Joaquim Passos was a man who liked to have fun. In the 1920´s, he owned an expansive farm in Crato, Ceará, nestled at the foot of the Araripe mountain range in the heart of the Cariri region, famously known as the land of "Padre Cícero," a revered priest in the northeast.
Joaquim worked diligently but made it a priority to enjoy life, particularly through dancing "forró," a vibrant traditional northeast dance. As the grandson of Dutch immigrants with striking deep blue eyes, he married the beautiful Maria Suares when she was just 13 and he was 26. Their marriage was flourishing, and Joaquim regularly took Maria out to dance whenever the opportunity arose.
The farm was vast, and settlers resided on the land to manage the plantations of corn, beans, cassava, and rice for trade. They engaged in animal husbandry and other forms of subsistence agriculture to support their families. During harvest season, Joaquim hired twice as many itinerant workers, providing them with the best accommodations available. He ensured a steady supply of food by ordering the butchering of cattle, pigs, and chickens every week to feed everyone. Joaquim earned the respect and admiration of his workers for being a fair boss who valued hard work, a quality instilled in him by his ancestors.
One Saturday night, Joaquim invites Maria to a "forró" party. They had to move on horseback for many leagues away, until they reached the best known "forró" in the center of Juazeiro city. Maria, a little afraid, reminded him that, in addition to being already dark night, there were comments about a werewolf prowling the neighborhood. Besides they were going to leave alone the children Luís, Josefa and Maria, all small kids. But Joaquim stood firm, determined to have a great time dancing with his wife. He reminded Maria that it was a full moon night, he was well armed and they were riding his favorite horse-strong and fast. Nothing would make him give up from the party that night!
“Let´s go, woman! Get ready! Pick up the pace!”
Maria dressed up... she was a beautiful half-breed with bright green eyes, granddaughter of a Dutchman married to an Indian, brave as a puma! Joachim was brave, but when she dug into him those deep green eyes and pursed her lips in anger, he knew he must give in for the sake of his own skin.
Anyone trembled at the sound of her voice: “do it as I say now! This is it!". The person would obbey or the armageddon comes, just like that.
It should be said in passing that Maria was 12 years old when Joaquim Passos fell in love with her, but she was a girl, she did not think about dating. Joaquim was 25 years old already. He was a determined guy, rich, who used to being obeyed. Maria's brothers saw an incredible oportunity there, due the man was the richest in the city. So they take the decisions by themselves, since their father was deceased. They insisted on having the wedding, but she wouldn't budge. Finally, a year later, pressure from the family caused Maria to accept the marriage. However, when she was 13 years old, she had her eye on another boy who fell in love with her.
She did not want the Dutchman.. so she agreed with the young man that they would go to the church on the day scheduled for her wedding with Joaquim, and would deceive the priest: instead of marrying the Dutchman, she would marry the other. But it didn't work out.. the brothers noticed some deception there, and prevented the boy from attending the church. So she really joined Joaquim, at least they would leave her alone.
He, Joaquim, totally in love.. she with hatred of him. As a good indigenous, stamped her foot and did not let him get near her bed for a long time. The girl was not mature enough, but she already learned that she had to defend herself and impose her will at any cost. A situation that explains her marked courage.
Her brothers used to visit them so much, that basically began to live on the farm of the new couple. They exploited Joaquim as much as they could, wearing even his suits to go to the whorehouse.
As Maria refused a marital life, Joaquim use to attend the whorehouse a lot, making demonstrations of opulence: he wrapped cigarettes in Cr$50 bills, providing drinks for everyone. He would come back very late, drunk on top of the horse, sometimes alone… other times his brothers-in-law would bring him. Maria cursed and had him thrown into a guest room, as she get angrier every day!
But time passes and settles everything... including the marriage of the two of them. Maria starts to accept her husband, becomes attached to him and the marriage ends up being consummated. The events that I now reveal occur exactly at this moment in their lives: three small children and she is already more cordate, starting to like her husband. They were, I would say, still on their honeymoon.
Back to the story. Finally, the two of them take the Juazeiro road towards the center, on Joaquim's best horse... a black pure blood, big and snorting, with fur and mane shining in the moonlight. Maria is on the back, because she refused to go on her own horse. She was afraid the werewolf would attack her horse. The immense moon in the sky illuminates the entire plain below the Serra do Araripe, valleys and prairies.
