MARILIA-SP 1930s, 1940s & 1950s: LUIZ DARIN & CORINA LOPES

Luiz Darin holds Wandyr next to his wife Corina Lopes.

I remember when I was a child, I used to listen to my mother talk about her large family with much interest. Mum whose name was Yolanda Darin, used to tell stories about all her five sisters and six brothers. I had met most of her siblings except for 3 of them: Rissieri, the eldest (born in 1899) who lived with his wife Elisa Surian in São Paulo... and 2 of her brothers who had died before I was born: Jácomo Darin aka Jacó (1900-1938) and Luiz Darin aka Luizinho (* 1st September 1905 + 26 November 1940).

Luiz Darin was my grandparents' 6th child; he was the 4th male of the Darin clan. If one looks at this family one notices that it is almost divided in two camps: the fair group which were blonde and with green or blue eyes (which my Mother and Uncle Luiz belonged to) and the 'swarthy lot' like Uncle João, tia Nina, tia Rosa who were a little 'darker'... not really dark but darker than the 'fair lot'.

As I didn't have the chance to meet Luiz Darin, I was surprised when I finally saw this photo and realized how much Luizinho resembled my Mother, Yolanda. Same sort of countenance, fair hair and a mouth that looked just the same.

I don't know much about Luizinho's earlier life, but my aunt Rosa once told me, Luiz, who was already 30 years old met a 20 year-old dark girl called Corina Lopes at Santo Antonio's kermesse (it comes from Dutch kirk (church) and mis (mass) and fell desperately in love with her. Not long after they tied the knot on 29 September 1936. Luiz had just tuned 31 and Corina, who was born in Rio Claro-RJ, on 23rd December 1914, had not turned 22 yet.

Corina Lopes's father: Arlindo Joaquim Lopes (*2 July 1887 +15 July 1967); Corina's mother: Maria dos Santos Lopes (*23rd May 1897 +26 April 1943).

After getting married they lived in a house on Rua Lima e Costa. Rosa said Luizinho got into the habit of drinking spirits but never got drunk. Rosa also said Corina had a brother-in-law by the name of Faria who would gossip to Corina's father saying Darin was an alcoholic good-for-nothing. Rosa also said that Faria himself became an alcoholic in no time.

On 5 September 1937, Corina gave birth to a baby boy who would be called Wandyr Darin. I think Luiz worked as a projector operator at Cine São Luiz (this has to be confirmed) where his younger brother Octavio also worked. One a half year later, on 16 July 1939, Corina gave birth to a girl called Wanda.

It was a few months after Wanda's birth that Luiz Darin started having health issues. No one knew exactly what the problem was but drinking only aggravated the situation. As 1940 wore on, his health only grew worse. So much so that his father Giovanni Battista thought they should take a train and find a cure in São Paulo, 500 km away. Rosa Darin also boarded the night train with Luiz and their Father. They all checked into a hotel next to Santa Casa de Misericórdia in Vila Buarque and after waiting two days Luiz was finally admitted but to no avail. He was already in a hopeless state and died on Tuesday, 26 November 1940. As it was very dear to transport the body back to Marília, it was buried at Cemitério do Araçá, on the following day 27 November 1940.

Here's what I found at Araçá's office when I researched Luiz Darin's death:

Aos 27 de Novembero de 1940, enterrou-se o cadáver de Luiz Darin, com 35 anos de idade, casado, natural de Marília-SP (sic), filho de João Baptista Darin, falecido ontem, 26 de Novembro, às 8:00 horas, vítima de OBSTRUÇÃO INTESTINAL.

It must have been really sad when Giovanni Battista (69) & Rosa Darin (25) arrived in Marília the following day without having Luiz (35) with them. How sad Corina (26) must have felt with two young children to raise: Wandyr (3) and Wanda (1 year 4 months).

Domingos Elecio Bastasini sends a post-card to his friend Luiz Darin wishing a Good 1935; Ao amigo Luiz, agradece e retribui as Boas Festas, fazendo votos que o anno de 1935 seja para ti cheio de Felicidades. São os sinceros votos que lhe almeja o amigo Domingos.

A year later, 1935-1936 Domingos did it in style and sent a printed card bearing his photo to Luiz Darin: Domingos cumprimenta-lhe, desejando-lhe Boas Festas e feliz Anno Novo.

It seemed like sending friends printed greeting cards with their photos during the festive season was the new 'craze' in Marília by the mid-1930s. Carlos Nogueira (who may be related to Euclydes Nogueira, married to America Darin, Luiz's sister) was a hip kid.