bebé

He is in his 70s and worked all his life as a mason for the private sector. He is now retired.

His daily routine involves helping his wife Salete get things done around the house and a sacred afternoon chat with the neighbors, which is usually done on the sidewalk in front of his home.

Bebé also loves spending time with his family, since most of his kids and his grandkids still live in the house.

Even though he is now retired, Bebé always finds time to advise someone in the neighborhood on how to self-build.

the context

Parque São Luiz is considered an informal settlement mainly for its location. Nearby a branch of the Maranguapinho River, the area is susceptible to flooding every rainy season. It has quite large lots, and it blends within the city fabric.

Bebé and Salete say they bought their lot very cheap and mentioned the poor soil conditions. However, nobody knows if the demarking of lots along the riverbanks was actually legal or not.

The city has removed some of the families from the riverbanks and put them in social housing, probably very far away from their neighborhood. It was then when they decided to make an urban renewal to the area. The river was channelized during the construction of this renewal, which only made things more susceptible to flooding.

Some of the settlement inhabitants decided to stay as they were, and so did Bebé and Salete's family.