CompanhiadeFiaçãoeTecidosConfiançaIndustrial

The inauguration of the Companhia de Fiação e Tecidos Confiança in 1885 gave new impetus to the neighborhood of Vila Isabel. The tax benefits offered by the government, the water resources of the Joana River — the driving force needed to run the boilers before the introduction of electric light — and the arrival of the Companhia de Bondes Ferro Carril were decisive factors in the decision to set up the factory on Rua Maxwell.

Image description: This is a black-and-white photograph of an industrial factory. On the left side, there is a gate with decorated metal railings. In the background, we see trees and an old building. In the center, there is a building with rectangular windows and a tower. On the right, part of another building is visible. At the top, there is a sign with the text "A CONFIANCA INDUSTRIAL."

In the early 20th century, the Confiança factory became one of the largest in Brazil and, like other textile industries, had a school for workers' children, a pharmacy, and workers' villages. The workers' football club, Confiança Atlético Club, was founded in 1915 and competed in important tournaments and championships in Rio de Janeiro, but it was disbanded in the early 1990s.

Image description: This is a black-and-white photograph of an urban street. On the left, there is a building with windows and a light-colored facade. In the center, there is a wide street with people walking and an old car parked. On the right, there are more buildings and a white wall. In the background, there is a larger building with many windows. Power lines are visible along the street.

With the 1929 crisis, sales dropped drastically, leading to the mass dismissal of employees and the sale of the factory to the Menezes family, originally from Recife, in 1933. The Menezes gave the company a new direction, hiring many workers from Pernambuco, in addition to implementing profit-sharing with employees. Under the administration of Joaquim Lacerda de Menezes, the company experienced its best period, but, after his death, a new crisis arose that ended up leading to another change of ownership: the factory passed into the hands of the São Paulo-based group J. J. Abdalla. Without achieving the expected success, the company permanently shut down its activities after almost 85 years.

Image description: This is a black-and-white photograph of an industrial building. On the left side, there is a tall, rectangular smokestack. In the center, the main building has a facade with rounded windows and a sloped roof. On the right, there is a lower structure, also with rounded windows. In the foreground, a street with a sidewalk and a small retaining wall can be seen. Power lines cut across the sky above the building.

However, the Fábrica Confiança remained a symbolic reference point in the memory of many residents. The factory complex, made up of the factory building, the Barão de Drummond mansion, and 9 workers' villages built by the Companhia de Saneamento do Rio de Janeiro, was granted heritage protection in 1993 with its original features. Today, a supermarket and commercial stores operate in its place, and its imposing chimney can still be seen from afar.

The everyday working-class life of Vila Isabel became the subject of Noel Rosa's songs, who composed the love song "Três apitos" in the early 1930s, which was recorded, belatedly, in 1954 by Aracy de Almeida with arrangements by Radamés Gnatalli.