The horse advances until it impales, next to a small freshwater well, and refuses to continue. The “cacimbas” were springs with crystal clear drinkable water, where the people found shade and rest under the trees, as it was a humid place. Joaquim tries to get the animal to continue and hits it with spurs mercilessly, but the animal rears up and tries to get back on the road.
In this fight Joaquim gets off his horse to pull him by the stirrup and at that moment, a very large wolf comes out of the trees. Maria starts screaming. Joaquim pulls the friendly machete, with whom he had total intimacy, and throws himself in the direction of the wolf. The fight is fierce.. the wolf dodges and Joaquim attacks it mercilessly, the wolf returns the blow and Joaquim jumps with the machete in his hand.
A few minutes of fierce fighting, when Joaquim manages to stick the machete into the wolf's thigh. The animal jumps howling, but the end of the sound is a human moan. Joachim wants to chase him because his blood was hot from the fight, the adrenaline had dominated his mind. He just wanted to kill the animal, maybe find out if it was a real animal or something else. Maria shouts: “Quim, for God's sake, leave it, Quim! Don't leave me alone!!"
Joaquim realizes the woman's fear and returns, climbs on the horse, turns around the animal and returns to the farm. He fascinated by the scene, the blood running hard from the effort and pleasure of the fight. After all, he had beaten an unknown animal, like a wolf, but only God knew what the hell was that. She, scared to death. That night's outing was over.
The day next Joaquim heads out by the farm, looking for someone injured, and learns that a young man had cut himself by accident, precisely in the thigh. The farmer goes there to know the details.. the injured guy was a strong young man, son of the settlers, showing off an ugly cut on his thigh. Joaquim talks to the family trying to understand what happened, asks if they need any help and leaves wishing the best to the guy.
But his head boils in whirlwinds. He needs to figure out what to do, after all there was a werewolf on his farm and others were in danger. He went back home and talks to Maria, who is more terrified than before. Joaquim thinks about arresting the guy until he founds out what to do. Anyway, as long as the guy was injured, no harm could be done during that full moon.
The next day, Joaquim goes to the family´s home
willing to reveal what he knew and take action. He certainly wouldn't leave his
and other families at the werewolf's mercy. But he finds the house empty: the family had fled during the night. As much
as Joaquim looked for them, he was never able to find the werewolf's family
again, nor heard other stories of wolves in the vicinity. I believe the werewolf
knew that Joaquim was fiercer than himself and by now was ready to fight, so he
choosed just disappear into the backlands.
Remains the story that my grandmother use to tell in the nights to the children, grandchildren, settlers, relatives and friends. When her sons were grown and wanted to go party, (of course I'm talking about the males) she wouldn't let them go at all, especially if it was a full moon night. And if they insisted, she would beat them with a horse whip. They use to fleed out by window after she slept, returning before she awoke. After all, no one dared to disagree with Mrs. Nenzinha.
This and other Maria Alves and Joaquim Passos's stories were told to me by my mother. Her blue-green eyes shone and her excitement grew as she shared these past events in the backlands of Ceará. These were my loveliest moments with her. I kept all the stories, promising myself that I would write the family´s exciting and full-of-adventures history. In addition, all descendants would feel part of a personal adventure, knowing that they came from brave, honest, and adventurous people who challenged their own destiny to bring us here.
Maria Suares (Mrs. Nenzinha) and Joaquim
Passos
Luiz Gonzaga - playlist
Despite being
from Pernambuco, Luiz Gonzaga ran away from home as a young man and went to
Juazeiro do Norte in Ceará. A great accordionist and poet, he soon conquered
Ceará and the northeast with his irreverent music and poetry, becoming known as
the king of the "baião", king of the accordion. He was the favorite
singer of Maria Leandro, my mother, when she sang was usually some Luiz
Gonzaga´s song.
NOTES:
Forró: according
to the Encyclopedia of Brazilian Music (1998), the word is a derivation of the
African term "forrobodó", synonymous of party, drag-foot or party. This
definition is the most accepted among scholars in the area. The reference is to
popular balls in the late 19th century. At that time it was necessary to wet
the floors for not to raise too much dust, as there was no coating.
Part of the book "ESTÓRIAS NORDESTINAS" by Marcia Rodrigues
Marcia Rodrigues – São Paulo – SP
Brazil, 2015.
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