Fazenda N.S. d' Apparecida do Rio Verde, in São José do Rio Pardo-SP

 

13 May 1924, Tuesday - 68 children comprised the whole school at Fazenda Nossa Senhora d' Apparecida do Rio Verde, owned by my Grandfather Marco Giovanni Battista, who is the man standing up on the far left of the picture. Among the children there are at least 4 of João Baptista's children who will be identified further down. Elisa Surian, the elementary teacher in the centre, would marry Rissieri Darin, the heir of the property, 9 weeks later, on 16 July 1924.

Left-side.

Right-side. 

João Baptista Darin Filho (13) is the boy in the middle of the left-side photo; on the right-side one can see Octavio Darin (15) & Olympia Darin aka Nina (10).

Marco Giovanni Battista Da Rin Zoldan (52) aka João Baptista Darin, owner of the Farm and father of Rosa Darin (9) the hatted-girl looking at the camera on the right-side. 

on the left, Victoriano Romano, school inspector; at centre Elisa Surian, teacher; on the right Julio de Faria e Souza, teacher & regional deputy of teaching. Note that Elisa Surian would marry Rissieri Darin, Mr Darin's oldest son on 16 July 2024, less than 2 weeks after this photograph was taken. 

Looking at this photo taken on 13 May 1924, on the grounds of Fazenda Nossa Senhora d' Apparecida do Rio Verde, which was owned by my grandfather Marco Giovanni Battista Da Rin Zoldan some one hundred years ago - for today's date is 5 May 2024 - it's hard to understand that three and a half years later, on 15 November 1927, the Darin Clan would leave the area of São José do Rio Pardo and move to Alto Cafezal, which 2 years later would become a municipality called Marília. 

The distance between São José and Marília in a straight line amounts to 376 km, but in 1927, one would have to take a train to Campinas, then take another train to Baurú, and yet another one to Garça, which was the end of the railway line. It amounted to almost 700 km. It probably took 48 hours or more. 

But before we fix our attention on the trip itself let's go back to 13 May 1924, the day this photo was taken. 

I visited Marília on 13 February 1997, a Thursday, and had a long conversation with Maria da Gloria Redondo, widow of João Baptista Darin Filho, the last surviving member of the Darin family apart from my own Mother who would die in 2006. As Maria Redondo had lived in the same house as my Grandfather, for the last 10 years of his life, she had the chance to talk to him more often than his own flesh and blood. 

Maria had a veneration for the old man even 38 years after his death, and better still, she had a clear vision of what had happened in the past and could tell details that would've slipped the attention of other people. I asked Maria Redondo why Marco Giovanni Darin had sold his farm in the Mogiana trunk line and moved to Marília in November of 1927, and what she told me was almost unbelievable. 

In the mid-1920s Marco Giovanni Darin leased part of Fazenda N.S.Apparecida do Rio Verde to a Black man who tilled the land and planted coffee beans. After harvesting was done and the crop was sold, Mr Darin would collect the rent as usual. Something happened that particular year and the man failed to pay the rent. When it came to collect next year's rent, Mr Darin went to the man's house and while he was there the man had a heart attack and died. Some of the man's friends blamed Mr Darin for his death and bad blood set in. Life at the farm was not the same anymore with recriminations and threats flying around.

Just at this juncture (circa 1925), João Baptista who was 14 years old fell ill after eating a fruit everyone thought it was poisoned. The boy started having seizures similar to those afflicted by epilepsy which alarmed Marco Giovanni a great deal. Father took his son to be examined by doctors in the city but nothing came of it. Some said João had been the victim of witchcraft from those who blamed his father for their friend's death. We don't know details about the case but it was reported that once João vomited a ball of hair. 

Marco Giovanni was a deep Catholic man but he must have been superstitious too. Besides, Marco was 54 years old and probably tired of the hard work he had to put up in that farm. He had six sons: Rissieri (26) already married to Elisa Surian (32) since 16 June 1924. Miss Surian  who was Apparecidinha's elementary teacher;

 Jácomo (25) about to marry his cousin Maria Corsini (20), Luizinho (20), Octavio (16), João Baptista (14) and Valdemar (4) but no one seemed to be interested in working hard.

In other words, Marco Giovanni was deeply unhappy. He saw the solution to all his woes would be to move away from it all; sell his property and with the money go west to Marília, where they said the streets were paved with gold. That's what happened in a nut shell. The sons and daughters: Maria (23) already married since 27 September 1923, to Gumercindo Dutra (31), Apparecidinha's milk man, Angela (21), America (18), Nina (12), Rosa (10) and Yolanda (6) would soon know a new life in town. 

All the children who were 10 or older rejoiced in the idea of leaving the farm they all had been born in and move to a town filled with excitement. Less than 2 years after, on 15 November 1927, the whole family took a train to Campinas-SP and from there another train that took them to the end of the railway line Garça, where they alighted and took a bus to Marília which was only a village by then.