At the end of 2021, Renan Macedo reached out to his parents for a ‘let’s talk’ moment. He had decided to come clean with them after receiving an attractive job offer involving firearms, bombs and post-defence scenarios. A 20-something resident of Vigário Geral, one of Rio de Janeiro’s largest favelas, Macedo had been keeping his life hidden from his parents for a couple of months. Moreover, he had become accustomed to witnessing some of his longtime friends disappearing amid the city’s bloody disputes involving drug cartels, local militias and the police. But Macedo’s involvement with ammunition and guns would be purely virtual, despite the fact that the job offer was quite real. He had been invited to pursue a career as a professional gamer with AfroGames, the first favela e-sports…
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Dazed & Confused (Digital) - 1 Issue, Autumn 2023