Brazil considers itself the economic powerhouse of the 21st century, a modern day success story of democracy. And this idea will only be strengthened as the state attempts to host the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics. And yet, in the summer of 2013, after the government tried to increase public transportation costs, the streets slowly began to fill with people seeking answers. They wanted to know where all the increased revenue was going. If Brazil is really a new world power, people were wondering, shouldn't basic expectations like education and health care, for example, be available to the booming middle class. As the protests, the first popular protests in Brazil for 20 years, grew in number a slogan emerged. "O Gigante Acordou" translates into "The Giant has Awoken." This essay documents the popular uprisings and violent clashes over the summer of 2013 in Rio de Janeiro, as Brazil's citizens awoke and demanded to be heard by their government.