TRANSFORMATION

Between February 22nd and 26th, 2021, I returned to the towns of New Maurilia´s project to deliver the outcomes of my visits between August and November 2020: 10 books that tell stories and bring images of the 10 smallest municipalities in Paraná and 3,000 postcards from each location.

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I call this stage TRANSFORMATION because only after receiving their first postcards could these municipalities be called MAURÍLIAS. 

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My first visit was always to the town hall, where I formally delivered the books and the box with 3.000 postcards to the local mayor or secretary of education and cultural affairs. After this, I went to the local post office to donate some postcards and send me the first postcard from that town. Finally, I strolled through the streets and handed some postcards to the population and communicated them about the donation that had been made.

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On this return, my relationship with the town had changed. I was no longer a stranger who took pictures and interviewed people, but I was perceived as an old friend who came back with good news. In Santa Inês they received me with a delicious breakfast; in Jardim Olinda, Mrs Iolanda, who in October had promised me to make her famous chicken with farofa if I returned, kept her word; Mr Lieber, who inspired one of Guaporema's characters, gave me limes from his backyard; Daniela, who was my guide in Iguatu, offered me a package of the best tererê in the region. New Maurilias also reverberated quickly. In Jardim Olinda I recorded a video that was published on the municipality's Facebook page; I circulated on the Instagram of a resident of Nova Aliança do Ivaí; I am waiting for an article to be published in the Santa Inês newspaper; and I had the pleasure of seeing my book on the shelf in one of the libraries.

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In such a short period of time, I also noticed some deep changes in the landscape. The lamp posts of the main square of Santo Antônio do Paraíso are being replaced and the ecological park that I mention in the book is now completed; the Esperança Nova entrance portal has new colours; and São Manoel do Paraná has an artistic mural on the towns' main street. Unfortunately, I didn't meet Mr Beijo again in Mirador. He was my main interviewee there and passed away shortly before the end of 2020. RIP Mr Beijo.