The city of Rio de Janeiro underwent numerous changes during the First Republic. The then capital of the country was experiencing profound changes, such as the opening of Avenida Central or the demolition of Morro do Castelo. It was also the moment for the formation of the first favelas, which became an unavoidable element in thinking about the city. The illustrated magazines described this new city that was designed with its bourgeois values. This thesis identified the set of caricatures and cartoons published by the magazines O Malho, Careta, Fon Fon, Para Todos, D. Quixote and Tagarela, which, in some way, directly or indirectly addressed the favelas during the First Republic. Such magazines described and represented the reality of these spaces and their residents. This work sought to understand the role of humor in the construction process of favelas as an urban reality in Rio de Janeiro.