Fisherman’s Stories: a book tells the history of the fishermen of Itapoá

The Publication is the fruit of a community project from Porto Itapoá’s Ampliar program.

The book, Fisherman’s Stories, was launched this Thursday (Jun 09). It is an initiative from the Ampliar program, sponsored by Porto Itapoá. There was strong representation from the community, who filled the headquarters of ACOPOF (Community Association of Pontal and Figueira) to celebrate the launch. The authors of the project and the book were Cintia Beatriz Machado Pereira, Patrícia Machado Pereira and Ana Beatriz Machado Pereira.

Ana Beatriz Machado Pereira told those present that they had conducted many interviews before writing the book and had learned a great deal. “It was exciting to hear the stories of these wonderful people. They have so much knowledge, that you cannot hear anywhere else”, she said. “It made us very proud to have finished this project.”

For Paulo Neres, a resident of Pontal and one of the fishermen portrayed in the book, it is a privilege to have a little part of his history immortalized. “It was wonderful”, says Neres, “I really enjoyed being part of it,” he added. Janete Nunes de Jesus, who is also an inhabitant of the Pontal neighborhood, felt the same: “I really enjoyed being part of it and seeing the result. I will be keeping it as a very dear present,” she explained.

The book was illustrated with drawings by children from the local schools, which brought the stories of the fishermen to life. Alberto Machado, the Institutional Relations and Communications Manager for Porto Itapoá, praised the outcome. “I was delighted to see familiar faces, people who are important to the community, getting a deserved tribute tonight,” he said. “One of Porto Itapoá’s principles is to encourage the cultural, social, and environmental development of our city.

Ampliar (Increase)
The Ampliar program has been running for seven years and has a range of new initiatives agreed for its next phase. The program has already held more than 120 meetings and approved 63 projects in total. Taken all together, Ampliar has spent BRL 760 thousand on projects by members of the community. The timetable is set by the community themselves and new invitations are published each year, every January.