FGV Press launches biography of City of God character

The book ‘Cidade de Deus: a história de Ailton Batata, o sobrevivente,’ [City of God: The Story of Ailton Batata, the Survivor] by Alba Zaluar and Luiz Alberto Pinheiro de Freitas, reconstructs a personal story and the history of the agents involved in the criminal underworld of Rio de Janeiro. An important character in the Rio de Janeiro drug trafficking scene during the 1970’s and 1980’s, Ailton Batata from Cidade de Deus goes from outlaw to case study in the book published by FGV Press, scheduled to be launched on June 1 at Livraria da Travessa, in Ipanema.

The character’s story of disqualification, including a 15-year stretch in prison, is transformed by the introduction of two scholarly researchers with whom Ailton shared his story, rebuilt his self-image, and remade his public image. In more than 60 hours of interviews, accompanied by psychoanalyst Luiz Alberto Pinheiro de Freitas, Ailton Bitencourt narrated to Alba Zaluar his version of what he considers is the true story of the conflict between him and Zé Pequeno, the first drug war widely reported in Rio’s press, which became an important part of a highly successful novel and motion picture.

Ailton Batata, who happens to be the only survivor among the protagonists of this war, regains value by sharing his story. No longer a criminal, he can now say something about the criminal underworld. Ailton had already left prison when he started the interviews for this book: he was working at the social welfare department of the city of Rio de Janeiro and steered clear from the drug trafficking world, despite having received some offers to go back to his old ways.

Apparently, this subjective rehabilitation is not only attributed to the time spent in jail, but also to his “part in history”, which was depicted in a somewhat skewered manner in the film City of God and placed him in a prominent position amongst other criminals.  Many know that the character Sandro Cenoura is Ailton Batata of Cidade de Deus, and his version of the story is in this book.

Go to the website for more information on the book (in Portuguese).