In Memorian
This space is dedicated to the lives that passed through Santa Companhia and have since journeyed into eternity. We offer our deepest affection, gratitude, admiration, and remembrance. Evoé!
Adely Branco - Madame
June 8, 1976 – May 30, 2026
Madame embodied many roles within Santa Companhia. She was a performer, playwright, poetic advisor, costume designer, and a dear friend. From 2021 to 2026, she played a fundamental role in our artistic and human journey.
Her path included work as a psychodramatist, poet, tarot reader, systemic therapist, dance therapist trained by the Maria Fux Institute, and Biodanza practitioner through the Vida e Consciência Institute in 2007. Since 2002, she worked as a facilitator of self-knowledge and personal transformation, using art as her guiding inspiration. She offered individual sessions and led courses, lectures, and workshops throughout Brazil. From 1993 to 1998, she was a member of the folk dance and research group directed by Marika Gidali. Beginning in 2005, she coordinated and performed in the project Concerto para a Alma (Concert for the Soul), presenting interactive workshops and performances that combined music, psychodrama, and dance therapy. The project toured until 2009, concluding with its final presentation at SESC São José do Rio Preto. As a storyteller, she collaborated with social projects for children, including Ninho, Arte e Vida, and the Brenda Lee Support House in São Paulo. As a researcher of Sacred Feminine dances, she had the opportunity to study and live alongside Sharazad Shahid, a pioneer of belly dance in Brazil, from 1999 to 2006.
At Santa Companhia, she participated in the Psychomagic Studies, Karavana Chile, Cantata para o Amor, Karabaré: Poesia Enamorada, and Coração Marginal. She was always present in every sphere of our collective life—artistic and personal alike—embracing each of us with immense care and affection. Her stories remain inscribed in our body-memory, and her words of wisdom continue to guide us as a creative and loving force.
Gi Bordosa
March 3, 1997 – February 2, 2022
Gi Bordosa was always an authentic artist—strong-willed, outspoken, and blessed with an unforgettable smile.
A makeup artist specialized in theatrical and artistic makeup through Senac Lapa Faustolo under the guidance of Márcio Desideri, she began her theater studies at the Valtier Santos Free Theater Program in Barra Bonita, where she performed for three years. In 2015, she entered the Performing Arts program at the Faculty of Arts of Paraná in Curitiba, where she took part in productions of Nelson Rodrigues’ The Wedding Dress and Bertolt Brecht’s The Exception and the Rule. She later founded Companhia DAQUI, where she produced the original play Ou Barbárie… written and directed by Vinícius Medeiros. She was also pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Performing Arts at the Institute of Arts of UNESP.
At Santa Companhia, Gi worked both as an actress and makeup artist in the production Cora Primavera during 2018 and 2019. Our beloved Gi Bordosa departed on Santa Companhia’s anniversary, on the Day of Yemanjá. Odoyá! May the waters of the Great Mother receive and protect you in eternity, just as you remain protected within our memory and our hearts.
Renato Ihu - Renatinho
March 19, 1963 – June 14, 2026
Our master of drums, rhythm, and popular wisdom. Renatinho illuminated every space he entered with his presence, generosity, and deep knowledge. He joined us in some of the most important productions in our history: Cantata para Primavera, Cora Primavera, Cantata para o Amor, and Karabaré: Poesia Enamorada.
An arts educator, percussionist, and ethnomusicology researcher, Renato dedicated his life to studying Afro-Brazilian cultural traditions throughout southeastern Brazil, including the jongo communities of the Paraíba Valley in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the Batuques de Umbigada of western São Paulo, and the Congado traditions of Minas Gerais. He served as assistant professor in the undergraduate Dance and Arts programs at UNESP’s Institute of Arts, contributing to the course Laboratory of Brazilian Cultural Expressions. He was also the creator of the project Black Territories of Music, Dance, and Theatre – The Southeast Region, providing training and educational programs on ethnic-racial themes in music, dance, and theater for institutions, SESC centers, Itaú Cultural, and Black theater collectives in São Paulo. As an educator, researcher, curator, and musician, he participated in countless projects, courses, festivals, workshops, performances, and cultural exchanges dedicated to preserving and sharing Afro-Brazilian traditions. He was a member of Grupo Cachuera, a renowned collective devoted to research and dissemination of Afro-Brazilian culture from southeastern Brazil, and collaborated with artists and institutions throughout the country.
His artistic journey included work in singing, percussion, dance, cultural education, and the preservation of traditional repertoires such as jongos, batuques, congadas, cotopés, moçambiques, and candombes. Through these practices, he touched and transformed countless lives.
We are grateful to have known you. To have walked even a small stretch of this journey beside you. We honor your wisdom, your joy, your generosity, your attentive listening, your stories, your jokes, your laughter, your dances, your drums... all your songs. You brought us immeasurable learning. We carry you with us aboard a translucent vessel, crafted from dreams and faith.
