Ferréz

Ferréz (Reginaldo Ferreira da Silva) (born 1975) is a Brazilian author, rapper, cultural critic and activist from Zona Sul (Southern Borough) favela of Capão Redondo in São Paulo, Brazil. He is a leader of Literatura Marginal (Marginal Literature) that started in the late 1990s and early 2000s in the outskirts of São Paulo. His writings are notable for descriptions of graphic violence and the stark reality of individuals living on the margins of society. He emphasises that his writings are addressed to the youth that live in the slums, so that they feel a sense of pride in reading literature that reflects their reality and experiences.

== Life == Ferréz, whose real name is Reginaldo Ferreira da Silva, was born in the Favela of Valo Velho on the southern outskirts of São Paulo in 1975. He was nicknamed after two Brazilian folk heroes: the widely known Lampião (actually Virgulino Ferreira) from the northeast part of Brazil and Zumbi, the legendary slave leader. Ferréz started making attempts to write poems and raps at the age of seven. Despite lacking any formal education, he unsuccessfully tried to become familiar with works of literature of several Brazilian writers such as Carlos Drummond de Andrade. After leaving school, he worked as a broom-seller, temporary worker in many different positions and archivist. He has since considered a literary representative of the Brazilian slums.