At Jaime's former place in 2010

Jaime in back of his clip-board studio built next to his brick house. Photo taken by myself.

Local bus running through Cuiabá-de-Cima to Nazaré Paulista-SP. Photo taken by Jaime Ponciano. 

Stranded in Cuiabá-de-Cima

In May 2010, nine months after Jaime Ponciano died, I went to visit his sister Roseli (Tatchi) who lives in Vicente Nunes a section of Nazaré Paulista-SP. 

Visiting Jaime in Nazaré had always been a major operation due to the many different bus connections I had to take before I reached his lovely little house on the top of a hill called Cuiabá-de-Cima. Every time I went to Nazaré I had to wake up at 4:00 AM to get the 4:30 bus from Rio Pequeno to town. Then I changed bus and went to Armênia Station where I would get me a van or bus to Guarulhos. I had to get to the centre of Guarulhos 6:30 and wait for the Nazare bus at 6:50. The trip to Nazaré Paulista usually takes 1:15 hours. From Nazare I had to walk 10 kilometres to get to Cuiabá-de-Cima where Jaime's father had a property and Jaime a small house he built during the 1990s.  I usually arrived at Jaime's place around 10:30. So, it took me 6 hours to get to Jaime's place from the moment I left home at 4:30 AM until I got to his place at 10:30.

This Saturday I arrived at Tatchi's at 9:00 - one and a half earlier as one does not have to walk 10 km. She was still in bed but got up and made coffee. I had brought a loaf of Italian bread and we had a nice breaky. We talked for a while. Mr. João da Silva, Jaime's father came to get his car that had stayed at Tatchi's front yard overnight. I asked him for a lift up to Cuiabá-de-Cima because I wanted to check Jaime scrap books and stuff he left behind. I knew I had a lift up but didn't know how I would get me a lift back to town.

1st May 2010 - Saturday

I am at Jaime's parents' house and I'm about to go to sleep at one of the family's bedrooms.

I spent almost the whole day talking with Nenê, Jaime's brother. He turned out to be such a lovely guy. I thought he would be mean about Jaime's stuff like scrap books, letters and drawings but I was wrong. I was the one feeling mean and materialistic in my quest to get at Jaime's sketches, scrawlings and note books. Those were important to me as if it were a part of him he had left behind.  Nenê even helped me arrange the stuff to be brought home with me. 

Then I turned the light off and went to sleep. It felt strange to be sleeping in that place knowing Jaime was not there. That was the first time I went to visit his place after his death in August 2009. I felt like I was an 'intruder'. I had no business to be there at all. But I wanted to get hold of his stuff before it would be too late. 

2nd May 2010 - Sunday

When I planned to visit Jaime's parents' house I didn't know I would end up spending nearly  3 days here. I hate staying away from home for more than one night and here I was, stuck in Nazaré Paulista for 2 whole days.

When Jaime was alive I would go to Nazaré to spend the day with him arriving around 10 AM, staying the whole day talking our heads off; sleeping over; waking up around 4:00 AM; walk all the way from the rural property to town to get the bus back to Guarulhos around 7:00 AM. 

Now, I knew I could not walk the 10 km to town for I was loaded with Jaime's stuff I had collected with his brother. So I had to rely on anyone's good grace to give me a lift to Nazaré. 

I woke up early on the Sunday. Nenê was going down the lake to fish so I went along with him. It's funny to realize I had visited Jaime so many times and we never had the chance to go down to the water. We usually had so much to talk about we couldn't be bothered to take the time to go all the way down to the water. 

I didn't stay long at the lake but went back up to the main house to see if I could get a lift to town. Renata, Jaime's sister, Repilica (Susana) and Bebéia (Rafaela) had stayed overnight at Dona Lina's house and were waiting for Sergio - Jaime's brother-in-law - to come and take them to town where they live. Susana went to Congregation Church for the youth meeting at 10:00 AM so I figured Sergio would come at 12:00 o'clock and take us all to town. 

Sergio who is an expert in electrical instalation was wiring up a house in the neighbourhood and showed up at 12 to have lunch with his family. He said he had to go back to finish his job but would be back in no time and then he would give me a lift to town before 4:00 PM for me to get the Guarulhos bus at 5:00 PM.
  

Night was falling and Sergio would not show. I was really disheartened doing nothing but waiting for Godot. I really hate to be stuck in a place with no way to get out and that's how I was feeling. I was praying he'd get me to the bus station on time but when he showed up with his VW beetle it was already dark. There was no way I would ever get any bus now. So I had to conform and pray I would while away the hours with self composure.

We went to Sergio & Renata's house in town, had tead and they made my bed on the floor for the night. That was my second night away from home. I was mortified but had to put up with and shut up! I missed Jaime so much. If he were alive I would have never been in such dire straits. I woke up at 3:00 AM and would not go back to sleep afraid of missing the bus to Guarulhos. Sergio woke up at 4:00 and heated up the coffee. I went out at 4:15 and waited for 20 minutes at the bus stop. 

3rd May 2010 - Monday

It is strange riding on a rural bus at 4:00 AM. Most of the people know each other by name and their small talk is very peculiar. Most of them fall asleep as soon as they hit their seat. Others keep a droning conversation that is mostly irritating. 

We arrived at Santa Terezinha (Fortaleza district) where I alighted and I took a bus to São Paulo Armênia Station. At 6:10 I was still stuck in traffic on the busy Monday morning next to  Center Norte Shopping Center. Oh, what a feeling!

Sketch of a male nude in black crayon, Egon Schiele, 1918. 

Jaime at his kitchen sink... photographed by myself.

Jaime's bed room.

Capela de São Lázaro à beira da Represa...