZ AND BANG

Our transport arrives in the nick of time.

What's happening?

BANGS CONTINUE

Oh, God!

And, at last, the 36 Cinderellas are off to the ball.

Outside, the girls are waiting in line

with the UPP commanders from their respective favelas.

Their princes, the UPP officers, are waiting in the wing.

Inside, the relatives wait with anticipation,

including Beatriz's mother.

How are you?

Ana Luiza's sisters are also waiting anxiously.

Oh, they're coming, they're coming!

The moment the girls have been waiting for has arrived.

First the princes...

She's next, she's next.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

# I used to rule the world

# Seas would rise when I gave the word

# Now in the morning I sleep alone

# Sweep the streets I used to own

# Oh oh oh oh-oh

# For some reason I can't explain

# I know St Peter will call my name

# And for all it's worth

# But that was when I ruled the world... #

WALTZ MUSIC PLAYS

Maybe UPP officers aren't everyone's idea of a prince

but right now, they're making dreams come true.

The message of the ball is underlined by a dance

with the Security Minister.

A quick slice of cake and midnight strikes early.

It's been a very brief taste of a fairy tale.

Beatriz!

OK. All right.

It really is the Cinderella story come to life.

They've got to go back into their old clothes now.

All of these girls have spent the best part of their lives

dreaming about this night, and it's just over now.

It was sweet, it was really, really sweet,

but they're both on their way back to their respective favelas

and life's going to go back to normal now.

As hosts of the World Cup and the Olympics,

Rio and Brazil will be in the world's spotlight for years to come.

For people with money,

it's a really, really exciting time to be in Brazil.

The economy is booming, and there's a real confidence that people

are going to make a return on all of the money that they're investing.

I've seen fairy tales come to life.

What was the highlight for you?

I think dancing with the prince. Yeah.

-That was pretty good.

-He was perfect.

With initiatives like pacification, things are slowly starting to change

for many people who live in poverty and danger.

But even though life in some of the favelas is improving,

many people there still live in fear of violence.

There's this uncertainty about whether the UPP are going to

be able to sustain the peace

that they've established within the favela.

But now a few Cinderellas have had a taste of a better life.

How does it feel that you've actually had

one of your biggest dreams come true?