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Nélio Vicente
Costa (photo)
was born in São
Luís, the
capital of the
state of
Maranhão. He has
lived in Caruaru
since 1967. He´s
been a spiritist
for 35 years and
is a member of
the team of
workers at the
Spiritist Centre
Lar de Jesus
(Home of Jesus),
of which he´s a
founder and
current
president. He
has vast
experience in
other spiritist
institutions.
In this
interview, he
tells us about
his work in this
beautiful city.
O Consolador:
First of all,
tell us about Caruaru, its
location,
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economy,
population. |
Caruaru is the
second most
populous city in
the state of
Pernambuco, with
some 300
thousand
inhabitants.
It´s located
130km inland
from the
capital, Recife.
It hosts an
important cattle
event
(exhibition and
auction) and
it´s home to a
famous arts and
crafts market.
It´s also the
home town of the
great Brazilian
musician Luiz
Gonzaga.
O Consolador:
How strong is
the spiritist
movement in the
city?
There are ten
spiritist
centres in
Caruaru,
dedicated to the
propagation of
the Spiritist
Doctrine. They
all follow
strictly the
codification of
Allan Kardec.
O Consolador:
Tell us about
the Spiritist
Month of
Caruaru.
We could say it
began by chance,
but as we all
know that things
don’t happen by
chance we’d
better say it’s
the result of
some divine
inspiration we
had. Once we had
the inspiration,
we began working
on it and, with
the help of a
group of
dedicated
collaborators,
put the idea
into practice.
We had the 10th
edition of the
Spiritist Month
of Caruaru this
year.
O Consolador:
When does it
take place?
Always in March,
with lectures
every Sunday.
This year, to
celebrate the 10th
anniversary, we
had the honour
of receiving
here Dr Marlene
Nobre, president
of the Brazilian
Association of
Spiritist
Doctors, and the
great public
speaker and
writer, Jamiro
Santos, from the
state of Minas
Gerais.
O Consolador:
How did you
manage to host
the event inside
the spacious and
comfortable
Shopping Centre
Difusora?
In the
beginning, it
looked
impossible. Even
if we had the
authorisation
from them, the
cost seemed
prohibitive. But
thanks to the
firm belief and
capacity of some
of our workers,
we managed to
speak to the
person in charge
and, as
incredible as it
seems, it was
quite
straightforward.
O Consolador: Do
you rotate
between the
different
spiritist
organisations to
organise the
event every
year?
No, not yet. The
Chico Xavier
group used to be
in charge. Now,
it’s between two
groups: the
Chico Xavier and
the Lar de Jesus
spiritist
centres. Maybe
one day we’ll be
able to share
the
responsibilities
with the other
local groups.
O Consolador: Is
there good
integration
among the
various
spiritist groups
in the state of
Pernambuco?
I think so. The
state Spiritist
Federation hosts
a regular event
(INTECEPE) to
integrate the
various groups.
It takes place
in several towns
across the state
of Pernambuco.
O Consolador:
Tell us about
your personal
involvement with
Esperanto.
Talking about
Esperanto in
Caruaru is
painful to me.
We had a small,
regular group of
people involved
in the
beginning, but
even they
eventually
dispersed. We
even invited the
president of the
Esperanto
Association of
Pernambuco to
Caruaru to come
from the
capital, Recife,
for the Opening
Session, but
simply there was
no more
interest.
O Consolador:
Any other
thought you’d
like to share
with us?
To make justice
to the spiritist
movement in
Caruaru, we
would need a
good writer, to
share all our
beautiful
experiences with
the world in
books and more
books. All I can
say is what so
many others have
already said:
it’s so good to
be a spiritist!
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