Marília graveyard

 

Marília's Cemitério da Saudade.

This is an early shot of Marília's Cemiterio da Saudade built in the outskirts of town in the mid-1920s. My grandfather Giovanni Battista Darin arrived in Marilia with his family in November 1927. Less than a year later on 20th September 1928, his brother Francesco Darin (52) died and was buried near the main gate which shows prominently on the photo. Toni Darin's toddler Antonio Darin Filho died on 20 September 1929 and then Elisa & Rissieri Darin's only daughter Lilia Therezinha died a month later on 25 October 1929 and were all buried in the same grave near the main entrance.

Part of the Darin family was really scared of so many deaths in so short a time and decided to go back to São José do Rio Pardo where they had come from about 2 years before and the graves were left unattended.

In the 1940s the local Council (Prefeitura) built a new brick wall around the Cemetery and those graves near the entrance were either transfered or simply destroyed with the remaining bones being taken and thrown into a common grave they called 'Cruzeiro' (Crosses). At Dia-dos-Finados (All Souls' Day) on 2nd November people usually light candles near this mass-grave that burn the whole day. The grave-yard management makes sure the fire is put out before they close down at the end of the day.

Every time I visited Marília in the 1990s, I would pay a visit to Cemitério da Saudade. Actually, aunt Rosa Darin would attend a Catholic Mass on Mondays at 2:00 pm, so I made a habit of walking from her abode on Rua 9 de Julho, 2008, up to the Graveyard every week. After Mass, Rosa and I would wander through the lanes and I would ask all sorts of questions about the graves we passed by. I made a point of taking paper and pencil to jot down names and dates of those I had the chance to know during their lifetime or people who lived and died before I was born or too young to know better. Here are some of the notes I took during those pleasant visits:

Gesuína F. de Souza (*4 January 1900 + 12 November 1987) at the same grave Q 57; 159; Sebastião L. Ribeiro (*18 August 1918 + 18 December 1955) who was married to dona Gesuína's daughter Sebastiana, who worked at the waiting room (sala de espera) of Companhia Paulista de Estrada de Ferro after her husband died prematurely at 37. 

Sebastiana de Souza & her mother Gesuína F. de Souza plus Pedro and Paulo, moved to Rua Mato Grosso, some time after their father's untimely death, in early 1956. Pedro was probably one year older than myself (1948) and Paulo, probably one year younger than I (1950). Both were nice kids. I remember a few years later, maybe 1959, Pedro had to go to hospital to have an operation. I don't know what was his problem... but I remember I became really sad when I heard the news for I thought he might die. While Pedro was in hospital, I listened to Giselle Galo's 'Le Lac de Côme', played by the orchestra of Frank Pourcel, from an Odeon extended-play my Father had and almost cried. A few days later, Pedro was back on Rua Mato Grosso alive and kicking. I never forget this particular moment. 

Fernando, my older brother used to be friends with Jurandir, a boy 2 years older than he who lived in that wooden house that dona Gesuína would occupy later. Jurandir lived with an older sister called Iraí, who was married to a barber and had a baby. 

We moved into a house on Rua Mato Grosso, in 1954. After Antonia Amorim married Günther Karg, on 4 July 1953, and went on living in Baurú (she worked as a telephone operator for Companhia Telefônica, a Canadian utility company). Up until then we had all lived at a house on Rua Rodrigues Alves owned by my grandfather Fernando Amorim. Our grandfather was annoyed with the neighbours who had been living in the area since back when that was part of Marília's red-light district. Since Antonia had left home to go to live in Baurú, he planned to sell the house and move out.