CasaTuruna

Gastei uma fortuna na Casa Turuna. Se eu fosse rico, compraria a Casa Turuna e passaria o resto dos meus dias lá dentro, trancado

Image description: The image is an old black-and-white photograph. It shows a store called "Casa Turuna", with a large sign announcing "Carnaval de 1920 na Casa Turuna". The store displays carnival clothing and accessories, including costumes, pajamas, and shirts of various styles. People are walking along the sidewalk in front of the store, some looking inside.

The excerpt is a line spoken by the character Wanderley, from the comedy “Matou o marido e dormiu com o leitão,” written in the 1970s by Paulo Afonso de Lima. The quote is just one among many that mention the most traditional costume shop Rio has ever known: Casa Turuna. In another example of how Casa Turuna permeated the popular imagination, in the miniseries “Anos Rebeldes” (a TV Globo fiction from the early 1990s, which tells the story of a group of opponents to the military dictatorship), the character Heloísa (played by Cláudia Abreu) gives the Swiss ambassador, kidnapped by her group, a crown as a gift. Bought where? That's right, at Casa Turuna.

For more than a century, the store was the go-to address for finding clothes and accessories for the Carnival celebration — and for other events where dressing up is part of the dress code.

Image description: This is an old photograph of a store called "Casa Turuna". The image is in black and white and shows the facade of a building with three windows decorated with wrought iron grilles. At the top, there is a sign that reads: "DEIXAMOL-OS FALAR!!... QUEM VENDE MAIS BARATO É A CASA TURUNA". Below the sign, there are display windows showing clothes and other items for sale. People are gathered in front of the store, some holding merchandise. On the ground, there are stacked boxes. To the right, there is a closed door with ornamental grilles. In the lower corner of the image, "Oswaldo" is written in blue.

Casa Turuna was founded in 1915 by two Portuguese immigrants in Praça Onze, the epicenter of old-time Rio carnival, always selling fabrics, notions, and costumes for the carnival groups of the area. Some say the store's name was a tribute to a bloco that used to pass by its door, that of the Turunas — "tough guys," in the slang of the time — but it is more likely a reference to the nickname of one of the partners, who also went by Turuna.

In the 1940s, it moved to Saara, on the corner of Rua Senhor dos Passos and Avenida Passos, where generations of revelers secured their themed costumes – baianas, gypsies, pirates, skeletons, colombinas.

Image description: The image shows a store called "Turuna," as written in red letters on the yellow awning cover. The store is located in a market, with a variety of fabrics and clothing items on display. On the left side, we see a large quantity of colorful fabrics, including blues, reds, and greens, arranged in stacks and boxes. In front, there is a table full of fabrics and other items for sale. In the center, there is a person standing behind a table, wearing a light blue suit. On the right, there are more fabrics and garments hanging on the walls and on hangers. On the right side of the image, we see a person standing, wearing a yellow t-shirt. The setting is lit by lights hanging from the ceiling.

In 2020, Casa Turuna closed its doors. Financial troubles had already been dogging the store, but the economic crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic was the final sentence for this family business — four generations had run it.