Joaquim Donato dos Santos Júnior, municipal employee of Salvador, met his brother, Vitor Silva Santos, at a carnival party in the city
Carnival 2024 will forever remain marked in the history of Joaquim Donato dos Santos Júnior AND Victor Silva Santos. Brothers, they have spent more than 15 years without seeing each other, or rather, without any contact. Finally, on the first day of the party, Friday 9 February, the reunion happened by chance.
Joaquim and Vitor’s reunion at the Salvador Carnival
Joaquim, 36 years old, is a municipal employee of Salvador, Bahia, and works at the Secretariat for Social Promotion and the Fight against Poverty. Vitor, 42, is a collector of recyclable materials.
This year Vitor, who lives in the Sete de Abril neighborhood, took advantage of Salvador’s large crowds to work. He spent the days that make up the national holiday collecting aluminum cans, and his wife, who had obtained a license from the municipality, worked as a street vendor selling drinks.
Joaquim, in turn, worked on a social patrol project, which sought to combat child labor and provide support to collectors of recyclable materials during Carnival. The Catafolia, for example, were two points created to offer collectors food and bathrooms available for bathing.
It was in one of these support bases, installed in Largo Dois de Julho, in the center of Salvador, that, by coincidence, Joaquim and Vitor met after 15 years apart.
“It was emotional, it made us cry. I couldn’t believe it, in fact I arrived home stunned, I really didn’t believe it”Joaquim said in an interview with Folha de S.Paulo.
The brothers’ past
Joaquim and Vitor are children of different mothers, that is, they had the same father. Unfortunately, the brothers’ past is marked by sad losses. Instead of two, there were four of them. The sister Ana Paula died in a car accident after being hit, and his brother Frames he drowned.
The last meeting of Joaquim and Vitor took place at his father’s funeral, in 2009. After an argument, Vitor left his father and the rest of the family. Shortly thereafter he began to face problems such as alcoholism and was admitted to rehabilitation centers. His situation changed when he met his wife Dora. He left the streets and started living with his partner in the Itinga neighborhood. Today they are parents of a 9-year-old girl.
Joaquim, however, never gave up looking for his brother. For years he visited different neighborhoods of Salvador in search of Vitor, but without success. Additionally, the recyclable collector does not have social networks, which made the process difficult.
Now both promise to stay in touch. On the 16th they will have a meeting with the whole family! We hope that Joaquim and Vitor can enjoy the coming years and carnivals together.
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
