Boca da Noite Archive - Part 1
Discover the memory and history of Gilda, a street transvestite and popular figure in Curitiba in the 1970s and 1980s.
Retrato de Gilda (PHOTOGRAPH) by Carlos Alberto MacaxeiraMuseu da Diversidade Sexual
Gilda was a travesti in street situation who used to go to Senador Luiz Xavier Avenue, a region known as Boca Maldita.
She became a popular figure in Curitiba in the 70s and early 80s because she asked for a spare change and, if she didn't get it, she kissed people. She also became popular for her joy and participation in street carnival parties.
While living in Curitiba, Gilda had her life marked by misery, repression and violence by the city authorities at the same time she was loved and cherished by part of the population and artists.
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The region that Gilda used to go to, Boca Maldita, was a sexist place and a free institutionalized stand since December 13, 1957. The brotherhood, presided over by Anfrísio Siqueira, elected "gentlemen" to the legion of "I don't hear, I don't speak, I don't see".
Foto sem título (Gilda e amigos) (PHOTOGRAPH) by Carlos Alberto MacaxeiraMuseu da Diversidade Sexual
If part of the city wants to erase Gilda's history until today, artists from different generations have immortalized her in their music, plays, performances, poems and carnival marchinhas, which are Brazilian carnival songs. She was transformed into a symbol of Curitiba's LGBTQI+ culture.
At the request of Anfrísio Siqueira, Gilda was arrested by the police in 1981 so she couldn't take part in carnival because her presence would jeopardize a "trade promotion". While human rights organizations interceded for her release, Gilda went on a hunger strike and screamed for freedom.
Release material for the song "Gilda sem Carnaval" by Jayme Alves de Oliveira in the newspaper Diário do Paraná on July 12, 1981. In the same year, Bloco do Cadáver paraded in Curitiba and left Kapelle Bar singing a protest marchinha celebrating Gilda's release.
On the week of Gilda's death, a group of people organized a movement called “Boca da Noite”, which collected signatures and donations for the placement of a bronze plaque saying “GILDA, THE PEOPLE OF CURITIBA MISS YOU” to be installed in Boca Maldita. The debate about the placement of the plaque and about the obelisk in Boca Maldita having become an altar in her honor reverberated in the local press at the time with opposing positions, especially of the president of the Boca Maldita Association.
Foto Movimento Boca da Noite 1 (PHOTOGRAPH) by Carlos Alberto MacaxeiraMuseu da Diversidade Sexual
Finally, even with the collection of signatures and the collection of donations, the plaque made and installed by the population was pulled out. It is speculated that part of the population wanted to erase Gilda from history to prevent her from becoming a popular saint in the city, that is, a person recognized by many as a saint without being canonized.
Foto do Movimento Boca da Noite (PHOTOGRAPH) by Alberto Melo VianaMuseu da Diversidade Sexual
Ary Giordani, Janaina Matter, Luis Otávio Almeida, Luciano Faccini e Melina Mulazani
Ficha técnica:
Idealização e curadoria: Guilherme Jaccon
Identidade visual e diagramação da exposição: Claudio Moreira
Captação de vídeos: Trópicº
Edição de vídeos: Fernando Helfenstein
Intérprete de Libras: Talita Sharon Simões
Revisão e tradução de textos: Ti Ochoa
Locução de vídeos: Elenize Dezgeniski e Santiago Tobias de Santana
Jornalista: Raíssa Micheluzzi
Agradecimentos: Marcia Moraes, Sueli Araujo e toda CIA Senhas de Teatro; Luana Navarro; Elenize Dezgeniski; Paulo Reis; Pedro Lauro e Família; Equipe e direção do Museu da Imagem e do Som do Paraná; Goura Nataj e equipe; Diego Fiorentino e Sabrina Demozzi; e toda equipe do Museu da Diversidade de São Paulo.
GOVERNO DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO
Governador do Estado de São Paulo: Rodrigo Garcia
Secretário de Cultura e Economia Criativa do Estado de São Paulo: Sérgio Sá Leitão
Secretária Executiva: Cláudia Pedrozo
Chefe de Gabinete: Frederico Maia Mascarenhas
Coordenadora da Unidade de Preservação do Patrimônio Museológico (UPPM): Paula Paiva Ferreira
INSTITUTO ODEON
Diretor Presidente: Carlos Gradim
Diretoria de Operações e Finanças: Roberta Kfuri
Diretoria de Equipamento: Marisa Bueno
Coordenação de Museologia e Acervo: Leonardo Vieira
Museologia: Leila Antero
Coordenação de Relações Institucionais e Projetos: Luiz Henrique Amoêdo
Assessoria de Comunicação: Eduardo Cordeiro
Coordenação do Núcleo de Ação Educativa: Val Chagas
Coordenação Administrativo Financeiro: Luiz Custódio da Silva Junior
Administrativo Financeiro: Vanda Maria Batista, Alexia Bastos Souza e Jhonatha Lucas
Compras: Jeferson Rocha de Lima
Produção: Denise Soares e Heitor Gabriel
Núcleo de Ação Educativo: Nay Costa e Ramon Lima
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