Primeiro Salão da Criança - 30 September to 15 October 1961

1st October 1961 - I had been living in Sao Paulo since 16 December 1960. I was 12 years old, went to night-school, I was at year 5 (1a. serie ginasial) at Ginasio Vila Madalena, on Rua Morás. Even though I had moved from a small town 500 km away from Sao Paulo I was not a 'dumb kid'. In a matter of few weeks I could board a tram-car 'Praça Ramos de Azevedo' at the corner of Rua Fradique Coutinho and Rua Aspicuelta and get off at the very heart of the city and go & see a movie 'downtown'. 

I remember distinctly well, I made friends with a dark boy called Sergio who lived on Rua Ignacio Pereira da Rocha near Rua Fradique Coutinho who was in the same class as I. Sergio invited me to go and visit 'Primeiro Salão da Criança' - (First Kids' Hall) as the ad above says it ran from 30 September through to 15 October 1961. 

I didn't have the slightest idea what sort of business that was but went ahead and let me be guided by Sergio who knew the intricacies of how to get to Ibirapuera Park that was off-limits to me. I don't know how we finally got to the spot but we did... and we must have had a lot of fun for I still remember that day. It was a sort of a fair inside a great hall with stands that would sell all sorts of things a child would love to have.

Sergio lived with his family in a nice 2-story-house and had 2 older sisters. We ended up growing apart because he left Ginasio Vila Madalena in 1962; he must have enrolled in some better school; I don't remember ever asking him what school he moved to. I still remember passing in front of his house on my way to Rua Theodoro Sampaio where I worked in a laboratory. Whenever he was in the front garden I would say 'hello' until one day as I was going to say 'Oi!' he turned his face away.

As I walked past his house daily I still saw him at his porch sometimes but he was not a 'friend' anymore. He grew up to be an obese kid and after a few years his family must have moved away from there for I never saw him or his sisters anymore. 

8 October 1961 - Still 'Primeiro Salão da Criança' where Radio Bandeirantes - the most popular radio station then - had a stage where they presented shows like 'Periquitos em revista' where kids wearing roller-skates would tell a story...