The book of Paraisópolis

We miss the playground that became
a community garden and we miss all
the cats that are missing. We miss the
boy that lived on our street but moved
and the ice cream shop next to school.
We miss the snack bar and our uncle
that everybody liked. We miss the old
bakery and the days when we could
play soccer on the streets. We miss the
respect people had and all the family
members that have moved away. We
miss our childhoods.
But we remember all the concerts on
the weekends and the Children’s Day
events. We remember when DJ Arana
visited and when an MC recorded
his music video in the street. We
remember at Christmas when a Santa
Claus came to say hi to the children.
We remember Festa Junina when we
prepared so many different foods and
drinks, and a really cool fireplace in the
middle. We remember the paintings
during the World Cup season, and the
big screen that broadcasted the games,
and the parties at the Palmeirinha
Arena. People wore costumes and
played the drums for almost two
weeks. We remember when the tree
was cut down and when the cement
truck passed through the street where
we lived. We remember the market
opening and the armoured car and
the people arguing in the street. We
remember people escaping from
people. We remember the tomato
donations and all the festivals. We
remember the times when people
didn’t disrespect each other.
There are lots of things on our street
that you probably wouldn’t notice.
Things like coins thrown in the streets.
Wifi and spiderwebs. Pollution.
Insects. People talking. Moss and
mould. Clothes hangers and old
pipes and an unnecessary quantity of
electrical wires. A letter in a door. A
hole in the wall. Balconies. Flowers.
The wind.
These are the streets where we live.
The streets of Paraisópolis.
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