In this edition of Rolé Carioca, we will recover the old limits of the neighborhood of Andaraí, which was once called Andaraí Grande and is now reduced to a few blocks. Along the way, we will see remnants of the memory of one of Rio's first working districts. Three generations of 'foreigners' - freed slaves, poor immigrants and the Northeasterners - have reinvented Carioca's way of being.
Originally inhabited by the tamoios, the valley surrounded by hills of the Andaraí meant higher lands and less rainforest for the natives. Already in the Portuguese occupation, small farms occupied the environment and served to supply sugar producers, between Engenho Velho in Largo da Segunda, and Engenho Novo, in the Barão de Bom Retiro.
The Andaraí gains a different characteristic with the opening of the Andaraí Grande road. The current Baron de Mesquita interconnected with the Center of Rio and attracted immigrants: Portuguese, Spanish and German settled in the area, not as valued as Tijuca and Vila Isabel. As it had in São Cristóvão, Benfica and other localities near the center, the industries multiplied. América Fabril, Confiança, Lanifício Ideal found in Andaraí a perfect combination: water for production, connection with the Guanabara Bay, immigrant levies to the factories and displaced from the center in search of work and housing - built on the slopes and rented by the most powerful immigrants.
Factories dominated the region until the 1960s, when environmental issues and the formation of new poles moved industries away from the center. The chimneys were visible, visible in the "Tijolinho" and the "Boulevard Extra". Since then, the history of Andaraí has been better known for fueling the city's chronicle of violence, despite the soft references in soap operas and songs.
Image: Geiger, Pedro Pinchas, 1923-; Jablonsky, Tibor/1958/Acervo IBGE
Founded in 1885, but with operating records since 1836, Tecidos Confiança Factory left its mark on the urban geography of the neighborhood: in the occupation of the slopes of the hills and in dozens of houses built as a working village - part of the complex has been preserved since 1992. Noel Rosa recorded in her songs the three whistles of the factory that were part of the daily life of the region. The Company closed its activities in the mid-1960s and its facilities were subsequently used again: they currently house the activities of a supermarket chain.
The Tecidos Confiança Factory also maintained the Athletic Confiança club that disputed the championship carioca in the time of amateurism, and in the professionalism, the Third Division in 1990 and the Second one in 1991, being then extinct. The headquarters and sports plaza, located at Rua Silva Teles, were ceded to the academy of samba Acadêmicos do Salgueiro.
Despite the current Zip code, SESC Tijuca is in Andaraí. When it was inaugurated in 1977 by the government Ernesto Geisel, it was in an area of the Andaraí Grande. The project has contemporary architecture, with emphasis on the Gardens of Burle Marx. The center of professionalization and leisure was part of the technical project of education during the period of the Civil-Military Dictatorship in Brazil.
Of imposing architectural style, the then Regional Barracks of Andaraí was built during the years 1909/1910. In 1922, the building was occupied by the 1st Battalion of Hunters of the Army and in 1924, it began to receive the designation of 6º, in the numerical Order of the Units of the Corporation. It began as an infantry battalion, later; DF battalion of the DF, after; battalion of the PM of Guanabara and finally, battalion of the current PMERJ.
The first FdM (Daughter of Mercy) educator was Mother Maria Josefa Rossello, who with some companions responded to the social and religious demands of the moment and placed herself in the service of mercy. The success of the work was positive enough to consolidate and multiply first in Italy and then in Europe, America, India and Africa. They arrived in Brazil in 1926, in Rio de Janeiro, with a mission to the children of the military at the Osório Foundation. In 1928 the Sisters started the educational mission at the College Nossa Senhora da Misericórdia.
The first chapel of St. Joseph and Our Lady of Sorrows was built in 1872, in colonial clay style. The history of the chapel mingles with that of the Passionist Missionaries who arrived in Rio in the 1920s. The present church was handed over to the community, though not fully completed, in 1949. The towers and the dome were built later in 1955 Both were reduced in height. It was only in 1999 that the community was able to build the summit and in the following year the interior painting of the Church was made.
