Alex Sandro Cardoso Guimarães:

“We can see and walk, but do we actually do one third of what Jerônimo used to do?”

The young Spiritist, author of a children’s book entitled “The Recumbent Giant – the story of Jerônimo Mendonça,”
talks about his work and other projects
 

	Alex Guimarães (photo) found Spiritism in 2005 in his native city of São José dos Campos, São Paulo state. He is a volunteer at a local Spiritist Centre, Ismael, and a Spiritist TV channel. He is also a writer of children’s books and wrote the amazing story of Jerônimo Mendonça, a man who was paralysed from the neck down and blind but toured
the country helping in the dissemination of Spiritism. That is the main theme of this interview. For more information, please check the following websites: www.gigantedeitado.blogspot.com and www.alexscguimaraes.blogspot.com.

How did you come up with the idea of having a book for children telling the story of Jerônimo Mendonça?

I was doing research on his life for a book for adults when I began to think about my dear mother, who is already discarnate. I had her in my mind the whole day and eventually I had an intuition, as though she was telling me: “My son, why don’t you begin drawing?” That is what I did and when I realised I had done several sketches of Jerônimo as the character of a children’s book.

How did you carry out your research?

It began in May 2011, when I began gathering material for a Spiritist TV programme. I read a few books about him and spoke to Maria Luísa Freira, his carer in the last nine years of his life, until 1989. When the programme went on air, many people came to me and said: “We need to get people to know more about this great figure of Spiritism”. I decided to write a book and travelled to many cities Jerônimo used to visit in Brazil, such as Londrina, Sacramento and Uberaba. I recorded many testimonies and gathered audio and video material.

What about the illustrations for your book?

I was a bit embarrassed when I handed in my drawings to the editors, as I thought they were not really up to it. I thought they would be used as sketches by proper artists. But much to my surprise they liked them and published them on the book.

What aspect of the man who became known in Brazil as the Recumbent Giant has really touched your heart?

His resignation, the fact that he accepted his physical disabilities and put up with all the pain with a smile on his face. He never complained, he joked about himself and he even used to sing at the end of his public speeches. And he took the Gospel to any quarters of the country to where he was invited. He could only move his neck and was blind and yet published six books, two records, he founded three Spiritist Centres, one nursery, he set up one Spiritist Book Fair and used to take part in a daily TV programme, a daily radio transmission and to do the Gospel in the Home every day. That is what really strikes me. I often think: we can see and walk, but do we do one third of what he used to do?

How have the children responded to the publication?

I noticed that many children came to the book-signing event, and many were not even Spiritists. I had many children who came to me interested in buying the book, others making nice comments about it. That is all very rewarding, as that was the main goal I was trying to achieve with this book: to show new generations who this man, the Recumbent Giant, was and what he did.

Did you speak to Jane Martins Vilela, who wrote Jerônimo’s biography, entitled “The Recumbent Giant”?

Yes, we used to talk almost daily and she was a big help. We were chatting one day when I woman I had never seen, who really did not know me, approached us and said that the spirit of Jerônimo Mendonça was there. What an amazing feeling!

Tell us a bit more about your experience during the time you were working on the book.

I had a number of moving experiences, of contact with the Spiritual World, during that period. People who were not even aware of my project contacted me with the information I was looking for. But the most amazing experience took place during a live transmission of the radio programme “Vivência Espírita”. Our guest that day was the renowned medium Ari Rangel, who received a message, directed to me, live in the programme. I was listening the radio when he read the message on air. It was of course a message by Jerônimo Mendonça, speaking of his gratitude to me for the book. “May Jesus guide you on your path towards enlightenment,” he said.

Do you have a lot of material about Jerônimo’s life, which you use in your public lectures and speeches?

Yes, I have rare photos of him, audio and video tapes that I have been digitalising and important testimonies from people who were very close to him. Some of the material I have been keeping to be used in a book for adults, eventually.

Do you have any other projects for the future?

I am writing a short story for teenagers, with a Spiritst theme, and I have already written another book for children, which is due to be published shortly. It will be a surprise, but it also tells the life story of two great names of Spiritism.

Any other toughts?

I would just like to point out that from the beginning I wanted to publish the book in Braille, for children with visual deficiency. But that has not happened due to a number of problems. I do not profit from the sales at all, having given the copyright to the editors. Some of the money from book sales goes to a Spiritist organisation in São Paulo state. Finally, thanks for the opportunity and congratulations for the wonderful job you do at O Consolador every week. Let us, following the example of Jerônimo, be happier and suffer less. May Jesus bless us all. “How beautiful,” as Jerônimo used to say.