When J. took his first breath, fresh into the world, he was already condemned to be an outcast for the rest of his short life.

His birth certificate bore no reference to his father: he had none. He was--like thousands of children born in the Complexo da Maré, Rio de Janeiro--excluded from society. His mother was HIV-positive and he lived in a 2m by 2m cubicle house without a bathroom. The complex of favelas where…