Luis da Mota é (ainda) bomboteiro,
filho de bomboteiro:
- o meu pai morreu a bordo do vapor do Cabo. Foi o
coração. Estava a fazer negócio e deu-lhe um ataque, Eu e o meu irmão fomos
tirar a licença.
Tem 83 anos, usa uma barreta
preta, como nos outros tempos, vive na Rua de Santa Maria e continua a amar o
mar, que lhe traz (ainda também) o pão de cada dia. Ele e mais uns ainda tentam vender os seus produtos na Pontinha, apesar
de continuar a dizer
- quando há navio, vamos ao mar.
Traz uma ampliação de um retrato
antigo de canoas e bombote
- os marítimos,
e vai narrando a arte , apontando
para a imagem, como se voltasse atrás, a um tempo de durezas e alegrias, de
negócios e de ingleses. Conta das canoas, das licenças, dos vimes que iam
comprar à Camacha, das bonecas, dos barris, dos bordados
- que as nossas mulheres bordavam,
no intervalo das vidas.
Fala da forma como faziam subir a
mercadoria, entre a canoa e o vapor, quando não era um vapor do Cabo, porque a
esses podiam ir a bordo. Fala das vezes em que a mercadoria era recebida e
- não arriavam o dinheiro.
Fala pouco e precisa das
fotografias para apoiar o seu discurso:
- A mergulhança era isto: os pequenos saltavam das
canoas. Eram 8 ou 9 canoas da
mergulhança. Isto era daquele tempo do Venena.
Era dinheiro que entrava no país, de graça. O dinheiro era para os 3 do
barco O cabo do mar deu cabo dessa mergulhança. Era reles, esse cabo do mar. Era
o Alemão. Alguns ainda estão vivos. Ainda conheço alguns. Andam na zona velha.
Param ali. Há um que trabalha com a gente, o Jana.
Fica depois calado, quando lhe
perguntamos de outras coisas, como era a vida, se havia outros negócios,
embrulhados nas toalhas que vinham de volta.
Que a vida era melhor, naquele
tempo:
- às vezes, fazia-se mais de cinco contos e cinco contos dava para as compras , para pagar a
casa. Agora não dá para nada.
Como não tem mar para olhar, olha
para os retratos que nos trouxe. Diz que serviram de reclame na Expo. E isso
foi bom. Já ninguém se lembra deles….
Luis da Mota: a bumboat’s salesman
Luis da
Mota was ( and still is) a bumboat’s salesman like his father was:
-
My father died on board a vessel. He
had a heart attack. He was doing business and had a stroke, so me and my
brother we decided to take a license.
He is 83
years old. He wears a black hat and he still lives in Rua de Santa Maria. He
loves the sea and most of all he is thankful for having been able to make a
life out of it. He, and some other guys sell their products at Pontinha
whenever a vessel anchors at Funchal and although they have a small shop at the
harbour they still say:
-
When a vessel comes in, we go to
sea.
He brought
along a painting of old bumboats and men selling their products
-
All men of sea,
And he
pointed to the picture and going back on time he told about good and bad moments, of business, of
the English. He remembered the boats, the licenses, the wickerwork bought in
Camacha, the dolls, the wine barrels, the embroidery,
-
Our wives stayed at home and made
embroidery,
in their spare time.
He explained how the merchandize was lifted up on board. They were only
allowed to go on board in the vessels that were destined to Cape Town. And he
recalled the occasions when they kept the goods
-
And did not pay back.
He did not
talk much and he needed the photos to organize his speech:
-
Young boys jumped from the little
canoes into the water. Normally there were 8 to 9 canoes. One of them was
called Venena. This was a way of earning money, for free. The money was divided
between the men. The sea captain put an end to this activity. He was very
strict. His nickname was “the German”. Some of these boys are still alive. I
still know some of them. They come frequently to the old part of the town. They
hang out there. One of them, works with us, his name is Jana.
Then he
stopped. We asked him about living conditions and if there were other types of
business … if smuggling was frequent…
And he
answered that life was better back then:
-
Sometimes, we earned around 5 contos
and the money was enough to pay the rent and go to the supermarket. Nowadays is
not enough.
He focused on the photos he had brought to show us. They were used as a
promotion during the Expo. It was a good thing to do. Now, nobody remembers
these men any more…..
