Portraits of Brazilian Childhood

Enjoy the second part of this exhibition about childhood, featuring photos that capture children through the years in different parts of Brazil.

Crianças brincam no parque Dom Pedro II (1959-07)Folha de S.Paulo

1959

Children play in the Dom Pedro II park, one of the few green spaces in downtown São Paulo. In the 1950s, the city center shot up vertically as almost 30,000 new apartments were built.

Infância (2018-04-30) by Karime XavierFolha de S.Paulo

2018

Five-year-old children with Down's syndrome play in a park in Curitiba, the capital of Paraná State. The parents of the little girl in the center of the photo fought a legal battle to keep their daughter in nursery school, where class sizes are smaller than in elementary schools.

The Brazilian National Education Guidelines and Framework Law state that nursery schools can only accept pupils up to the age of 5, unless the child turns 6 after April 1 of that academic year.

Folha TV: Young reporters

In 2012, children become reporters for a special edition of Folhinha, the Folha de São Paulo newspaper's weekly children's supplement, which was published from 1963 until 2016.

Ski Mountain Park (2006-04-23) by Renato StocklerFolha de S.Paulo

2006

An 11-year-old student practices snowboarding at Ski Mountain Park in the inland city of São Roque, in São Paulo State. The first facility of its kind in Brazil, the park has a dry ski slope and ski lift, and offers other activities such as tree climbing, paintball, and zip-lining.

Crianças da Febem (1983-11) by Luiz A. NovaesFolha de S.Paulo

1983

Children at the Foundation for Child Welfare (Fundação Estadual para o Bem-Estar do Menor) play outdoors in São Paulo.

Until 1990, the organization also provided help for at-risk youngsters. It then started working exclusively with young people who were in trouble with the law. In 2006, it changed its name to Fundação Casa.

Crianças pastoras (2021-06-08) by Karime XavierFolha de S.Paulo

2021

Esther Ota, a 6-year-old Pentecostal preacher, prays at her home in Itaim Paulista, a neighborhood in São Paulo's East Zone. Along with her two siblings, who are also preachers, Esther was interviewed by the Folha de São Paulo newspaper for a story about the family of young preachers.

Carnaval: baile infantil (1963-02-23) by EliasFolha de S.Paulo

1963

A child dressed up as a clown sits down for a rest during a children's carnival dance, at the Palmeiras sports club in São Paulo.

Infância (2008-07-19) by Henrique ManrezaFolha de S.Paulo

2008

A youngster flies a kite in Carmo Park on the eastern outskirts of São Paulo. The area featured in a series of reports by the Folha de São Paulo newspaper in 2008, which were released as a book entitled DNA Paulistano (São Paulo DNA) the following year.

Reserva de Dourados (1995-05) by Ormuzd AlvesFolha de S.Paulo

1995

Indigenous children walk along a highway with their dog on the Dourados Indigenous Reserve in Mato Grosso do Sul State. Home to around 10,000 Guaranis, it was believed at the time to be the largest reserve in Brazil, in terms of population.

Menino correndo no Bexiga (1977-02-20)Folha de S.Paulo

1977

A boy runs along a cobbled street in the Bela Vista neighborhood, in central São Paulo. Also known as Bixiga, Bela Vista is known for its mix of Italian immigrants and Black descendants of escaped slaves.

With almost 1,000 buildings listed by the Municipal Council for Heritage Preservation (Conselho Municipal de Preservação do Patrimônio), the neighborhood is also home to the famous Church of Our Lady of Achiropita, named after Bela Vista's patron saint.

Pandemia da Covid-19 (2022-03-16) by Danilo VerpaFolha de S.Paulo

2022

Pupils at Colégio Itatiaia (a school in the Bela Vista neighborhood) during an open-air lesson, after São Paulo's City Hall (Prefeitura) relaxed the rules on the use of COVID-19 face masks in outdoor spaces.

Educação (1955-03)Folha de S.Paulo

1955

Girls during a lesson at a school in the city of Caraguatatuba in São Paulo State.

Since São Paulo's school legislation was too disjointed to cope with the increasing number of public schools, in 1933, the state government introduced the first São Paulo State Education Code in an attempt to reorganize the state's educational laws.

Parque Ibirapuera (2009-10-22) by Letícia MoreiraFolha de S.Paulo

2009

Children engage with an exhibition about The Little Prince, at the Oca art museum in São Paulo's Ibirapuera Park.

