The rivalry between neighborhood gangs was a tradition in Rio de Janeiro. A resident of Barra da Tijuca, Renzo and his friends had a series of confrontations with the Jacarepaguá gang. One of these times things almost ended in death.
 
Renzo (who was in love with a girl who lived in the neighboring neighborhood) had received a phone call, inviting him to a party at which the girl would be present. On the appointed night he went there by car with a group of friends.
 
The address was on a dead-end street. Arriving at the scene Renzo and his colleagues realized that there was no party: it was an ambush. They rounded the car and saw a group of kids blocking the way. One of them was armed and started shooting. Renzo's car accelerated to get away. As he passed the boys from Jacarepaguá, several shots hit the vehicle. Fortunately none of the occupants were shot.
 
The incident disturbed him deeply.
 
Weeks later, Renzo was informed that those boys were at a party at the Riviera condominium. He turned to Vera (his mother) and said:
 
“Those guys who shot us are close by. I go there. Will you lend me the car or will you go with me?”
 
“I'll go with you”, was his mother's reply.
 
Renzo gathered some friends and headed for the condominium, with Vera at the wheel.
 
INTERVIEWER: So you went with him to this fight?
 
VERA: He would go anyway. Being together was my way of protecting him.
 
Arriving at the place, the fight began. In the midst of the confusion, a security guard at the condominium drew a gun. Vera ran to the man and took the revolver out of his hands: "Don't point a gun at the boys!" Twenty minutes later, the siren of a police car was heard. Vera yelled for Renzo and his friends to get back in the car. In the escape, Renzo still jumped through the window and attacked the rival group alone. Vera had to get out and drag her son back to the vehicle. They crossed the police car on the road. “They arrived just as we were leaving the condo. Imagine having to explain that to the police: me, the MOTHER, taking her son to fight... But if I hadn't been there, that security guard with the gun could have caused a tragedy.”
 
RENZO: People attribute my character to the Gracie family, but I was shaped largely by the Simões family. I had some amazing uncles who spent long periods with us in our house. One of them was uncle Dadá (Darley Augusto Silva e Souza, married to his aunt Ana Maria), who read to us before bed: stories of adventures that filled our heads with dreams... Many times we slept rocked by Uncle Dadá, telling us stories and singing to us. This is how you make someone unbreakable: by giving love to the child! There was also Uncle Paulo, an outstanding figure. He always said not to accept nicknames: “If someone gives you a nickname, punch the guy in the face. No more nickname!” Once a cousin of ours came home crying, saying that a big guy at school wouldn't let him play ball with the other boys at recess. My uncle Paulo took him by the hand and led him to the backyard. There he found a Y-shaped branch; then he went to the drugstore and bought a rubber band. In a grocery store they got a bag of marbles. Uncle Paulo spent that afternoon with my cousin, teaching him how to use the slingshot, practicing his aim... The next day they stood at the school door waiting for the older boy to come out. When the guy appeared, my cousin ran to him: the first shot hit him in the forehead. The bully fell screaming and, while trying to run away, was hit by several shots of marbles. No one ever stopped my cousin from playing ball at recess. Another story from Uncle Paulo: he caught malaria on a trip to the Amazon. He dropped from 209 to less than 154 pounds... Every day a priest came to give him the last rites: “I owe my recovery to that priest”, he said. “The urge I had to get out of bed and punch him in the face kept me alive!” (Laughs)
 
(to be continued)