While the Old Continent preserves its history, placing plaques indicating who lived in those ancient buildings, Brazil destroys everything that should remain as evidence. It is impressive to see that most of the Tuscan temples predate the arrival of the Portuguese in this Land of Santa Cruz and that conservation is an ethical obligation of every Italian. Young people are already growing up with this clear respect for History and their ancestors.
Sao Paulo is an example of how everything falls apart, as if life in society is an eternal restart. No remembrance, no reverence, a deliberate ostracism of those who died.
But even Rio de Janeiro, which was the imperial capital and federal capital, is not generous in the conservation of its architectural heritage. If the Center were maintained and restored, it would be one of the most beautiful places on the planet. Trusting in natural beauty, which resists barbarism, locals do not hesitate to demolish the treasures.
One of these, the house where José Maria Machado de Assis and his wife Carolina lived for many years. This she was Portuguese, sister of the poet Faustino Xavier de Novaes, older than her husband.
The couple lived there for almost a quarter of a century. Rua do Cosme Velho, 48. Small chalet in a tiny garden. The couple had no children and lived alone. Simple furniture. Nothing luxurious. In the dining room there was a double rocking chair, on which two people could sit at the same time, one on each side and rocking with synchronous impulses, facing each other, face to face.
It is the chair that Machado mentions in the “Memorial de Ayres”, Machado’s last book, written after Carolina’s death. There, the couple’s incomparable life is described, idealized and poeticized.
In this house, now non-existent, after Machado’s death, the Brazilian Academy of Letters had a plaque placed, with the following inscription: “Machado de Assis. Born in this city on 8.21.1839. He lived in this house for 24 years He wrote most of his work on it and died on September 29, 1908. The Brazilian Academy of which he was First President placed this plaque on September 28, 1909?.
What a difference between this universal writer, a talent never equaled, and those creatures who invest in the construction of enormous buildings, all protected by enormous walls, real bunkers that highlight the fear that the rich have of the poor.
Why build huge rooms, countless environments, if the time reserved for living them is reduced to a few decades, no more?
Anyone who flaunts it, even just in front of a small circle of intimates, because he doesn’t want ordinary people to know his real financial situation, will find himself facing, one day or another, the same democratic event that affects all mortals. This encounter with the reaper of lives, with the unwanted, with unfortunate, painful but inevitable death.
If humanity were provided with a minimum of solidarity, there would be sufficient resources to offer the excluded the existential minimum. A dignified life, a visibility that is denied to them today because many always have more; most have fewer and fewer.
Machado de Assis lived ascetically. An incessant worker, he didn’t talk about the book he was working on, or even the one he was already proofreading. He remained discreet, reserved, even towards those closest to him. Rare people, like him, knew how to maintain the haughty dignity, modesty and modesty of the worker of thought and word.
However, he is more alive every day and remains aware of the clarity that remains on the planet. Those who don’t care about their job, but want to appear because they own luxury properties, will never understand that for a truly ethical human being aware of their smallness, material goods count for little.
Times are dynamic and uncontrollable. Just as the bucolic chalet on Rua do Cosme Velho collapsed, the villas too will one day end. However, the 48-year-old Cosme Velho resident will continue to figure in the history of civilization. How many of those who worry about luxury and wealth will find refuge there?
Source: Terra
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
