João Gordo revealed on his social media that the Military Police tried to suppress a social event he organized in the eastern zone of São Paulo, alleging overcrowding.
The event took place this past weekend on the musician's 57th birthday. To celebrate, he organized a charity drive to collect food for the Alcântara Machado Occupation, a settlement located under the viaduct of the same name in the eastern part of the city.
Despite having organized the event, the musician did not attend due to pandemic restrictions. Viviana Torrico , João's wife, told UOL that the artist leaves the house because he is sad due to the number of friends he has lost to the Covid-19 pandemic. "Sometimes João doesn't want to leave the house. He said he wasn't feeling well on his birthday and decided to stay home," Torrico said.
"A whole bunch of cops showed up to crack down on the illegal gathering at some guy João Gordo's birthday party," the singer wrote in the third person on Instagram. According to Viviana, several police cars arrived at the scene around 11 am questioning who was responsible for the event.
“The police arrived very aggressively,” she recalls, although there was no record of any aggression. “They asked who was responsible for the event, what the event consisted of. We explained that there was no event at all, that a breakfast was taking place, that we were feeding children and women and receiving donations,” she explained.
When the police checked and found no signs of a party, they asked some people for identification and, as they were about to leave, they saw a man who looked similar to João Gordo in a room. This was Gabriel, a volunteer for the social project.
“I was in a shack putting together a new bunk bed with one of the volunteers, Gabriel, who has the same mannerisms as João — that is, chubby, has a beard, wears shorts. They saw Gabriel and started yelling at him: 'Fat João, Fat João'. Very intimidating. 'I'm not Fat João, I'm just assembling the girl's bunk bed,' he said. It was even funny,” Torrico recounted.
Despite the setback, João said the action achieved its goal of helping the occupation. “It was one of the best birthdays of my life. Lots of donations. This whole 'solidarity birthday' thing is really cool. I hope friends, fans, and supporters do the same in their respective celebrations,” João wrote.
Contacted by UOL, the Military Police stated in a note that "they did not locate the call or assistance for the location, date, and time mentioned, and emphasize that they continue to support the competent state and municipal agencies in monitoring gatherings."
