Essa ė quinta parte de uma entrevista rara com a Graça, presidente da AMOCAVIM e ex-prostituta na Vila Mimosa, sobre orgulho (“eu tenho”) e por que “Vila Mimosa é um mal necessário.” Primeira parte sobre independência; segunda parte sobre regras na Vila; dai ela explica por que “a mulher não tem que sentir vergonha dizer que ela é uma puta” e por que ela nao precisa mais de homem. Videos em português.
This is the last part of a rare interview with Graça, the president of AMOCAVIM, the association of brothel owners of Vila Mimosa, and a former sex worker in Vila Mimosa. In the first part, Graça talks about why prostitution can be a good thing for a woman (“Here you can earn your independence“). In “Rules,” she explains what is and isn’t allowed in Vila. Next she talks about how a woman who works in Vila Mimosa “shouldn’t feel ashamed to say she’s a whore” and explains why she doesn’t need a man anymore.
Are you proud?
Graça: I am.
Of what?
Graça: I’m proud of Vila Mimosa, and I’m proud of my life.
I had a son who died. And I always hid this from him. Today I feel that I should not have kept it from him. Because I’m not ashamed. I have my daughter-in-law, who paid for college with the money I made here. I paid tuition for all of my grandkids with the money I made here.
Understand? I help a lot of people inside Vila Mimosa when they have problems. When people are sick, I pay for their prescriptions. I’ve taken people to the hospital, when they needed to go. Ask Aline…
Aline: She helps a lot of people. Graça and Dona Carmina are like moms.
Graça: I know that someone will replace me here when I die. But they might not do as much as I’ve already done for Vila Mimosa. The only reason we’re here today is because of the other women who paid for this land with me and fought for our right to be here. We fought hard to buy this land. And for better or worse, this is how all the people here are feeding their families.
What do you see in the future for Vila? There are a lot of things changing in Rio right now. The city is doing a total makeover to hide prostitution.
Graça: But I don’t know if they’re going to mess with us here. That’s the fear. I’m afraid they will mess with us here in Vila Mimosa. Except for the fact that Vila Mimosa is a necessary evil. So the rest of you can avoid the perverts in the streets. There are a lot of perverts out there with families who come to Vila Mimosa, and… You’d have to be here working every day like us to understand.
