COMPESA LAUNCHES BOOK THAT RESCUES THE HISTORY OF SANITATION IN PERNAMBUCO

Work by writer José Luiz Mota Menezes, Cristais de Vida, was released this Tuesday (23), World Book Day

The unpublished book by writer José Luiz Mota Menezes, Cristais de Vida, which travels through time and rescues the history of sanitation in Pernambuco from 1535 to 2000, was released this Tuesday (23), the day on which the Day Mundial do Livro, in the administrative center of Compesa, Santo Amaro neighborhood, Recife. The event was a tribute to the writer who died on September 6, 2021, at the age of 85, and was attended by his daughter Luciana Meneses and sister, Diamantina Teles. The launch was attended by the Secretary of Water Resources and Sanitation, Almir Cirilo, who also represented the president of Compesa, Alex Campos, in addition to the Company’s directors, teachers, museologists, anthropologists and restorers, professionals who represent the cultural scene of Pernambuco.

José Luiz Mota Menezes, in addition to being a writer, was an architect, researcher, urban planner, professor and vice-rector of the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), but he was also passionate about sanitation in Pernambuco, dedicating himself to research on the subject and leaving a legacy for future generations, with valuable information about the challenges and advances of the sector in the state over almost 500 years. The book Cristais de Vida has 180 pages divided into 12 chapters, and was printed by Companhia Editora de Pernambuco (CEPE). The work is a walk through history, from urban sanitation in Portugal, in the 16th century, to the arrival of the new millennium, which brought with it new lights for sanitation in Pernambuco, a period in which the Companhia Pernambucana de Saneamento – Compesa – was already a consolidated company. The work will be part of the collection of the Museu Universo Compesa, installed at the company’s headquarters.

The Secretary of Water Resources and Sanitation, Almir Cirilo, spoke of the importance of the book for all generations, where it portrays the history of sanitation so well with accounts of the first sanitation instruments coming from Portugal to Brazil to the most recent technologies in 2021. “I recommend that everyone read this, because in order to build the present and plan the future, it is important to know the past that was discussed so well by the author.”

Excited, Luciana Meneses thanked Compesa’s initiative for the launch and tribute and recalled her visits with her father to the Company where he spoke about Compesa’s collection. “Today was a unique moment, based on everything we experienced here at Compesa, which was part of my life story and my father’s life story, as our research environment. The book is very beautiful and it’s worth it for people to dive in and get to know this story,” she pointed out.

“The book rescues sanitation in Pernambuco. There are 465 years of history also built by Compesa, responsible for the next chapters of this work”, said the retired Compesa and currently on the team at the Secretariat of Water Resources and Sanitation, Daniel Genuíno.

The writer José Luiz Mota Menezes was born in Alagoas and took up residence in Pernambuco in 1945. He worked at the National Historical and Artistic Heritage Service (Iphan), where he signed important restoration projects in religious temples. He was also a technical consultant and one of those responsible for granting the title of Cultural Heritage of Humanity to Olinda, by UNESCO, in 1982. He was, twice, president of the Archaeological, Historical and Geographical Institute of Pernambuco, and a member of the Academia Pernambucana de Letras .

Prestigious event:

Also participating in the event were the president of the Pernambuco-Fundarpe Historical and Artistic Heritage Foundation, Renata Borba; the president of the Archaeological, Historical and Geographic Institute of Pernambuco, Margarida Cantarelli; the Literature coordinator of the Cultural Policies Management, Juliana Albuquerque, representing the Secretary of Culture of Pernambuco, Cacau de Paula and the coordinator of the Professional Master’s Degree in Environmental Management at the Federal Institute of Pernambuco (IFPE), Marília Lyra.