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José Paulo – Ideal Decision
Lázara Santos and Augusto Zanetti, 19 years old young people,
did not admit doing anything apart, such was the couple’s com-
plicity and friendship, besides their focus on the job to maintain
their home. Soon enough, my grandparent’s home was filled with
joy and the first daughter to be born was my beloved mother,
Cleusa, who for many years was the family’s right arm. She divided
her childhood between the work in the crops, taking care of her
brothers and the time she got left, with studies.
My mother always told me that hard work kept a home full of
people, that they were my grandparents and their twelve children,
two of them, adopted. When every kid was six years old, they star-
ted working with my grandfather in the farm, whilst my grandmo-
ther took care of the house. They did not even had shoes, but they
had the will, determination, and happiness.
My grandfather, a kind hearted man, leased his farm to help a
person in need with the money, but unfortunately this person did
not pay him back and the whole family was left without a home or
a land to work on. However, as I have said before, determination
and faith were the fuel of this family, which was welcomed by a
couple from the region, and they did not give up.
Little did they know what was about to happen on April 17th,
1971, a fatality would claim my grandfather’s life. At that time
the whole city was moved, the family continued together, once
more faith and determination prevailed and my dear grandmother
Lázara, pregnant with her youngest daughter, took charge of the
situation and kept them all together and with the same objective,
which was to have a life with a lot of work and integrity.
Years came by and the moment has come for my mother to
start her own family when she met my beloved father, José Pereira,
police officer, upright man, disciplined, strict, but very protective.
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José Paulo – Ideal Decision
They got married and came to Sao Paulo, then the opportunity
presented itself for my uncles to try and have a new life in this land
of opportunities as well. One of my uncles got a job in a big trac-
tor’s company and also got jobs for his brothers there; practically
all the family’s revenue came from the work in this company, and
they were all grateful for this opportunity
Whenever there were typical festivities in the company, there
was our entire family, after all, everybody worked there. I went
to this company’s parties and what amazed me the most were the
huge machines, not to mention the treats they served at the parties.
All jokes aside, when I was 12 years old, I decided I was going to
work there too.
If there is a phrase I always quote is “decision decides fates”,
and there was a decided boy. Even as a child, to me, nothing could
be done in any which way, if I had to work for that company, it
had to be in the best way possible. So, I managed to study at Liceu
de Artes e Ofícios (loosely translated as High School of Arts and
Crafts) and kept focused on my objective, which was to work at the
tractor’s company.
Soon there I was as the family’s mascot, working in the same
company; now I was no longer invited to the parties, I was a part
of everything just as I decided and planned. I am sure the deter-
mination and faith from my grandparents follow me to this day.
But before I finish this chapter, I cannot fail to mention my
paternal grandfather, Júlio Pereira da Cruz, upright, hardworking,
and kindhearted man, he was a military in the Northeast and
worked as a well-digger. Think about the challenge it was to dig a
well in people’s houses in the 50s, which was a common thing back
then. Not everyone knows how to do it, but that was the only form
of water extraction in some places. My grandfather, even though
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