Unconditional love for the city, fond memories and the lack of government action to protect its collective history led Rita Araújo to develop what can safely be called a life project. The cause, in this case, is the weekly meeting of pioneers Causos de Foz.
The purpose is to bring people together, rescue and share memories, recall experiences and value the contribution of those who were or arrived before Foz do Iguaçu. These are times gone by, but not forgotten, to reference the beginning of this endeavor.
Rita Araújo put old residents of the city in touch and they were looking for each other. In 2015, she created a Facebook group so that participants could post photos, relive and learn stories. Soon the need for face-to-face meetings arose.
The “Causos de Foz” event takes place on Saturdays at Clube Gresfi, bringing together people of all ages, including many over 90 years old. It is open to younger people interested in learning about the “living history of Foz do Iguaçu”, as told by many of its protagonists, as well as to teachers and researchers.
VIDEO – INTERVIEW WITH RITA ARAÚJO
Taking care of Foz do Iguaçu
Born in Santa Casa Monsenhor Guilherme, the communicator – who worked as a social columnist and TV and radio presenter – is the daughter of Augusto Araújo and Conceição Ferreira Araújo. Her parents were married in the city in the early 1940s.
A mining engineer, he came to Foz do Iguaçu in the late 1930s to work on projects for the Dolabella company, such as the construction of the Hotel das Cataratas. A native of Iguaçu, Mrs. “Ninita” dedicated her life to altruism, passing on her love for Foz do Iguaçu to her daughter, as well as through stories and memories.
“I have always been a close friend of my mother. Since I was little, I would spend time with her and her friends listening to stories,” recalls Rita. “I love Foz do Iguaçu unconditionally. I learned this from her, who was passionate and proud of the city where she was born,” she emphasizes.
This sense of belonging is what defines the get-together. “We get together to talk only about the past. The only rule is not to discuss politics, religion or football – unless it’s football from the past: we always talk about Kid Chocolate,” he jokes, mentioning this figure from Iguaçu sports.
With the social media group “Foz do Iguaçu Dos Tempos Idos Mas Não Esquecidos…” came the Causos de Foz meeting, as a demand after the COVID-19 pandemic – the first two with support from the Cultural Foundation –, and another network on WhatsApp. “Our pioneers needed to meet up,” says Rita Araújo.
This desire grew mainly among Iguaçu residents who live in other cities, states and countries. The first meeting, of an initial proposal of four seasonal editions, was at Gresfi in 2023. “There were hugs, tears, joy and a lot of emotion”, he recalls.
The next step was for the pioneers to meet at the Agricultural College, with over 200 participants, and then moved to Praça da Marinha, Almirante Tamandaré. It returned to Gresfi, having become a fixed, weekly event, with the club's management providing support and support.
“The meeting is to listen and tell the story that is going down the drain. The government is failing, and failing badly, to take care of this heritage, despite a positive experience in 1997, with the publication of an important book [Foz do Iguaçu: Retratos],” she says. And she leaves a message: “Those who choose to live in Foz do Iguaçu, take care of the city, love it,” asserts Rita.
Cinema and walks on Avenida Brasil
If her mother left Rita Araújo with a love for the city and its history, her father passed on to her a belief in development. “He was a councilman twice, in the best of times, when he didn’t get paid a cent and if he missed a session, he had to pay,” she says, referring to the man who was a Getúlio Vargas supporter.
He was a partner in several ventures, such as the pioneering gas station in Brazil, Esso Avenida, which operated until 1975, at Avenida Brasil, 1.004, where the Riachuelo store is now located. He helped expand the city's telephone service. Rita immediately remembers the three digits of the home and gas station telephone numbers: 213 and 248.
He was a partner in a car dealership, in the location of the old Whiskadão, on the corner of Jorge Sanwais and Almirante Barroso. Committed to commerce, he helped to create the Commercial Association, ACIFI, being its second president (1953–1955), after Pedro Basso (1951–1953).
“I was always active. And in those days, all the merchants were very close-knit and helped each other,” he says, explaining the large number of Turkish businessmen who settled on Avenida Brasil. “My father, Mr. Augusto, believed in Foz do Iguaçu,” he says proudly.
Rita Araújo's mother dedicated herself to charity work, helping to maintain the services of several organizations that assist vulnerable people. For ten years, she worked alongside the projects led by Léa Vianna, founder of the Foz do Iguaçu Youth Guard.
“Mom was always involved in helping people,” Rita emphasizes. “And she was a bingo player. Whenever there was bingo, Dona ‘Ninita’ was there. She won countless prizes, including a Volkswagen Beetle, in a raffle at Gresfi, which she needed Dad’s help to bring,” she recalls.
The memoirist goes through her own memories. Before Itaipu Binacional, in the 1970s, she spent afternoons at Cine Star and walked along Avenida Brasil to the Army Battalion. And she went to Presidente Stroessner, in Paraguay, on the other side of the Friendship Bridge, to see the open-air cinema, drink chipa and Coca-Cola.
She observed the city’s unplanned expansion with a certain degree of surprise. “I had a wonderful childhood, everyone was friends. Foz do Iguaçu was a family, a small city that functioned perfectly, where its residents had access to the same schools and hospitals. I miss that,” concludes Rita, with nostalgia.
I arrived in Foz at the age of 6 in 1985, I grew up in the Porto Belo neighborhood, Vila c. Etc... there are many memories and recollections... I lived in the era before computers and the virtual world, today everything is extremely different... anyway, nostalgia is not age.
We arrived in Foz in 1959, my parents lived in this city until their arrival. We did a lot of mischief, we are 6 brothers, all living in different cities, three remain who still live in Foz, I am your contemporary and I also experienced everything you described. I miss those times a lot.
As incredible as it may seem, I became a teacher for 30 years, and am now retired.
I think you will remember.
Congratulations Rita for your dedication to rescuing the history of Foz do Iguaçu.
Thank you.
I am the grandson of Patrício Moleda and Joana Paniagua Yedros Moleda, born in 1900 in Argentina, the first midwife in Foz, I had 11 uncles, all also born in Foz, I grew up on the banks of the Paraná and Iguaçu rivers... oh, I miss you so much
Rita, I am the granddaughter of Júlio Pasa who was mayor of Foz, my whole family is from there,
RITA Congratulations on your beautiful work.
I arrived in Foz do Iguaçu in 1963 and lived in the Maracanã neighborhood until 1980. I witnessed the construction of the crest line of the Itaipu Binacinal dam, when I transported the engineer in charge and his theodolite to the banks of the Paraná River. I wasn't born in Foz do Iguaçu, but I have great memories of that city. On summer afternoons, we would go to the falls with a box of popsicles and play general. Access to the park was free back then. Good old days.