Queen of pop, Madonna even has a square named after her in Belo Horizonte | Minas Gerais

Understand why ‘Praça da Madonna’, in BH, has this name

That Madonna square (or Madonna, or Madonna) is located between Antônio Giarola, Radialista José Correia and Radialista Isnard Simone streets and is officially called José Jeremias de Mesquita — a name that never stuck. Everyone knows the queen’s name.

The square’s nickname came about because of a Pubwhich was nearby and was very successful in the early 90s.

There was a very famous bar called Bar da Madonna. It was very popular at the time, mainly among young people, with many meetings. People said ‘let’s meet at Madonna’, which was the bar, but ended up giving the square its nickname

— said Maciel Gomes, a resident of the neighborhood for 51 years and a regular at the Madonna bar

Currently, the only reference to Madonna that remains in the square is a graffiti on a wall, with a drawing of the diva, already worn out. In the bar’s golden age, on the other hand, the situation was very different.

Bar Madonna because I liked the artist at the time, who was having a lot of success. In addition to the tribute, it was a themed bar. There were lots of photos, we played her songs, we made stickers, t-shirts with her

— recalled tailor Giodeoni de Freitas Martins, the owner of the bar

“The square was packed, there was barely enough space for the public, and it wasn’t a big bar. It was a golden age, we sponsored school shirts with the bar, we took bands to the square. We sold 75 cases of beer in a weekend. And exactly because of this success, it came to an end. People couldn’t take that mess every weekend anymore”, added Giodeoni.

The bar became famous thanks to a party that would be held in the square, with the theme of the band Ultraje a Rigor, which was successful at the time.

“The Merilu Festival was going to take place in the square, where you had to pay to enter and it was expensive. So, people saw the bar and ended up staying for a beer. More people started arriving and, when it was the following week, the movement continued and stayed. So, I started doing something fun, that could add to the bar”, said the owner.

In addition to the Madonna theme, Giodeoni began to promote an elegant mail among regulars — a precursor to Tinder —, promoted shows and “moved youth”as he himself defined.

After the end of the bar, Giodeoni de Freitas went to work in a cleaning products industry for more than 15 years and today dedicates himself to tailoring. And he doesn’t intend to go to Madonna’s show next Saturday (4); “Unfortunately,” he said.

A 1992 decree recognized and assigned the official name (José Jeremias de Mesquita) the square. Mesquita died that year, when he was a City Hall employee and special advisor to the then mayor Eduardo Azeredo. Born in Lavras, he had previously also worked with Tancredo Neves.

More than 30 years later, the space continued to be an important cultural point in the Céu Azul neighborhood. Throughout the 90s and 2000s, it hosted new bars, carnival parades, shows and other events.

“The square hosted political and cultural meetings, competitions. Today it is still a meeting point, not as active as it used to be, but children and teenagers have fun in the playground”, recalled Maciel, who has lived in the neighborhood for five decades.

A few years ago — which the residents were unable to identify — the square received a nice graffiti with a drawing of the Madonna, on the wall of one of the properties.

“[O desenho] it was made relatively recently. It was a competition there at Adauto, the Escola Municipal Adauto Lúcio Cardoso, where the painter took the name, Madonna, and drew her portrait there”, narrated Onílio Pereira Ananias, who has lived in the neighborhood for 51 years and has an optician’s shop in the square.

On the 28th, the square was renovated and handed over to the population, with new benches, an open-air gym and social spaces. “It has always been very popular, now with the renovation it is beautiful and must be preserved”, concluded Onílio.