Maranhao, Cardoso Miriam (1942–2020)

Miriam Cardoso Maranhão was an educator and writer from Brazil. The daughter of Aloísio Neves Albuquerque Maranhão (1908-1987) and Mariana Cardoso Maranhão (1920-2015), she was born on October 21, 1942, in the district of Sabaúna, which is part of the municipality of Mogi das Cruzes, in Sao Paulo, Brazil.¹ She had an older brother, Jessé, a younger brother, Eli, and a younger sister, Marisa.²

Miriam was born into an Adventist home. Her father was already an Adventist when he emigrated from Nazaré da Mata, Pernambuco, to the city of Sao Paulo with the aim of studying at the former Brazil Adventist College. Her mother, Mariana, learned about the Adventist message in Mogi das Cruzes in the 1930s through an evangelistic series presented by Pastor Jerônimo G. Garcia. Influenced by a Christian upbringing, she served in her church as a pianist from a young age. When she was only nine years old, she was already playing the piano at the Central Adventist Church of Mogi das Cruzes. Her love of art and service to the SDA Church continued throughout her life.³

She completed her elementary school education at the Colégio Dona Placidina and her middle school at the Escola Estadual Dr. Washington Luís, both educational institutions are located in Mogi das Cruzes. From a very early age, Miriam stood out as a student and admirer of education. She was inspired to pursue a career as an educator by the influence of one of her relatives on her mother’s side, teacher Antônio Olegário Cardoso, who traveled by horse and cart to teach classes on farms and rural schools. At 13 years of age, Miriam was already tutoring other children, teaching them Portuguese.⁴

Afterwards, she graduated with a degree in Literature from the University of Mogi das Cruzes, Sao Paulo. Later, Miriam got a postgraduate degree in Directed Study of the Portuguese Language from the State University of Campinas, also in Sao Paulo, and a specialization in Linguistics from the Faculdade Oswaldo Cruz in the city of Sao Paulo.⁵

From 1970 to 1986 and 1988 to 2005, she mainly worked as a teacher in primary and secondary education at private and public schools in the region. During the same period, she also worked in higher education. She was a professor of the Literature and Pedagogy courses in the subjects of Portuguese Language, Writing, and Brazilian and Portuguese Literature at Brazil Adventist University, Sao Paulo campus.⁶ In 1997, she was one of the lecturers at the Maranhense Mission series of training seminars, which occurred from February 27 to 29.⁷

In addition to being an educator, she also collaborated in the educational field as a co-author for spelling and calligraphy textbooks. Together with Professor Gerusa Martins, she wrote a series of books: Escreva Corretamente (Write Correctly), Construindo a Linguagem (Constructing Language), and Pensar, Expressar, Criar (Think, Express, Create). All these works were published by the Brazil Publishing House and used in schools of Adventist education in Brazil.⁸ In total, Miriam wrote and helped write around 22 literary works in addition to other works that were not published. Miriam also taught several tutoring classes for students and brethren in the SDA Church. She corrected and revised the spelling of sermons written by pastors and theology students from what is currently Brazil Adventist University, and other books released by the Brazilian Publishing House (CPB). Her love for music carried on to adulthood. Miriam served as a pianist at the central church of COHAB, south of the city of Sao Paulo.⁹

She married Naor Rodrigues (1938-2005), a young Adventist from Marília, Sao Paulo, she met at a social church event in Mogi das Cruzes in January of 1971. The couple had two children: Sumaia and Vinicius Cardoso Maranhão Rodrigues.

Her career as an educator lasted 60 years, of which 35 were dedicated directly to the service of Adventist education in Brazil. She taught, instructed, and influenced countless students and teachers. Her legacy is observed in her literature and teaching methods, which are widely used in Adventist schools in addition to other private and public networks throughout Brazil. At the age of 77, on August 6, 2020, Miriam Cardoso Maranhão passed away after a 10-year battle with breast cancer.¹⁰

Sources

“Capacitação Global.” Revista Adventista 93, no. 5 (May 1997).

“Didáticos – Nova Frente Evangelística.” Revista Adventista 86, no. 7 (July 1990).

“Memória.” Revista Adventista 115, no. 1363) (November 2020).

Notes

1. Sumaia Maranhão, interviewed by Melissa Querido Batista.↩

2. Vinicius Maranhão, interviewed by Melissa Querido Batista.↩

3. Ibid.; Sumaia Maranhão, interviewed by Melissa Querido Batista.↩

4. Vinicius Maranhão, interviewed by Melissa Querido Batista; Sumaia Maranhão, interviewed by Melissa Querido Batista.↩

5. Ibid.↩

6. Ibid.↩

7. “Capacitação Global,” Revista Adventista 93, no. 5 (May 1997): 23.↩

8. Sumaia Maranhão, interviewed by Melissa Querido Batista; “Didáticos – Nova Frente Evangelística,” Revista Adventista, 86, no. 7 (July 1990): 13; “Memória,” Revista Adventista 115, no. 1363 (November 2020): 47.↩

9. Vinicius Maranhão, interviewed by Melissa Querido Batista; Sumaia Maranhão, interviewed by Melissa Querido Batista.↩

10. Ibid.; “Memória,” Revista Adventista 115, no. 1363 (November 2020): 47.↩