In an attempt to rebuild their lives, the family moved to Ribeirão Preto. But nothing was easy there. Living in Precarious conditions and unable to open his own watch shop, Seu Jorge saw his difficulties getting worse. Pressured by debts, he made a difficult decision: to return with his family to São João da Boa Vista, in the hope of that, in his homeland, some new opportunity would arise. However, this change also did not bring the results expected.
With no alternatives, they decided to try again in Ribeirão Preto. This time, however, luck began to change. Already Resigned to not running his own business, Seu Jorge got a job in a watch shop. It was there that he met the young man goldsmith João Rosseto, with whom he formed an immediate friendship.
It was João who suggested that they open a watch shop together — a decisive invitation. The partnership worked and, for the first Once in many years, the Assad family began to experience the much-desired stability: debts could be paid, House rent now fits into the budget and supporting the family is no longer a daily struggle.
In this new phase, the family routine also took on new contours: Cito, being a special boy, stopped being accepted in public schools, while Sérgio and Odair began to study and have a more regular childhood. Despite the difficulties, it was in that domestic environment that music found fertile soil to germinate, expanding beyond of the patriarch's mandolin.
The first was the firstborn, Cito. Given his conditions, it was assumed that he would have difficulties with motor coordination fine and rhythmic control. However, from a very young age he began to drum on every object he found around him. around you. Dona Ica, attentive, asked her husband to buy a tambourine for him to play with. What happened, however, was unexpected: Cito revealed a remarkable rhythmic capacity and, more than that, he alone developed a technique suitable for playing.
When Sérgio was twelve years old, Dona Ica received a visit from her brother, uncle Nico. As it was common in that house to have a guitar on the living room sofa, used in the musical circles that Seu Jorge promoted, Nico, with the only two chords that he knew, he called his sister to sing. Upon seeing the scene, Sérgio asked him to teach him those chords. And that's how it all started. Dona Ica, who always took singing for granted, affectionately began to sing every time she Her son chased her with his guitar at the ready, while he took care of household chores.
One day, after a disagreement with his friend Waldemar, a guitarist partner who accompanied him in the choro circles, Seu Jorge arrived home after work and witnessed the scene. He quickly asked the boy if he would like to learn to "play real guitar". Given his enthusiasm, he picked up his mandolin, and it was right there that the first lessons have begun.
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Dona Ica, accompanied by Seu Jorge, Sérgio and Cito. Music: "Marina", by Dorival Caymmi.
