Very gradually, the struggle is no joke, I have managed to abolish the effects of the pernicious message invented by a virulent horse rider on the way to Damascus [if that is true!] and with plenty of Latin and Greek instilled with slimy
blarney by the faithful followers of Saul, renamed Paul, saint patron of the metropolis that not even the divine trinity
may convert. Apparently the impact with the Syrian ground after falling from horse had beaten the crown of the fana-
tical persecutor of Christians and Jews, imaginative visionary, whose nut [perhaps too late] was cut by …
And by whom? Ah yes, by that incredible benefactor of mankind, fiery incendiary, fratricide, matricide, uxoricide,
stubborn versifier and eminent lyre player, Nero. But that’s another story.
Soon I learned also to oust jeromes, augustines and aquinas, to name the most quoted, prolific fathers of the so called patristic that no christian a bit more perceptive uses to frequent today.
Another valuable learning: instead of medieval Latin, runaway jargon of “paulistanas” streets and alleys, of the legendary skyscrapers Martinelli and Copan, of the “piranhas” [whores] area in the center, of the Caravelle Building [Paim St], sadly famous “treme-treme” (shake-shake, a vertical brothel), where we shared apartment, two friends from Minas and I, and of countless small nightclubs with live music and lots of caipirinha, daiquiri and home-produced whiskey, brrr!
One day I married by mistake, the biggest stupidity of youth. The next day, so to speak, I was more than regretful, or better, I had already changed my mind before, but the devil only teaches certain tricks after a good beating, so that …
And São Paulo taught me that no matter how big and amazing a metropolis of that caliber can be, the world does not end there, out there it goes on.
As anyone coming from Minas, and being proud of it, is never quite satisfied with São Paulo, the fellow here, hey listen [I thought] ... bye boys, friends … on so many sprees!
From across the pond [Atlantic] the adventure continues. As Dr Jorge de Lima would say: “para desvendar, fui” [to unveil, I've been].