BLOODY MEMORIESStoried Artifacts from the Carandiru Prison MassacreWORDS AND PHOTOS BY COLETIVO GARAPA Throughout the 90s, São Paulo’s House of Detention contained approximately 8,000 of Latin America’s most violent criminals. Better known as Carandiru, it was once the largest prison on the continent. On October 2, 1992, a massive fight broke out between prisoners that ultimately resulted in 111 inmate deaths. That day, there were 84 state military police officers present, and 102 bullets were fired. The nine guys who weren’t shot in their vital organs got knifed, but the cops (none of whom were killed, by the way) swore on their mothers’ graves that the prisoners were already carved up by the time guards arrived. If the math isn’t enough to make things seem a little fishy to you, take a closer look at that scrapbook down there. We see one partial decapitation and another guy with a hole in his chest the size of a fucking tennis ball. That doesn’t exactly scream “self-defense.”
Ronaldo Mazotto de Lima worked at the prison for over a decade. He was also one of the first people to witness the aftermath of the carnage that’s now referred to as the Carandiru Massacre. After the jail’s destruction, Mazotto de Lima transferred to a minimum-security prison in Serra Azul. He brought more than his experience to the new job. He also took along some of the only surviving evidence of the massacre: over 2,000 photos, 300 personal effects, and ten hours of grisly video footage. It was all taken shortly after the violence subsided, and he wants to be sure that history doesn’t forget what he witnessed. So we asked him to help us understand.
| “I’ll never forget the uprising. It lasted three days, and I was kept hostage the entire time. It all started with prisoners taking control of the eighth and ninth wards and taking hostage every employee they saw. At the beginning, we tried to run or fight them—guards and other employees were chasing after prisoners with iron bars in their hands, but the inmates outnumbered us, and they had knives. This resulted in us being locked up in the storehouse in the sixth ward for three days.” |
See all articles by this contributor Anonymous, on Jun 9, 2009 wrote:
Self defense? Dude - a tennis ball bullet is taking it a step too far? | | Anonymous, on Jun 7, 2009 wrote:
there is a great movie made about this very high budget and yer local library probably ’d have it called simply "Carandiru" check it out. | | Anonymous, on May 31, 2009 wrote:
"Ha ha fags. We took it back. First we got pink, then we splashed it around a bit and now, thanks to rap, we have high-end accessories back. You better watch yourself homos because moustaches and tiny shorts are just around the corner."
we should just have all of these prisoners read the ’do’s and don’ts section of this website! | | Anonymous, on May 31, 2009 wrote:
After reading this article, I almost forgot that Vice was full of shit.
" Sure, the Dominican Republic is the North American hub for human trafficking, but look where it’s got them. If you had such a fuckable national resource, wouldn’t you want to sell off some of the surplus too?"--dos and don’ts
I can’t wait until Vice does a guide to the Dominican Republic!
Vice is a Don’t. | | Anonymous, on May 31, 2009 wrote:
"Ha ha fags. We took it back. First we got pink, then we splashed it around a bit and now, thanks to rap, we have high-end accessories back. You better watch yourself homos because moustaches and tiny shorts are just around the corner."
we should just have all of these prisoners read the ’do’s and don’ts section of this website! | |
| Laura L, on May 29, 2009 wrote:
Sad. I remember hearing about guards sicking dogs on deportation inmates in Jersey! This is devilish tho. | | Anonymous, on May 19, 2009 wrote:
violence turns me on, I’d fuck this guy raw, imagine the shit he’s seen! | | Anonymous, on May 19, 2009 wrote:
After reading things like this I like to stop a kiss my half lucky Irish ass that I’ve never been stabbed or shot. | | Anonymous, on May 19, 2009 wrote:
Any kind of time is supposed to be hard, but wtf. | |
| bad news brown, on May 18, 2009 wrote:
despite the gruesome nature of the article, the photos are really great! | |
| road_kill, on May 18, 2009 wrote:
"That doesn’t exactly scream “self-defense."
werent those injuries inflicted from other prisoners to one another though like rivalry kill etc? or are they really from the riot? | | Anonymous, on May 18, 2009 wrote:
maybe thats part of the punishment of prison. your paying for your crime, not just by being locked up, but by being locked up with CRAZY people. the risk that you get shanked and decapitated it part of your punishment | | Anonymous, on May 18, 2009 wrote:
brazilian prisons are fucking nuts. I saw "Lock Up Abroad" on nation geographic and it was a prison in brazil and the inmates where homicidal maniacs. so so scary | | Anonymous, on May 17, 2009 wrote:
Brasilians are such a loving people. | | Anonymous, on May 16, 2009 wrote:
hi | | Anonymous, on May 15, 2009 wrote:
the cops in Brazil have been killing street children for years so i am not surprised by this. that is why the people on the street are fighting back by killing cops | | Anonymous, on May 15, 2009 wrote:
"drug dealing isn’t worth it—that you can end up in jail and wake up with a body that’s full of holes on a bloody floor.”
its like a truth add. Okay, im convinced | | Anonymous, on May 15, 2009 wrote:
this is an amazing piece, thanks.. | | Anonymous, on May 15, 2009 wrote:
If i ever went to prison I would want to go to Serra Azul and hang out with the sheep and vegetables. sounds nice | | Anonymous, on May 15, 2009 wrote:
I just came | | Anonymous, on May 14, 2009 wrote:
"oh yeah i remember that guy, they fucked him up good..."
seriously, who would want to look back at this stuff? | | Anonymous, on May 13, 2009 wrote:
bloody, and very messed up, memories | | Anonymous, on May 13, 2009 wrote:
yikes "the laws of the prisoners". It clear who was in charge in this prison | | Anonymous, on May 13, 2009 wrote:
Id rather be in the storehouse than out there in the violence. he should consider himself lucky
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| A Taipan, on May 13, 2009 wrote:
This is pretty lulzy. Sort of seems fatalistic to create your own hell. Inmate logic, heh. Then again, they aren’t incarcerated for being the most humanitarian members of society. | |
| skidmarx, on May 12, 2009 wrote:
these photos are insane. i can’t even fathom being in the middle of a prison riot. | | Anonymous, on May 12, 2009 wrote:
Posso tambem tirar duvidas, acervo com mais de 1000 fotos fitas de video e muitos utencilios , tambem gostaria de escrever um livro, preciso de patrocinio para realizar exposições , documentarios , livro e etc...
Ronaldo Mazotto do Carandiru | | Anonymous, on May 12, 2009 wrote:
Eu sou o Ronaldo Mazotto do Carandiru, e quero colocar a disposição meu material para exposições,documentarios e etc...
Ronaldo Mazotto de Lima
Rua João José Estevão 245
Jd. Bom Retiro - Serra azul - SP
Brasil
Cep 14230 000 | | Anonymous, on May 11, 2009 wrote:
20 more paragraphs and this would actually be an article worth reading | | Anonymous, on May 11, 2009 wrote:
the guy in the middle photo is so fucked up i cant even tell which way his head is facing. | | | Next 30 comments > |
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