Aristides Pedro da Silva
Aristides Pedro da Silva was born on October 23, 1921, the eighth son of Benedicto Pedro da Silva and Presciliana Silveira. He came to the world at Fazenda Atibaia, located in Arraial de Sousas, district of Campinas, where his father worked as an administrator.
Shortly after his birth, Aristides and his family moved to Valinhos, at the invitation of the then mayor Orosimbo Maia, resident of Fazenda Cachoeira, where Maia created the Hotel Fonte Sônia. In 1937, with the sale of the Hotel, the family returned to Campinas, taking up residence at Rua Bernardino de Campos, nº 740. Afterwards, with the construction of their own house, they moved to Rua Júlio Frank, nº 18.
Chapel and Terraces - Thermas and Hotel Fonte Sonia (Década de 1930) by UnidentifiedCentro de Memória-Unicamp
The nickname V8
The nickname V8 ended up coming by mistake as it belonged to one of his brothers, but it became his trademark.
The interest in photography
Despite not having dedicated himself to studies, he even studied painting at Escola Pedro Alexandrino in 1938. For some, it was a certain frustration with the art of painting that brought V8 closer to photography, when he bought his first camera around 1947.
V8 Collector
The V8 had one preference: collecting old photographs of the city. The taste for images would have started with his mother, who collected postcards received from the time she worked at Fonte Sônia. Over time, he started to receive old images of the city from several people, in addition to others collected in the garbage. Local residents, upon seeing these images displayed in Silva's studio, trusted him to keep their photographs.
An impulse for the constitution of his collection was the set of photographs of the Magro family, donated to V8 by Ciro Pereira Magro. Then he became a true guardian of the local iconographic memory, forming a true photographic campiniana.
The Aristides Pedro da Silva collection at CMU
V8's photographic collection brings together around 4,500 images that portray the city, characters, families and institutions in Campinas. It is a unique and extremely important set for the study of the history of Campinas. Do you want to know a little more about the history of Campinas from the photographic collection gathered by V8 throughout his life? So come with us!
Walking grinder (Entre 1940 e 1949) by UnidentifiedCentro de Memória-Unicamp
Agronomic Institute employees (Entre 1910 e 1929) by UnidentifiedCentro de Memória-Unicamp
Andorinhas Marketplace (1912) by UnidentifiedCentro de Memória-Unicamp
Vegetable Market or Andorinhas House
Opened in Campinas in 1895, it was demolished in 1956.
Jequitibás Forest (1929) by UnidentifiedCentro de Memória-Unicamp
Jequitibás Forest
The land belonged to Francisco Bueno de Miranda, who in the 1880s transformed the space into a recreational place for the population of Campinas, having called the architect Francisco de Paula Ramos de Azevedo to develop a project for the garden.
Barão de Jaguara street (1931) by UnidentifiedCentro de Memória-Unicamp
Barão de Jaguara Street
Among the main and oldest streets in Campinas, it was the first in the city to receive public lighting, telephone and electricity.
Casa Livro Azul
Founded around 1876 by Antônio Benedicto de Castro Mendes, it emerged as a bookbinder, but soon became a cultural center. Over the years, it has established itself as a typography and stationery shop. It closed its doors in 1889 on the occasion of the yellow fever outbreak.
street in the Vila Industrial district (1920) by UnidentifiedCentro de Memória-Unicamp
Industrial Village
One of the first in the city, the neighborhood began to form at the end of the 19th century. It was listed by CONDEPACC (Council for the Defense of the Cultural Heritage of Campinas) in 2009.
João Améndola Bookstore (Entre 1930 e 1939) by UnidentifiedCentro de Memória-Unicamp
João Améndola Bookstore
Created by João Amêndola, one of the first booksellers in the city of Campinas, it was located on the corner of Rua General Osório and Rua Regente Feijó.
Conception Street (1892) by UnidentifiedCentro de Memória-Unicamp
Conceição Street
Initially called Formosa street, the street was renamed at the end of the 19th century at the request of the region's residents, as it overlooks the Metropolitan Cathedral of Campinas.
Metropolitan Cathedral of Campinas
The church was inaugurated in 1883, having been dedicated to Nossa Senhora da Conceição. The construction, which began in 1807, was carried out by the Bahian, Vitoriano dos Anjos Figueiroa and the Ituan Bernardino de Sena Reis e Almeida, with master carvers, providing the work with profuse ornamentation.
Invalid's asylum (Dezembro de 1905) by UnidentifiedCentro de Memória-Unicamp
Asylum for the Invalid
Inaugurated on December 10, 1905, it had Orosimbo Maia as its first president. In 1972, it was renamed Lar dos Velhinhos de Campinas.
Francisco Glicério Street (1930) by UnidentifiedCentro de Memória-Unicamp
Francisco Glicério Street
Initially called Rua do Rosário, the street was renamed in 1889 in honor of the republican from Campinas. It is one of the main roads in Campinas and underwent intense transformations in the 20th century as a result of the Urban Improvement Plan.
Cine República
Opened in 1926, in the building that belonged to the Viscountess of Campinas. It was destroyed by fire in the year 1944.
Mato Dentro farm (Entre 1900 e 1909) by UnidentifiedCentro de Memória-Unicamp
Mato Dentro Farm
Created at the beginning of the 19th century, during the sugar period in Campinas. It was acquired by the government of the State of São Paulo in the 1980s and currently houses the Instituto Biológico and the Monsenhor Emílio José Salim Ecological Park.
Chapadão farm (1907) by UnidentifiedCentro de Memória-Unicamp
Chapadão Farm
One of the pioneers of sugar production in Campinas, it was acquired in the 18th century by captain Joaquim José Teixeira Nogueira. The space houses the Forte Anhanguera Museum, inaugurated in 2020.
In addition to collecting photographs, Aristides Pedro da Silva recorded significant moments in the history of Campinas.
To learn more, continue to Part 2.
Director
André Luiz Paulilo
Associate Director
Maria Sílvia Duarte Hadler
Coordination
João Paulo Berto
Curatorial Project and Texts
Ana Cláudia Cermaria
Translation and images selection
Ana Julia Bacce Kuhl
Marileide Rayane de Macedo da Silva
Realization
Centro de Memória-UNICAMP
December 2021
