The boy who became the symbol of hope, 2010

The boy who became the symbol of hope, 2010.



Diego Frazão Torquato was a boy who was born in Brazil in 1997. He was welcomed into the world in the slums of Parada de Lucas, a place corrupted by crime and disease. At the age of 4, he was hospitalized for meningitis and pneumonia. These were so severe that he struggled with memory problems. 

From a young age, Diego wanted to learn how to play the violin as he believed it would take him across the world. He was introduced to the orchestra called  Afroraggae, which was coordinated by Evandro João Silva and was established to stop young children from falling into the terrible hands of crime. 

Sadly, Silva would be murdered in downtown Rio. Extremely saddened by the loss of his hero, Diego, who was sick and weak, played the violin at Silva's funeral to honor him,  which is the image you see above. 

Tragically, Diego died a short time after this picture was taken as he suffered from a cardiac arrest brought on by an infection he got from undergoing a surgery for his appendix. Diego also had luekimia at the time of his death too.

At Diego's funeral, José Júnior has this to say about Diego:

" I think the legacy of Diego is hope, it is the willingness to change, to transform."

Diego was only 12 years old. He is now known in his area as the symbol of hope, an inspiration to all people that no matter how bad your circumstances are in your life, fight all that you can to make it better, and to make tomorrow a better day.

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