It was a three-day trip, due to heavy fog, when his family decided to leave Posadas, in Argentina, for Foz do Iguaçu. It was 1915. The invitation came from Jorge Schimmelpfeng, the mayor at the time, who already saw the city as a promising tourist hub.
The goal was to build a hotel. In a rare interview, in terms of historical value, published by the newspaper Our Time, in June 1982, pioneer Elfrida Engel Nunes Rios tells the story of her family, which is intertwined with the history of Foz do Iguaçu in its first steps.
“All transportation was done via the Paraná River and everything consumed here came from Argentina,” he recalls. “Where Bamerindus [later HSBC bank, on Avenida Brasil] is now, there was a large house that had been part of the Military Colony and had been converted into a hotel.”
History of Foz do Iguaçu
When the pioneer family arrived, remember, there was a small city layout, limited to Avenida Brasil and a small stretch of Avenida Jorge Schimmelpfeng. And a block without buildings, in the region of the Post Office, which would be used as a central square.
Electricity came from a power plant, which operated until close to midnight. The establishments were divided between “hotels, commercial establishments, bars”, recalls Elfrida. The movement, in fact, was generated by the obrajes, which consisted of the extraction of wood and yerba mate.
Press? Only when travelers, mainly Argentines, disembarked at the border with copies of newspapers. “The telegraph was widely used, which was installed by the Military Colony in 1906,” he adds.
The first people from Iguaçu communicated through the Post Office, with correspondence coming from Guarapuava (PR) on “donkey back”. Thus, the so-called mail carrier would travel to Catanduvas (PR) and, from there, transfer the bags to Foz do Iguaçu, here delivered on horseback, every fifteen days.
When the interview was published by Our Time, in the “Pioneers” section, Elfrida Engel Rios was in her seventies. The newspaper described her as “one of the people most dedicated to preserving the history of Foz do Iguaçu.”
His account includes details about the early days of education in the city and the time spent by the lieutenants in Foz do Iguaçu. The manual labor in the extraction of yerba mate, the road between Foz do Iguaçu and Guarapuava and the slow development of the city are part of his reminiscences.
Elfrida Engel Nunes Rios
Elfrida Engel Nunes Rios (1905-1991) gives her name to the Foz do Iguaçu Public Library. She is the daughter of Frederico Engel Rios and Carolina Engel Becker. The family owned the Hotel Brasil, which in 1916 hosted Santos Dumont in room number 2. Elfrida ran the Casa Jacy store.
The pioneer was married to Antonio Nunes Rios, with whom she had three children. She was very active in social causes and always supported the cause of rescuing and promoting the history of Foz do Iguaçu as a factor of citizenship. On her initiative, the image of Santos Dumont in the Iguaçu National Park is one of these landmarks.
ACCESS the original report in full.
History of Foz at a click
The portal Our Digital Time brings together the newspaper's entire collection, a project launched to mark the rebel newspaper's 30th anniversary. The aim is to preserve the city's memory, facilitate access to local and regional history, and democratize access to the media collection via the internet.
Access is free. The collection is a valuable resource for residents who want to delve into the history of the city and its actors, as told in the 387 editions of the newspaper that have been digitized, covering the period from December 1980 to December 1989.
*Text produced without additional research. In the original version, there may be incorrect dates and names due to manual composition at the time.
