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Suzete M.
Andreotti Amorim:
“Thousands of people hear our programme every Sunday and we make a
difference in
the lives of so
many”
The coordinator
of the radio
programme
Momento Espírita
(Spiritist
Moment), which
is celebrating
this week its 43rd
birthday, tells
us about the
early days of
the show and its
main goals
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Our guest this
week is Suzete
M. Andreotti
Amorim (photo),
the coordinator
of the Momento
Espírita radio
programme
alongside her
husband, Antonio
Carlos Amorim.
Momento Espírita
is one of the
longest-running
Spiritist
programmes in
Brazilian radio.
It was broadcast
for the first
time on March 5th
1972 on the Boa
Nova Radio
Network in the B
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razilian state
of São Paulo. It
goes on air
every Sunday,
from 12:00 to
12:50, aimed at
disseminating
Spiritism. Some
30 people take
part in the
programme, led
by Suzete M. A.
Amorim, who gave
us this
interview: |
Suzete, tell us
a bit about the
early days of
the programme.
Zulmiro Santos
Silva and two
other Spiritists
in the city of
Jabaquara
prepared the
first edition,
which was
broadcast on
March 5th
1972. They were
given 25
minutes’ airtime
every Sunday,
from 06:30 in
the morning.
Zulmiro used to
go round with
his then
state-of-the-art
tape recorder,
doing interviews
that he
broadcast on the
programme. They
also read out
messages and
extracts from
Spiritist
books.
How did you and
your husband get
involved in the
programme?
Zulmiro got ill
in August 1975.
The programme
had been
extended to 50
minutes. He
could not carry
on and a friend
of ours, André
Luiz Bertan,
from the local
Spiritist Youth,
invited us to
take over the
programme. We
did not need to
think twice. We
were young and
enthusiastic.
Four months
another friend
from the
Spiritist Youth,
Mauro Spínola,
joined the
group. We were
then six young
people. And 40
years on, here
we are!
Forty years ago,
you certainly
did not have the
material
resources you
have today. And
Brazil was under
a military
dictatorship.
How did you deal
with the
censorship and
constraints on
freedom of
speech at the
time?
The work was
very hard
indeed; the
censorship was
fierce. We had
to type all the
scripts,
amounting
usually to nine
pages. We used
very thin yellow
paper and made a
carbon copy. The
censors did not
accept any
corrections. The
script was
handed over to
the censors,
which returned
it 15 days
later. Only then
we were allowed
to record the
programme. We
could not change
a single letter.
The radio had to
keep a tape
available for
the censors in
case they wanted
to check what
went on air
against the
script. We used
to meet every
Friday in a
small unit my
parents had in
the Lapa
neighbourhood of
São Paulo. It
was only a
kitchen and
room. We began
our work at 8pm
on Friday night
and finished
around 10am on
Saturday. We
then recorded
the programme
and took the
tape to the
radio, which
broadcast it on
Sunday at 12:00.
That was our
routine for many
years.
How has the
relationship
with your
audience over
these 43 years?
The first major
change was when
the radio
station doubled
the power of its
generators, from
5,000 to 10,000
watts. We
celebrated a
lot, as our
reach and
audience
increased
significantly.
Later, democracy
was restored in
Brazil, which
meant we were
then able to do
the programme
live. The
introduction of
satellite dishes
took our
programme to
distant
Brazilian
states. We began
to get letters
and phone calls
with questions
from other parts
of the country.
Now we have the
Internet, which
enables to reach
the rest of the
world, and
Facebook, which
gives us amazing
feedback and the
possibility of
closer
cooperation with
our listeners.
How much has the
team working in
the programme
changed?
Our team has
been changing
constantly along
the years.
Amorim, Mauro
and I are the
only ones to
remain in the
team from the
beginning. We
have two
permanent slots
in the
programme. One
is called
Espiritismo Hoje,
Spiritism Today,
and deals with
day-to-day
matters in the
light of
Spiritism. The
other slot is
called Estude e
Viva, Study and
Live, and looks
into the core
works of Allan
Kardec and other
classics of
Spiritism. We
also give our
audience the
latest news from
the Spirtist
Movement and
talk about
issues suggested
by our listeners
and people who
access the
programmed
through the
Internet.
Could you leave
a final message
to our readers?
Along the past
43 years, the
Momento Espírita
programme has
taken the
Spiritist
message to so
many people.
Many of them
have come back
later and have
told us that
they changed
their lives
after hearing
one our
programmes. That
is only possible
because we work
hard and are
very rigorous.
Also, we have a
fantastic team,
which spends
their Sundays
working on the
task of sending
a positive
message to
people they do
not even know.
But I have no
doubts of their
joy and pleasure
in doing this
job, which helps
so much to
disseminate the
Spiritist
Teachings. May
they carry on
unshaken in
their
determination!
To listen to the
programme, check
www.radioboanova.com.br.
The Facebook
link is:
https://www.facebook.com/ProgramaMomentoEspirita?fref=ts
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