'City of God' Actor Lives in Sao Paulo's Downtown

04/30/2015 - 09h24

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GIBA BERGAMIM JR.

FROM SAO PAULO

Neguinho is the name of the character that was murdered amid a dispute between drug gangs in the film "City of God", directed by Fernando Meirelles, nominated for an Oscar in 2002.

Played by actor Rubens Sabino, 33, the drug dealer is part of the dialogue made famous by fellow actor Leandro Firmino, "Lil Dice, my ass. My name is Lil Zé."

Neguinho ended up in São Paulo's downtown, an area called Cracolandia (Crackland) where he wandered on Wednesday (29), with clothes donated by social organizations as well as friends, and a bag used to carry golf clubs, which he uses as a suitcase.

There, Rubens Sabino told Folha that he has used crack for at least three years, leaving behind his film career.

He now lives on the streets, between hotels and hostels in the area. Addicted, he seeks a different outcome to that of the character he played, who lives in a constant struggle against addiction.

He vows to be "clean" since February. "This is a taste of hell. I ended up here to get high, really. I did not just smoke it, I ate it", he told the news crew on Helvétia Street, the epicenter of crack cocaine trafficking, after the first clashes between addicts and policemen took place amid an operation carried out by both council and state governments.

Drug trafficking took over both his early and short-lived career in the fictional world of art and his long life in the real world of drugs.

"I have been a drug user since the age of 13. When I was in City of God I already smoked, drank, [lived] a crazy life. When we made the film, we did not imagine we would be famous and would be Oscar nominees. Then came the glamor. I got fame, but I don't have money now and I live on the streets. "

Translated by CRISTIANE COSTA LIMA

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