Our world has many superheroes.
But they have the worst of all superpowers: invisibility.
For example, the Catadores,
workers who collect recyclable materials for a living.
Catadores emerge from social inequality, unemployment,
and the abundance of solid waste
from the deficiency of the waste collection system.
Catadores provide heavy, honest and essential work
that benefits the entire population.
But they are not acknowledged for it.
Here in Brazil, they collect 90 percent of all the waste
that's actually recycled.
Most of the Catadores work independent ally,
picking waste on the streets and selling to junk yards
at very low prices.
They may collect over 300 kilos
in their bags, shopping carts, bicycles and carroças.
Carroças are carts built from wood or metal
and found in several streets in Brazil.
much like graffiti and street art
and this is how i first these marganizalised superheroes
i am a graffiti artist and activist
and my art is social, environmental and political
in nature
in 2007, i took my work beyond walls
and onto the cajosas
as a new word of support for my message
but at this time, giving voice to the catadores
by adding art in humor to the cause
it became more appealing
which helped call attention
to the catadores
and improve their self esteem
and now they are famous on the street
on mass media, in social
the thing is,
i plunged into this universe
and have not stopped working since
i have painted over 200 cajosas
in many cities
and have been invited to do exhibitions and trips
worldwide
and then i realized that cat adores in their invisibility
are not exclusive to brazil
i met them in argentina, chile, bolivia south africa, turkey
and even developed countries such as
united states
and japan
and this was when i realized
that i need to
have more people join the cause
it's a big challenge
then, i created a collaborative movement
called pimp my carroja
A large crowd fund event
(Applause)
Thank you.
So Pimp my Carrjoja is a large
crowd fund event to help catadores
in their carjosas
Catadores are assisted by professionals
and healthcare-like physicians
dentists, podiatrists,
stylists, and message therapists
and much more
but they also receive safety shirts
gloves, rain coats and eye glasses
to see them, in high definition, the city
their carjosas are renovated by our incredible
volunteers then receive safety items, too
reflective tapes, horns, and mirrors
then, finally, painted by a street artist
and become part of part of this huge amazing
bio-art exhibition
pimp my carjosa took the streets
of sao paolo, rio de jinero
and curichipa
but, to meet the demand in other cities,
including outside of brazil
we have created Pimpx
inspired by TEDx,
and it's a simplified, do it yourself,
crowd fund edition of pimp my carjosa
so everybody can join
in two years, over 170 catadores
800 volunteers and 200 street artists
and more than 100 donators
have been involved in the Pimp my Carjosa movement
who actions have even been used
to teach recycle at a local school
so, cat adores are leaving invisibility
behind and becoming increasingly
respected and valued
because of their pimped carjosas,
they are able to fight back
prejudice, increase their income
and their interaction with society
so now, id like to challenge you
to start looking at and acknowledging the catadores
and other invisible superheroes from your city
try to see the world as one
without boundaries
and tiers
believe it or not
there are over 20 millioncatadores worldwide
so, next time you see one
recognize them as a vital part
of our society
Thank you
Applause