I met Silvia Paula in mid-1966 when I was 17 years old. We became fast friend immediately. Silvia's parents were from German extraction. Her father migrated to Brazil from Germany in the 1920s. Her mother Paula Sawade was born in São Simão-SP from German parents. Paula had an older brother called Fritz who migrated to the United States circa 1929 and never came back to Brazil except for a few short visits. Fritz Sawade was an auto-mechanic by trade and must have made a few bob in Mount Vernon-N.Y.
Fritz was a very affectionate brother who never forgot his baby sister. He never missed sending Paula a Christmas card. Here's Fritz's 1950 Xmas card. Although Fritz spoke Portuguese very well he preferred writing in German. His wife Irma spoke mostly German even though she had also been born in Brazil. Their kids Ingrid Carol and Freddy could not speak Portuguese so they spoke German to their relatives whenever they came to Brazil on vacation.
Liebe Paula, Otto, Silvia und Roberto! Ein Recht Frölichen Weihnachten und ein Recht Glückliches und Gesundes Neues Jahr senden Euch mit Herzliche Grüsse, Fritz, Irma, Fredy und Ingrid. New York, Dez. 1950.
Silvia circa 1964
Silvia Paula Jentsch
* 1st February 1942
+ 13 August 2010
Rua 13 de Maio corner with Rua Conselheiro Carrão with Church of Our Lady of Chiropita; Silvia rented an apartment at a building on Rua Dr. Luiz Barreto from which one could clearly see the back of this Church. It was in 1967.
Silvia Paula Jentsch
* 1st February 1942
+ 13 August 2010
the Jentsch-Sawade tomb at Cemiterio Christo Redemptor on Avenida Dr. Arnaldo, S.Paulo.
Frederich Sawade * 12 August 1878 + 13 October 1947;
Carolina Sellmer Sawade * 28 October 1879 + 31st December 1954;
Otto Jentsch * 20 September 1903 + 8 May 1991;
Emma Sawade Scherrschmidt * 28 February 1915;
Paula Sawade Jentsch * 27 July 1917 + 24 November 1998.
Little church Divino Espírito Santo, on Rua Frei Caneca, 1047, where Ursula organized a 30th Day Mass in remembrance of Silvia on 13 September 2010. There were a few of Silvia's friend like Malú (Maria de Lourdes Pelaes), Soninha (Sonia Maria Oliveira), Myself, Ursula and a few others I wasn't acquainted with.
from left to right: Luiz Carlos, Walter Teruo Tsutsui, Luiz Amorim, Sandra Regina Pisani, Maria de Lourdes Pelaes & Silvia Paula Jentsch.
Looking closer at this photo taken in mid-1967 at Walter Tsutsui house on Rua Girassol, in Vila Madalena I can only admit that we were very hard-working members of the Rita Pavone Fan Club. Walter himself holds the sleeve of Pavone's US album 'The International Teenage Sensation' while Maria de Lourdes Pelaes holds the Italian pressing of 'La vostra Rita', that I had receive through the Air Mail not long before this meeting.
All the other members were holding posters of Rita which had been printed on Italian magazines that would find their way into São Paulo and Rio's newsstands as of mid-1966. Those imported magazines were relatively dear for teenagers like us but we managed to buy them somehow.
Estava prestando atenção nessa foto tirada na casa do Walter. Aquele LP "La vostra Rita" era meu; tinha recebido por Via Aérea da Itália não fazia muito tempo. As fotos da Rita eram recentes, do próprio ano de 1967, não eram minhas. São 4 albums diferentes. Ali estava o QG dos fãs de Rita mais informado do Brasil. Como a gente trabalhava duro para conseguir esse material. Foi um tempo imemoriável.
E pensar que um ano depois, 1968, tudo mudaria radicalmente. Rita sairia da RCA; a música Anglo tornaría-se majoritária no Brasil; Rita casaria com o empresário. Tudo mudaria naqueles próximos meses. Nós não tínhamos a mínima noção que estávamos no olho do furacão.
Até minha amizade com o Walter terminaria ali. Aquele Incontro foi a derradeira atividade de Fã Clube quee aconteceu. Em 1968 eu serviria o Exército...um ano perdido. Em Dezembro de 68, apareceria o AI-5! Tudo escureceu!
Essa foto mostra o último instante de felicidade que vivemos antes de cairmos numa realidade dura.
Maria de Lourdes Pelaes
* November 1948
+ 19 March 2018
Vera Castellani wrote at FB on 17 May 2018: Sim, Malú estava doente há alguns meses, até que foi submetida à uma cirurgia do intestino, mas devido a seu estado bem debilitado, não agüentou. Faleceu no dia 19 Março 2018... muito triste. Muita falta está nos fazendo.
Walter Teruo Tsutsui
* 22nd August 1947
+ 16 April 2021.
Walter died of complications of Covid-19. He told Wilton Belintani over the phone since the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic he was very careful not to mingle with crowds and avoided to go out of doors needlessly. The only time he went out was once a week on street-market day (feira-livre) next to where he lived but even so he tried to go early when there was not many people milling around.
We don't know how Walter got infected with the Corona virus. After he was already in hospital, he sent a message to Doris Castro saying he was not really bad. A few days later, Doris got a message from Guilherme his youngest son telling her Walter was on a ventilator and the doctor said there was nothing else they could do for him. Very sad.
