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We made good money; we also had employees. We had the opportunity to cover the family’s needs and good education. We were covering everything related to the house. Knowing that the upper part of the house had leaks, we wanted to replace the whole roof. But the rules of the municipal government did not permit this. I had to go up to try to seal it. But rather than fixing it, going up spoiled other tiles more, because they were so old. They broke with the simple act of walking. There were no others to replace them: we could not buy them; there were none. We could not touch it. Some days, it was so damp that the ceiling would fall. And the Heritage [department] told me, “Let it fall. A heritage tile is historical.” We never thought of letting the house fall, ever. So we fought, and when the house fell, we [finally] got the authorisation to replace the roof.

Years we fought for this, years. It was an endless tug-of-war. The colonial style houses are like one building. [My neighbour had died, and] the daughter and her close friend came with ulterior motives. All of a sudden, he came with a tractor. Can you imagine? They came and demolished a pillar, and “Boom!” Everything was knocked down, the entire house. It made everything fall. [He did it] with that intention. And as I was telling you, I was connected, [so] this little house of mine weakened. I felt how the house moved, buddy. It frightened me. All of a sudden, it rained. And it did not stop raining. Then the other guy began to work, taking advantage of the rain. They started to hammer. They began to scrape off the wall. You could hear the house saying, “They will make me fall.” And “Boom!” – Jacinto