Different Looks on Londrina Departing from João Antônio’s Short Stories and Chronicles

Abstract

In the nearly one hundred days in which he lived in Londrina, João Antônio produced short stories and chronicles that enable us to better understand the city’s history. His collaboration with jornal Panorama shed light on a very different Londrina from the one seen in the eyes of its citizens. Differently from the views of the narrators in the works of the Londrina-born Domingos Pellegrini, João Antônio painted a bare and raw portrait of the city, its characters and especially its rogues and its prostitution that ended up becoming as important as coffee in its in years of settlement. Wandering aimlessly around Londrina, João learned and comprehended the meanings of the lack of values and pseudo-moralism of our “shitty/middle” class. This essay-leaning article aims to show different viewpoints on the Coffee Capital, especially between the years 1950-1970.