Guia Cultural da Costa Verde

Angra dos Reis • Ilha Grande

SEU TIÃO

A fisherman and storyteller who captivates with his tales

With his subdued voice and ingenuousness, caiçara Sebastião de Brito Tenório, also known as Tião, is a collector of tales that date back over his 80 years of age. He is a native of Ilha Grande who lives on the peaceful Praia do Matariz looking after his garden or carving handcrafted little wooden boats.

Because of his many years in the fishing activity, Tião is aware of the forces of nature like nobody else. At times the sea was generous, perfect for catching the sardines supplied to the Japanese community’s processors, where the fish was salted. He also remained at sea for two or three months with his mates, going after larger fish. He has had to face violent waves, frightening storms and treacherous winds. With luck and the protection of Saint Peter, he survived all of this to the joy of his caiçara wife Carmem and of his five offspring, who take pride in their father’s courage.

Talking of courage, Tião recalled that once he got together a few friends for a sad mission: to bring back the corpse found on Parnaioca beach. The night was very cold and rainy. On the way back, they stopped for a while and one of the friends said, “Let’s have a drop of cachaça with ginger to fight the cold weather.” At this point the dead man arose and said: “If there’s ginger in it, I’d like some too!” Everybody ran off in terror, but when the “corpse” reappeared on the beach alive and well the following day, everybody had to agree that this was living proof of the miracles of cachaça.

Tião has always been cheerful and in good humor. When he was younger, he and his group of friends used to walk for three hours to the other side of the island, to Vila do Abraão, to enjoy the lively carnival masquerade. A chest full of memories and stories remained from this fun and games, which he takes great pleasure in sharing in moments of relaxation.

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