American Alex Cutler, better known as Don Blanquito, backstage at a club with his girlfriend Yasmin Leiros, right, and dancer Aninha Wolff, center, in Rio de Janeiro before a performance there. After a stint on Wall Street, Blanquito has now emerged as a prominent singer of Carioca funk -- the music of Rio's slums. With a privileged upbringing in L.A., and even has several degrees including an MBA, Cutler adopted a stage name and threw it all away to chase his dream as a funk performer. His story reflects the shifting dynamics of Rio's favelas, which are home to a growing number of adventurous foreigners, and the evolution of funk music, which some critics say is dying a slow death as life in the favelas gradually improves.(Douglas Engle/Australfoto)