Inalda and her traditions

 In 1940, the German painter Inalda turned 45 years old and lived in the interior of Pernambuco, at the Maniçoba farm, now Lagoa da Italianinha. Although the city greatly preserves Italian culture due to its founders, Inalda was the first foreigner to reside there. She moved to the farm in the Pernambuco hinterland, which at the time belonged to Vila Dourada, at only 20 years old, in 1915, twenty years before the arrival of Italian and Portuguese immigrants.

Even living in a highly Catholic region, Inalda preserved her Jewish tradition. One of the reasons she chose Pernambuco as her home is because Recife was home to the first synagogue on the American continent.

She read the Torah daily and preserved her roots, as she was also the daughter of Jews. She suffered much prejudice, mainly from the devout Lady Andréia, a devout Catholic who spent part of her life persecuting Inalda. During the war, Lady Andréia denounced Inalda because she was from one of the Axis countries – Germany – which led to Inalda, two Italian families, and a humble Japanese family residing in Vila Dourada having their radios confiscated. Inalda also taught her art, and Maria Clara, a humble peasant girl, was one of her students.

Inalda also suffered greatly for the Jews who were being persecuted by the German dictatorship. She had escaped because she had been living in Brazil for years, but she worried about her cousin Danielly and her friends Lucélia, Stella, and Alessandra, the latter of whom was not Jewish, but a communist.

Only Stella died during this period, but the others managed to survive. Lucélia went to Israel, Danielly to Pernambuco to live with Inalda, and Alessandra went to Alagoas.

Inalda was always very beloved in Lagoa da Italianinha, and today her great-granddaughters Taline and Teane are trying to open a museum in the house where Inalda lived.