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Gabriel's notebooks
Gabriel Joaquim dos Santos used to write down in capitals, in plain, cheap notebooks, all the events that impressed him. Before a boy from the neighborhood taught him to read and write, when he was 36, he used to retain such events in his memory. After mastering the basic skills of literacy, he started writing about the events of his everyday life: births, deaths, weddings of relatives and acquaintances; his own diseases and the visits he paid to doctors and hospitals; the gifts he gave and was given; the adornments he created for his own house and the objects donated for its decoration; the wages he was paid along the years and the problems arising from his work at the salt-works; the price of foodstuffs; the improvements brought to his area; tragedies (fires, storms, shipwrecks). Moreover, he would record with a historian's or an erudite accuracy some of the great political events of the nation's history. The data were not recorded in chronological order: in the same page there are events that took place at different dates. The topics also are mixed up: at the same page he reports the Pope's death in Rome, the purchase of some roofing tiles, a neighbor's wedding, the wages paid by the salt-works.
As for the historical events reported, the simple fact that he was aware of them is amazing, since he did not have any easy access to the media: he did not have a radio of his own and he lived away from the urban centers. He would learn the news, most likely, by word of mouth or by reading them, either in the street or at somebody else's home. However, Gabriel's mind was bright enough to apprehend the importance of those events; that's why he would retain them in his memory and, later on, he would preserve them for the future in his modest notebooks.
The artist would write the way he spoke, with many misspelled words. There were no signs of punctuation in his writings either (the punctuation of the following paragraphs is merely tentative). All this material has been recorded in microfilm by the National Library and is available to interested people.
Some notes taken by Gabriel
Diamante, a pet dog of Gabriel's, fell ill on January 1, 1977. Gabriel asked Wilsom [sic] to destroy him on January 3, 1977. Thinking of my dog and fellow traveler and missing him. Never again do I want January 3, 1977, Diamante.
Never again shall I go to work. I was given authorization to retire by Dr. Geraldo, on the 25th of July of the year 1960. From now down to the end, I, Gabriel Joaquim dos Santos, shall be a free man forever. Gabriel Joaquim dos Santos learned how to read on September 10 1928; until then he did not know anything.
Getúlio Vargas sent Brazilian troops to fight in Europe on September 13, 1943. The bridge of Cabo Frio was built in the year 1926.
The bitter storms that have hit Cabo Frio. On September 27, 1913, a hurricane sunk near the shore a steamer that was coming loaded from the North.
Gabriel put automobile headlights glass on the walls of his house on June 19, 1978; he put bottles inside the terra cotta pipes on 6.20.78; he put Dutch tiles on the wall next to his bed on July 11, 78.
On December 13 Gabriel sold two roosters to Dona Maria for 26 thousand cruzeiros, in 1973.
Gabriel first received minimum wages of 50 cruzeiros on August 7, 1954.
On May 4, 1974, Nelson Coelho's briefcase full of money was stolen on the road, at night.
On June 16 of the year 1965, Valdir, José Borba's son, drowned at the Porto do Carro beach, where he was catching crab.
The inauguration of the Maricá Railroad took place in Cabo Frio on September 11, 1937. It stopped being used on January 10, 1961.
Hugo's stone quarry blew up killing people on March 8, 1961.
On December 17, 1961, in Niterói, the Circo Americano caught fire and many people died.
The Agrarian Reform Bill was founded [sic] on March 13, 1964, during the presidency of João Goulart. It was signed in Rio de Janeiro at 4 p.m.
Price of foodstuffs in December of the year 1963: an employee was paid 1.500 cruzeiros per day. He would buy 1 kilo of beef for 700 cruzeiros, 1 kilo of flower for 70 cruzeiros, 1 kilo of sugar for 140 cruzeiros, 1 kilo of beans for 180 cruzeiros, 1 loaf of bread for 20 cruzeiros, 1 egg for 20 cruzeiros. The government those days was that of João Goulart, who governed Brazil.
On November 14, 1963, the Englishmen were defeated [at a soccer game] by the Brazilians.
The first Gospel ever preached in Brazil was that of the first mass, celebrated on April 26, 1500, when Brazil was discovered.
The statue of a female saint was stolen at Cabo Frio's Catholic church, on October 20, 1960. The three thieves were arrested. That saint appeared on the year 1721.
The poetic shape of Gabriel Joaquim dos Santos´ discourse
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