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Pioneer Portrait: Alice Caetano Veloso

posted by Gallery of the Portuguese Pioneers
Nov 23, 2016 1331 0 0
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Nascimento: 1943

Naturalidade: Celorico da Beira — Carrapichana 

Residência: Buenos Aires, Argentina 

“Vivi com os meus pais e um irmão em Carrapichana, terra onde trabalhávamos na agricultura. O meu pai era caiador (caiava casas) e a minha mãe, doméstica.

Aos 7 anos de idade, fui com ela e um irmão de 4 anos para a Argentina, onde o meu pai já residia há um ano.

A viagem de barco, no Maipu, durou 17 dias. Logo no início da viagem, a minha mãe deu entrada no hospital do barco, saindo somente no dia em que atracámos em Buenos Aires. Entretanto, ficámos ao cuidado de um marinheiro e de outros viajantes que nos ajudavam a passar o dia-a-dia.

Nos primeiros tempos, fomos morar na casa dos meus tios que nos haviam enviado a carta da chamada, mudando-nos mais tarde para um lugar chamado Vila Bosh, onde passámos a frequentar a escola.

A vida era muito dura, vivíamos muito pobremente!

Como mesa para tomar as refeições, usávamos a mala de viagem que havia transportado as nossa coisas. Vestíamos a roupa e calçávamos os sapatos que outras pessoas nos ofereciam. E estes só eram utilizados para irmos à escola.

Terminei o ensino primário aos 12 anos, altura em que os meus pais me pediram para começar a trabalhar. A minha mãe estava sempre doente, pelo que eu, após um dia de trabalho, ainda fazia a lida da casa. No pouco tempo que sobrava, a mim e ao meu irmão, vendíamos frangos vivos nas esquinas das ruas da cidade.

Após residirmos um ano e Buenos Aires, nasceu a minha irmã.”


Born: 1943

Hometown: Celorico da Beira — Carrapichana 

Current Residence: Buenos Aires, Argentina 

“I lived with my parents and brother in the town of Carrapichana, where we worked in agriculture. When I was 7, my mother, brother and I left for Argentina, where my father had already been living for a year.

Our journey on the boat Maipu lasted 17 days. Right at the start of the trip, my mom got sick, and spent the entire time in the boat’s hospital, only surfacing the day that we docked in Buenos Aires. During that time, we were taken care of by a sailor and some other passengers.

After arriving, we went to live with my aunt and uncle, who had sponsored our immigration to Argentina. We later moved to a placed called Vila Bosh, and that’s when my brother and I started going to school.

Life was hard, and we lived in poverty. We would use one of our luggages as a kitchen table, and we would wear clothes and shoes donated to us by others. Even this was a luxury; we were only allowed to wear these gifts to go to school!

I finished my primary education at 12 years old, and soon after my parents sent me off to work. My mother was always sick, so after work everyday, I would have to come home and take care of all domestic duties too. In our spare time, to make some extra money, my brother and I would sell live chickens on different street corners.

After a year of living in Buenos Aires, our sister was born.”

This post is an excerpt taken from the book ‘Envelhecer no Estrangeiro: Retalhos de Vida’ published by Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa

 

ArgentinaBiographyImmigrationLuso-Argenitian CommunityPortugalPortuguese emigration
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