Avenida Presidente Vargas, Rio de Janeiro. The Central do Brasil clock shows that it is after 4 am, it is raining and the temperature is close to 20°C. Príncipe da Madrugada (as he prefers to be called), 34, says goodbye after a threehour walk through the almost empty streets of the city center. He’s the man behind the camera, chronicling a neglected city for the Madrugada RJ YouTube channel.
With more than 80,000 subscribers and almost 200 videos posted, the channel has already toured Rio by night, cities in Baixada Fluminense and also São Paulo. All shot on foot or by bike, with a cell phone and image stabilization equipment. “What fascinates me about all this is going through places where there are thousands of people during the day and nobody at night,” he says, who records, edits and disseminates everything himself.
Social networks also contribute to the dissemination of the channel. On Instagram, photos of dark streets move the account, which is followed by almost 5,000 people. On TikTok, one of the videos, which has more than 2 million views, shows empty streets and has the phrase “No one is an atheist right now” as the caption. Followers’ comments included praise, suggestions for places worth visiting at night, and words like courage, fear, and terror.
The beginning
The station was founded in June 2021, however, the passion for the night side dates back to the military service. “As soon as I left the barracks, I wanted to get into night work because there were more vacancies,” he says. Between jobs, he worked as a cargo controller for a soft drink brand.
When commuting between home and work or during breaks, the early morning became interesting for the Youtuber. “You start noticing the details, the stillness. The sound of a bird, an animal. That fascinated me and in the end I enjoyed it,” he recalls, who has been wandering through the night for 15 years.
The idea for the channel was born during the pandemic and the location chosen for the premiere was Nova Iguaçu, a town in Baixada Fluminense where he was born and lives with his wife and two children. The first video on the channel, “quite shaky,” he says, was shot before I bought image stabilization equipment, but the title of the premiere would set the tone for future videos: “The most dangerous place in Luz district.”
Image: Eduardo Wolff/UOL
without a face or name
When this dawn walk begins, street cleaners are on the streets, bohemians in front of a bar that’s almost closing, and nobody is walking on the sidewalk. Behind the Museu de Arte do Rio, Madrugada takes the opportunity to snap a few shots of the Praça Mauá, which is also empty.
The rain makes a stop in front of the São Francisco da Prainha church last longer. Then he poses for a few photos, always masked. He doesn’t show his face because he wants the street to be the protagonist. That’s why he prefers to hide his name.
It is after 2am when Avenida Presidente Vargas first appears on the route, at the intersection with Avenida Rio Branco. Crossing the 80 meters has never been easier only one bus crosses the tarmac at this hour. Behind the greenlit Church of Candelária, Madrugada reshoots and poses again. The recordings made along the way will later be published on his Instagram account.
dream and fear
At 3am, already in Marechal Âncora Square, Madrugada RJ guarantees that you don’t have to sleep to dream. “It is my joy to be part of the dawn and to live the dawn. If I can do it every day, then I’ll do it.”
Before setting off, Madrugada who has attended Candomblé services at the Universal Church and is now visiting Umbanda lights a candle and pleads for protection. “I’ve already been tricked by the militia, by bandits, by the police. I lost track,” he says.
He also witnessed explicit scenes of violence, such as when he witnessed and recorded a fight involving a knife. The video was released and went viral.
“It is not my intention to denounce or embarrass anyone. Since it could be a problem for both sides, I thought it best to exclude someone,” he recalls. It was the only video on the channel that he published and later deleted.
Walking the streets at dawn might seem absurd in a city known for its violence, but that doesn’t stop the Príncipe da Madrugada from spreading his philosophy about the joys of nocturnal wandering. “If there was a certainty that nothing would happen, that would be a practice for a lot of people. I often say it’s a deafening silence, but it’s something really worthwhile.”
A year ago he started earning monetization of the channel. Values vary from $80 to $500 depending on the number of monthly releases and YouTube rules.
Image: Playback/YouTube
forbidden time
The night on the road is just empty ground for those who don’t frequent it. There are people sleeping under the awnings of the buildings, night watchmen, a military police car making its rounds, and people walking. One of them is the only person to interact with the reporter and Madrugada in the Rua Acre throughout the script, asking for a cigarette which he didn’t have. At no point during the itinerary did Madrugada forget to have his mobile phone with him. (Rats appeared a couple of times.)
After seeing and experiencing on the spot what could be a new video of the Madrugada RJ channel, one detail comes to mind: At a newsstand on Presidente Vargas Street, black spraypainted letters proclaim the rule: Stealing is prohibited. Coincidentally, TV news the morning after the adventure reported a series of cell phone thefts in broad daylight on the same street. In the center of Rio de Janeiro, the dawn follows the rule exactly.