| Adelia Donadon do Amaral was born in Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brazil, on September 17, 1936. Her grandparents were Italian. She spent her entire childhood with her grandmother, of whom she has very fond memories. Adelia was married in 1953, and in 1955, she and her husband moved to the city of São Paulo in search of better jobs. In 1959, she wrote the exam for the Colonization and Immigration Department and became a government employee. Adelia retired in 1997, and her husband passed away recently. She still has a son and a dream: to see Italy, the land of her ancestors. |
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Adelia's grandparents, Adelia Magnani and Enrico Muzetti, with their daughters, Carlota Irma and Maria Muzetti
(São Paulo, 1898) |
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Adelia's testimony includes a description of her life during World War II:
"We had some very difficult times during the second World War. My father's family was from the north of Italy. They were happy people who loved to party. Everything was a reason for a celebration: a baptism, a birthday. When the war came, Italy, Germany and Japan were enemies of Brazil. And what happened? They didnÕt understand that people of Italian origin were here to work hard, to find success through the progress of the nation and had no interest in war or European politics...."
"I was 9 years old and the war years are still fresh in my memory. We were always scared, frightened, really upset. And when the war was over, we heard fireworks; almost the entire population went downtown to celebrate..."
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Adelia Donadon do Amaral
(São Paulo, Brazil, 1935)
Adelia's son, José Antonio Ferraz do Amaral
(São Paulo, 1960)
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