SANTO AMARO, MY LOVE...

 SANTO AMARO, MY LOVE...

She was out of her mind

my love called me

To see the band pass

Singing things of love...

With these verses begins a song by Chico Buarque that takes us back to the past, when musical bands used to perform in city bandstands. As a matter of fact, I never attended a performance by one of these bands, where the instruments were basically percussion and metal. When I was still in the first cycle, the management of my school even tried to set up a band (it was fashionable at the time for schools to compete with their bands), but due to lack of sponsorship, the idea ended up being put aside. Our director liked the arts, and whatever she could try to bring a little culture to the community, she tried. He created a little newspaper, which didn't go beyond the second issue, promoted some musical festivals with students, encouraging them to create their own songs and put together their musical sets, promoted a painting contest... of all these attempts, the only one that was successful related was, without a doubt, the Miss Spring pageant...

Here in Santo Amaro, at Praça Floriano Peixoto, there is a bandstand where almost every week there are performances of the most varied musical genres. As the majority of Santamarenses came from the interior of the State, normally the musical groups that performed there were sertanejos. From the time when a country duo had to know how to play a viola well and there were no technological resources available to artists today. In fact, nowadays, it would be impossible for any artist to present himself with his paraphernalia in a bandstand in a square. This is because the space is small, barely fit five or six people in the place. But at the time, it was the entertainment of the citizens. Ah, yes, it is good to clarify that Santo Amaro is one of the regions that make up the City of São Paulo. Today it has lost much of its majesty, but not so long ago it had a whole country town feel. Its Cathedral, founded in 1560, when the Portuguese couple João Pais and Suzana Rodrigues donated the image of Santo Amaro, is an important part of the history of our State and our Country. On January 14, 1686, with provision passed by Bishop Dom José Alarcão, the parish was officially created and its first vicar, Father João de Pontes, was appointed. I believe I haven't said it yet, but the person directly responsible for founding our Cathedral was none other than Father José de Anchieta... it was like this... when Anchieta came to visit the Ibirapuera region, he saw the need to build a chapel to consolidate the identity of the territory. Cool, let's go and build it! But... it wasn't that simple. In order for it to be erected, there had to be a sacred image. And that's when the couple entered the story. João and Suzana were a couple of Portuguese farmers who arrived in Brazil together with Martin Afonso. Very religious, they kept an image of Santo Amaro and were fervent devotees of the saint. When he found out about the couple, Anchieta went looking for them in Cupecê... where Cupecê Avenue is today, one of the main access roads to downtown São Paulo, and explained to them his intention to take the image of the saint to the village of Ibirapuera, which was promptly attended to. And so it was that, on January 15, 1560, Father Anchieta officially held the first mass on the hill in the village of Ibirapuera, where the construction of a small and simple chapel became the seed of a city... Less than a hundred years ago it lost this status, being annexed to the City of São Paulo... which continues to write its history until today.... oh yes, Ibirapuera gave way to Santo Amaro, which was the name of the saint , in the end...

Santo Amaro was the starting point of most of the bandeiras that explored our Brazil, expanding its borders beyond the Treaty of Tordesillas. One of the most famous bandeirantes was Borba Gato. Paulo Eiró, poet and playwright, was born in Santo Amaro. Congonhas airport was in Santo Amaro...

Why did I decide to talk about Santo Amaro today? I don't really know... it's just that I love this piece of land, which is no longer the same as my childhood, but which still brings me sweet memories. I'm not from Santamarense by birth, but I grew up here. And my children were born here... so when I listen to Chico Buarque's compositions, I travel through time and imagine this land as it should have been fifty, a hundred years ago... a paradise on earth...

It's 3:38 pm on this cold and rainy Thursday (we're at 19ºC at the moment and the tendency is for the temperature to drop even more...), but at the same time pleasant, as only this land knows how to be...

See you tomorrow, and may God pour the blessings of Heaven on our heads....