The hospital unit originated in 1945, when the Maritime Pension and Pensions Institute (IAPM) acquires the old San Jorge Health House to provide medical care to its insureds and beneficiaries. In 1955, the building of the Hospital Central dos Marítimos (HCM) was inaugurated. With areas for vertical circulation and wide access corridors, the building was built with the resources of the seafarers themselves, who donated one day of their salary to lift the hospital. Only 12 years later, in 1967, is that the unit begins to be called Hospital of Andaraí. Today, the Federal Hospital of Andaraí (HFA) is a unit of the Ministry of Health that provides hospital, ambulatory and emergency assistance of high complexity.
The history of the Solaris da Torre Condominium, better known as Tijolinho, began in 1976, when the National Bank of Housing (BNH) acquired two lots of land from the former America Factory for the construction of a residential park for housing families average. It was the first time an architectural competition for a social interest project was carried out and the expectation was that it would be ready in 2 years. With the collapse of Construtora Marajá in 1983, a group of cooperatives joined forces to prevent the enterprise from being incorporated into the bankrupt estate. The eight blocks of buildings with 14 floors were delivered, totaling 1,232 housing units. The apparent bricks throughout the built area are reminiscent of the old factory built in the nineteenth century and give originality to the molds of the English constructions of the industrial era.
The Renaissance, or Rena for the most close, was founded in 1951, at Rua Pedro de Carvalho, Méier, by a group of middle-class blacks who wanted to fight against the racial rejection suffered by their associates in other renowned associations in Rio. At the end of that decade, the club was transferred to Andaraí. In this context, the creation of a social space of their own provided an opportunity for the recreation, sociability and action of individuals of their race - the formation of the club was driven by self-segregation, since only middle-class blacks had the right to be partners. Its history and relevance radiated during the beauty contests, which had immense repercussions for the Club in the sixties, and continues, today, with the recognized event "Samba do Trabalhador", without vetoes or segregations of race and class.
The name Andaraí derives from the indigenous expression "Andira-y", that means river of the bats in the language of the tamoios that inhabited the region. It is a reference to the great Rio Joana that descends from the Morro do Andaraí and follows between the two lanes of Maxwell Street towards the Flag Square until it empties into the Guanabara Bay. In the past, the river was navigable, fishing source for food. Nowadays, rodent mammals are plunged, but can still be seen from the vicinity, attracted by sapotis and other fruit trees.
The song composed by samba player Nei Lopes and performed by Zeca Pagodinho has made the neighborhood, the extinct club and the unknown player famous throughout Brazil. Few Cariocas know that Andaraí was also a soccer club. The Andarahy Athletico Club, founded in 1909, reached the AMEA (Metropolitan Sports Athletic Association) runner-up in 1934. The Dondon, whose name was Antônio de Paula Filho, was one of the club's stars and was part of the vice team - Carioca championship. The Andarahy stadium was on Baron Street in San Francisco. Passed to America in the 60's, it was eventually sold in the 90's so that Iguatemi Shopping was built there.
It was in Andaraí, while listening to the essay of the Cordon Rosa de Ouro, that Chiquinha Gonzaga composed "Ó Abre Alas", the first carnival march that is known in 1899. A century later, it would be Marcelo D2's turn to compare the neighborhood to the neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, in "I Shoot is Wave." And who remembers the comic moments of the 2003 soap opera "Celebrity"? The salon of Salvador (Roberto Bomfim), where the manicures Darlene (Deborah Secco) and Jaqueline Joy (Juliana Paes) tried at all costs to be famous, was in Andaraí.
Performed every Monday at the Renascença Club, the samba roda led by Moacyr Luz (partner, among others, Aldir Blanc) is considered one of the most lively in Rio and is usually packed. The tip is to arrive early, when the house opens, around 5pm. The wheel came from the idea of enjoying the day when musicians do not usually work and gather their melody colleagues to make a sound of the best quality. Canjas have already become standard, with new participants, often illustrious.
Address: Rua Barão de São Francisco, 54
Phone: (21) 3253-2322
Website: www.facebook.com/RenascencaClube
Since 2009, Luiza Souza has been in charge of the kitchen of the authentic bar of the Andaraí region, along with partner Leandro Amaral. The creative menu includes the cookie of pod, surprise croquettes, polentinha with rabada, meatballs empanadas in the parmesan cheese, carioca mire, among other acepipes. Over the weekend, suggestions such as the prawn pie serve up to two people in generous portions. To accompany, a good chill in the bottle.
Address: Rua Barão de Mesquita, 615 - store C and D
Phone: (21) 3549-0857
Website: www.facebook.com/bardagema
