Rabelo doesn’t like being called José or Ricardo. He says that these are too common names, worn out by use. Prefer Rabelo. This is how he presents himself and this is how he asks to be treated. According to him, the name carries a chosen and not imposed identity.
All the following information was reported by him to the journalist.
A house without walls
Rabelo lives in front of number 318 on Rua da Consolação, in the center of São Paulo. The space where he sleeps has no walls or doors, but he calls it “house”, sometimes “camp”. Among the other places occupied by homeless people, his stands out for its cleanliness and organization.
At 10:03 a.m. Friday (12/19), when the report came in, he was arranging books under the awning of a closed commercial building, where a call center previously operated. He lined up the volumes, swept the surroundings, scooped up the dirt and threw it into a white trash can he keeps on the side. Then he sat down and offered the journalist a cushion with the print of a horse and a foal (watch below).
Bed, polystyrene and books
Rabelo sleeps on a thin mattress, covered with a clean, light sheet. The headboard is a polystyrene box in which he stores donated clothing. He often places pictures next to books. On the day of the interview, there was only one. The others, including a portrait of John Lennon, had been taken the day before. “It’s one of the problems of life on the streets,” he said.
The books, according to him, appear. We find them in the street. Some are on display, others hidden, like an illustrated book of wonderful stories, lent by a friend, which he takes out of its hiding place to show. “I’m keeping this one, because I have to return it.”
Who is watching
Journalist Antônio Vieira, known as Toninho, has lived in the neighboring place for around 30 years, says Rabelo arrived there in June, two months after the closure of the business premises in front of which the homeless neighbor sleeps.
He describes him as discreet, calm and gentle. She said she saw him helping women with bags on several occasions. For him, Rabelo stands out for his cleanliness, his organization and his habit of spending hours reading.
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Rabelo organizes books under the awning of a gated property on Rua da Consolação, where he has set up the space he calls home.
Alfredo Henrique/Metrópoles2 out of 8
The space changes from time to time, the result of an organization that he associates with the memory of his mother.
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The polystyrene box serves as a headboard and stores clothing received through donations.
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The thin mattress, covered with a light sheet, marks the place where he sleeps each night in central São Paulo.
Alfredo Henrique/Metrópoles5 out of 8
Among the books on display, some are visible; others are hidden so as not to disappear.
Alfredo Henrique/Metrópoles6 out of 8
Rabelo spends hours in silence, immersed in reading, a habit observed by traders in the region.
Alfredo Henrique/Metrópoles7 out of 8
The polystyrene box serves as a headboard and stores clothing received through donations.
Alfredo Henrique/Metrópoles8 out of 8Alfredo Henrique/Metropolises
Origin and breakup
Rabelo identified himself as José Ricardo Rabelo de Oliveira Marques, without showing the document. He said he was born in São Luís do Maranhão. His father was a colonel in the military police, and his brothers followed a similar career path. His mother died of cancer about four years ago, and his father died of Alzheimer’s disease two years later.
Having lived in São Paulo for around ten years, he says the family is “still rich”. She also said that after her mother died, she left an inheritance and asked her father to give her a monthly pension of R$7,000. According to him, the brothers blocked the payment and, two years ago, he claimed to have no contact with the family.
Mother and name
The interviewee said he was adopted by the Prime Minister’s colonel, his mother’s second husband, from whom he inherited the surname Rabelo. He described the family as matriarchal.
“My mother was in charge. From outside the house, my father was a colonel. Inside, she was.”
He said that, like his nine brothers, he studied at good schools. At 17, when his mother wanted to join the police, he had a horse tattooed on his chest. He received, according to him, the only slap of his life. “I didn’t want to be a police officer.” He also started business and psychology classes, but did not complete them because he did not like the classroom.
Travel as a way of life
Since he was young, Rabelo wanted to visit other places. His mother paid and he left. He traveled to every capital city in the country, spending time in each location, as well as small towns in each state. He admitted not having liked Cuiabá, nor Manaus, because of the heat. He also passed through Rio de Janeiro, before deciding to stay in São Paulo.
“In Brazil, there is no place like São Paulo. Here, they accept you as you are.”
The trips lasted from the age of 18 until 2015. Upon arrival in the city, he lived in Pompeia, near the Palmeiras stadium, and then in the Sé area.
He said that at the time he was vain and prejudiced. “I was looking at the architecture more than the people (in a street situation). And I had no idea…” he stops the sentence by pointing to himself.
From the pension to the street
According to Rabelo, the descent into the streets took place gradually. Without a pension, he met people who advised him where to eat and bathe. He stayed in hostels, but he did not like the environment or the surveillance and, therefore, he preferred the streets.
First, he went to Mooca, east of São Paulo, where he imitated the other inhabitants. Equipped with a backpack and good clothes, he gradually got rid of everything, under the guidance of other homeless people, to avoid becoming a target for theft and the interests of others.
Currently, he says he takes a shower and throws away his used clothes because he has nowhere to wash them. In warm weather, you can bathe daily in a water fountain on Avenida 23 de Maio.
Over the past six years, the capital’s homeless population has almost tripled, from 38,887 in 2018 to almost 100,000, an increase of 154%. The figures come from the Observatory of Homeless Populations (ObpopRua), which is based on data from the Ministry of Development and Social Assistance.
Medications and Limitations
Rabelo admitted to not drinking alcohol, but to smoking cigarettes and crack. Previously, he used marijuana and cocaine. About five years ago, after abusing the latter two drugs, he fell and broke his teeth. “After that, I discovered crack,” he confides, adding that the drug “gives him courage” to face delicate situations, generally experienced with other homeless people.
He works in recycling so as not to beg for alms and claims to have never done anything illegal. With this money, he buys simple food – like cookies and soft drinks – as well as cigarettes and crack.
Throughout the interview, Rabelo appeared lucid, with firm and organized speech.
The center as a choice
He said he knew all of São Paulo and said the center was the best place to live. “There’s everything here.” Outside, according to him, the residents are more hostile. “Here (at the center), they are used (to people who live on the street).”
When asked if he intended to leave the street, he said he had no intention of doing so. “I don’t dream of it. If it happens, it doesn’t matter.” He also said he didn’t want to give satisfaction or “get stuck in the system.”
Art, memory and silence
The temporary address configuration changes frequently. Rabelo said he didn’t like the same thing. He recently put up a Christmas tree, decorating a tree on Rua da Consolação with pillow foam and Christmas baubles, which he found abandoned on Rua 25 de Março. The decoration has now been replaced by a tribute to black women. To do this, he placed afro calluses on the same tree. “Art is born like this,” he explains.
His artistic side was recognized by his mother, and to keep her memory alive, he keeps everything clean and organized. “It makes me feel good.”
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He added that during his travels he had four children and two grandchildren, to his knowledge. He also said one of his daughters was trying to take him off the street, out of fear for her father’s safety, but Rabelo prefers that she not know where he is. His constant changes of resting points in the capital would reflect this, combined with his distaste for uniformity.
Regarding the risks of homelessness, which torment his daughter, he said the greatest danger lies with the homeless themselves, some called “rats” because they sneak around to steal things.
When asked if he thinks about the life he had before he was on the streets, Rabelo said he doesn’t think about the past or the future. “My today is here and now,” he predicts, as he sits with his books lined up and the floor swept. At least that day the house setup was ready.
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