my grandmother
She courted, in the grandest and most ceremonious of ways, her betrothed - Antonio Pimentel - a fine young man who stood to inherit a sizeable piece of land upon taking spouse. The Borges were well-to-do themselves and young Maria Clara not only lived by the traditions and elegance that were customary in those days, but she embodied the very essence of the fine aristocracy of the times. Her fianc�, for his part, was a more down-to-earth citizen, who worked the land and was proud of it - a gentleman farmer by any other name. Soon enough, they were married.
Maria Clara first gave birth to Gilberto.
Then came the rebel of the family, Jos�.
Then, at last, a baby girl as she had wanted: Maria Alcina.
Finally, Maria Clara gave birth to the worthiest of them all - Joao Jacinto.
Although the hardships of life had made him a hardened man in many ways, Antonio recognized that his latest son was a miraculous gift - as no more children were expected after number three - and he chose to name him after his dear brother Joao, not known for his luck in life...
Maria Clara chose to honor her own brother, Jacinto, whose natural charisma had predestined to become the new Valentino of Hollywood (he had even made the trip; but his wife, fearful of losing him to some Clara Bow - the antithesis of Maria Clara - made him renounce his dream and return to Portugal without making a single feature film.)
And so, Maria Clara's favorite son was named after two notoriously unlucky men - and so would he be. This would become his cina for all of his life...
In the 1950s, when all three sons started leaving the paternal home to seek a life and family of their own, Maria Clara remained home alone with her daughter and her own mother, Senora Anica Borges.
Both her mother and daughter would take care of her eventually, as she developed serious health troubles.
Maria Clara Borges would die of tuberculosis - complications stemming from a pneumonia doing her in. Her son Joao would leave shortly thereafter for Canada and the dynasty would begin to dwindle then no Rosario da Lagoa... Maria Alcina would live with her father and aunt Maria Estrela a while longer, before getting married herself and, she too, would leave the paternal home. Her father Antonio would only outlive his wife by a few years. The land and home that had once bristled with life and so much abundance (to the point of being the envy of ALL THE ISLAND OF SAO MIGUEL ACORES) was actually left ABANDONED... Some of it was sold and the sum was split up between the four heirs now residing in North America... The great house was dilapidated. The land, which now could be the basis for a fortune, was left uncultivated for DECADES... Maria Clara must not be happy with her offspring - and her stern husband even less. The two elder ones especially were supposed to take over - Joao Jacinto would have, had his father not been so blind... I never knew my grandfather Antonio; but I know that he would have liked the plans I would have had for the land - had it been given to administer competently by, first, my father - and then by me. As it was, it was poorly overseen by my uncles Jose and Gilberto - totally ignored by my aunt Alcina and truly "administered" by some third party (that surely pocketed more than he was supposed to...!)
All of this due to the poor foresight that dictated to most Europeans verily that "Canada and the USA are the promised land - the economical paradises of the future" (no matter how bad winters can be there!) while, judging from things in the 50s, it appeared to be a pretty bleak future for Europe... No one foresaw the advent of the Euro and the European Union; and that is a crying shame. All they had to do was read the Bible: the "rebirth" of the Roman Empire was clearly prophetized in there...
Maria Clara Borges was a true lady - fit for a Royal Court. She could have enjoyed the European renaissance, had it been given to happen in her time; truly though, she is far better off in the Court of Courts now - the Kingdom of God, where her mother, saintly sister-in-law Estrela, dear brother Jacinto, sons Joao Jacinto & Gilberto and several others have joined her since...
I respectuously disagree - and so does my own mother; Rita resembles her own mother. The late Paula Ana Pimentel, Rita's sister, did not resemble either her grandmother, mother or even sister - she was rather unique although, in the years before her untimely death, she had grown to resemble her father.
If anyone has facial traits that closely mimic those of Maria Clara Borges, it is my dear father, Joao Jacinto Borges Pimentel
