Whispered conversation: biographical configurations of Samuel Wainer in the correspondence of Alzira Vargas do Amaral Peixoto

Abstract

This article examines the process of reconstructing the past through the epistolary exchange between Alzira Vargas do Amaral Peixoto, the daughter of Darcy Sarmanho Vargas and Getúlio Vargas, and Pinky Wainer, the daughter of Danuza Leão and Samuel Wainer. These two women, born in 1914 and 1954 respectively, are heirs to archives attesting to the friendship between their families, united by friendship and political proselytism. Considering that the patrimonialization of personal archives presupposes a work capable of justifying institutional preservation, this article discusses practices of consecrating legatees, commitments involved in inheriting documentary collections, and the role of mediators in shaping the narrative and contents of individual archives. The approach aims to observe the political processes of composing public memory on the scale of practices. To this end, it highlights the correlations between the heiresses’ narratives and their respective positions in time and social space.