Based on the book of the same name by Antoine Saint-Exupéry, the exhibition recreated 15 of the story's most important scenes, including the one where the little prince goes flying with the birds.

Infância (1984-03-19) by Gil PassarelliFolha de S.Paulo

1984

Children play with old tires at a school in São Paulo. Eight months later, in November, the state education network introduced the Basic Cycle of Literacy, which eliminated retention at the end of the first year in public schools.

Parque em Ribeirão Preto (2010-09-17) by Silva JuniorFolha de S.Paulo

2010

With temperatures edging above 100 degrees, children play in the lake at the Tom Jobim Park in the Jardim Procópio neighborhood of Ribeirão Preto, a city in inland São Paulo State.

Criaças jogam bola na rua de Recreios, no bairro Vila Curuça (1963)Folha de S.Paulo

1963

Boys play soccer on the cobbled Recreio Street in Vila Curuçá, in São Paulo's East Zone. The then São Paulo Province began a program to cobble the city streets in 1877. The first street to be paved with asphalt was Paulista Avenue in December 1891.

Parque Ibirapuera (2002-03-29) by Patrícia SantosFolha de S.Paulo

2002

Children from Capela do Socorro—a poor borough made up of the Socorro, Cidade Dutra, and Grajaú districts in São Paulo's South Zone—take part in a demonstration, organized by the campaign group Take Action for Non-Violence (Tome uma Atitude pela Não Violência) in Ibirapuera Park.

Pavilhão japonês no Parque Ibirapuera (2015-10-28) by Fábio BragaFolha de S.Paulo

2015

Children with Brazilian and Japanese flags take part in the reception ceremony in São Paulo for Japan's Crown Prince Akishino and his wife, Princess Kiko, during their 11-day visit to Brazil.

The previous visit by the Japanese Imperial Family was in 2008, as part of the celebrations to mark 100 years of Japanese immigration to Brazil.

Índios da tribo ava-canoeiro (1995-10-02) by Antônio GaudérioFolha de S.Paulo

1995

Siblings Trumack, 8, and Putdjawa, 6, from the endangered Indigenous Avá Canoeiro tribe, play on the banks of the Tocantins River in Minaçu, Goiás State. At that time, there were only 10 members of the tribe remaining: 6 in Goiás State and 4 in Tocantins State. The two groups had never managed to live together.


Only relations between the siblings or with their parents could prevent the extinction of the tribe, but incest is punishable by death in the Avá Canoeiro tradition.


In 2017, their father died of metastatic lymphoma at the age of 56. Potdjawa, his daughter, married into the Tapirapé tribe and had three children.


Criança com deficiência visual (2012-06-03) by Joel SilvaFolha de S.Paulo

2012

Poliana de Abreu Brito, 7, during a class at the Fernanda Bianchini Association of Ballet and Arts for the Blind, in São Paulo's East Zone.

Blind from birth, Poliana had already performed in two shows organized by the association. The school helped Poliana to lose her fear of noise and improve her walking posture.

Folha TV: How blind people read

Watch a report about children from the Father Chico Institute for the Blind as they take part in a reading group organized by Folhinha, the children's supplement spublished by the Folha de São Paulo newspaper between 1963 and 2016.

Aulas de trânsito para crianças (1955-10)Folha de S.Paulo

1955

The Official Traffic School (Escola Oficial de Trânsito) and the Department for Education give guidance on road safety to elementary school pupils in São Paulo.

The project, launched two months earlier, came about because of the growing number of accidents recorded every year by São Paulo State's traffic division.

Infância (2006-06-23) by Edson SilvaFolha de S.Paulo

2006

A youngster walks along the Ferrovia Paulista (FEPASA) railway track in São Simão, São Paulo State.

1º Salão Nacional de Arte Infantil (1962-08)Folha de S.Paulo

1962

A couple of children dance at the party held at the Palmeiras sports hall to bring the Folha de São Paulo newspaper's 1st National Children's Art Fair to a close.

Around 3,000 children attended the party, taking part in dances and costume parades inspired by characters from the books of children's author Monteiro Lobato, such as the Viscount of Corncob (Visconde de Sabugosa), after whom the party was named. Over the years, the fair would bring together artistic works from different parts of Brazil.

Parque da Água Branca (2004-06-10) by Tuca VieiraFolha de S.Paulo

2004

Children have fun at a playground in São Paulo's Água Branca Park, during the Feast of Corpus Christi.

Credits: Story

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