Student: Caio Miguel Pereira Silva Class: 2002
The student prepared a paper on Dona Maria de Lourdes Martins, known as Dona Maria do Buraco Fundo. A striking figure in the Parque União community, in the Zona Norte of Rio de Janeiro, Dona Maria was an extraordinary woman, whose life story is intertwined with the very history of resistance and solidarity of the territory. The paper recovers her legacy of love, courage, and care for others, recognized and remembered to this day throughout the favela's alleyways. Check it out below: "An example of generosity and community struggle in the Zona Norte of Rio de Janeiro"
D. Maria de Lourdes Martins, affectionately known as D. Maria do Buraco Fundo, was an extraordinary woman whose legacy of love, courage, and solidarity still echoes through the alleyways of the Parque União community, in the Zona Norte of Rio de Janeiro. Recognized by many as the "Mother of the Poor," she turned her own home into a true shelter for those most in need, offering not only a roof but also affection, food, and hope to everyone who knocked on her door. Throughout her life, D. Maria took in more than 40 adopted children, in addition to lovingly raising her six biological children. She treated everyone as equals, with no distinction of blood or origin. Mothers in situations of extreme vulnerability often left their children in her care, some never to return. Even so, D. Maria never hesitated: she welcomed, educated, and fed these children with the same dedication she had for her own. A woman of deep faith, she was a rezadeira and umbandista. Her spirituality was lived out in everyday practice. With simplicity and devotion, she organized processions, religious festivities, and community celebrations, bringing residents together in acts of faith and solidarity. The procession of São Sebastião, celebrated on January 20th, and the traditional festival of São Cosme e Damião, on September 27th, were among the most eagerly awaited moments of the year. On these dates, she prepared typical dishes such as canjica and angu, which were given out free to everyone in the community, especially the children. Her home was also a place of close contact with nature. Dona Maria raised pigs, chickens, ducks, and goats, which fed her large family. She herself looked after the animals, performed the castrations, prepared the slaughtering, and made use of every part so that nothing went to waste. When market day came around, she would go out with her children and other kids to gather xepa — the leftover fruits, vegetables, and greens left behind by market vendors — and turn them into nutritious meals, always with creativity and dignity. D. Maria was much more than a caregiver: she was a born community leader, a fearless, warrior-like woman who was never afraid to speak her mind and fight for everyone's rights. She was one of the founders of Parque União in 1962, when the community was still made up of wooden shacks and dirt floors. She fought for better living conditions for residents, always through the power of her words and the example of her work. Her daughter, Alice de Almeida Lima, recalls with emotion: "She didn't treat anyone differently. She treated everyone the same, as if they were family."
According to Alice, almost no one knew her mother as Maria de Lourdes Martins. Her husband was João do Tempero and she was Maria do Buraco, but she didn't like the nickname she got during a June festival. No one could explain the reason for this nickname. As for Jorge Ramos Soares, a merchant and former resident of Parque União, he compares her generosity to that of historical figures: "She reminds me of Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Even in poverty and simplicity, she helped everyone with her heart."
Unfortunately, D. Maria passed away at 65 years old, a victim of heart complications. Her death was felt as a collective loss. On the day of her wake, more than three packed buses and countless cars brought people from all over to pay their last respects. Her name, today, gives its name to a street in the sector known as Sem Terra, in Parque União – a symbolic way of keeping alive the presence of someone who always made her home in the heart of the community.
