A day in Estela’s life is similar to that of many six-year-old girls, since she
spends the day with her grandmother, except for the period she is at school. However,
she experiences a relation that is the opposite of the expected: The granddaughter has
the function of caring for her visually impaired grandmother, helping her move around
and eat. In-between challenges, Estela’s day-to-day life is permeated by relaxed and
good-tempered exchanges, with games and rhymes her grandmother recollects from her
childhood in the state of Bahia, thus teaching her granddaughter, who was born in São
Paulo. It is through music that the grandmother shares her experiences and her history,
enabling affective bonds to be built between them and affording intergenerational
exchange and support. This relationship lets the girl assimilate, in a positive way and
from an early age, the difficult life her grandmother had in the countryside of Bahia
and still experiences because of her visual impairment. Through music, which fills their
shared life with lightness, the girl develops the feelings of empathy and solidarity.
Additionally, Estela applies the values she learns from her grandmother in her everyday
life, and they are reflected in her transactions with other people, both at home and at
school.
Keywords: Care, Cultural Transition, Family Support, Folkloric Chants, Intergenerational
Relationships, Music, School Success, Thriving.