A fond farewell
Bonifácio Manoel dos Santos [1914 - 2005], the Odebrecht member with the most years of service, is a symbol of dedication and commitment to the Group
written by ◦ Miucha Andrade

On May 12, 1929, 15-year-old Bonifácio Manoel dos Santos, an apprentice blacksmith at the workshops of the Salesian College in Salvador, asked the person responsible for building the Companhia de Navegação Baiana shipping company’s headquarters for a job. The contractor was Emílio Odebrecht e Cia., the company owned by Norberto Odebrecht’s father. On May 14th, young Bonifácio was hired and paid 500 réis per hour, working nine hours a day. From that day on, he never quit.

Mestre Bonifácio, as he was known, died at the age of 91 on November 15, 2005. He is survived by his widow, Eliete Maria Silva Santos, and two sons, Eduardo Manoel dos Santos and Bonifácio Manoel dos Santos Júnior. Mestre Bonifácio was the longest-standing member of the Odebrecht Group.

Norberto Odebrecht and his son Emílio Odebrecht attended the funeral service on November 16th at the Jardim da Saudade cemetery in Salvador, Bahia. “We were very close to Bonifácio”, says Norberto Odebrecht. “He was a man of complete integrity,” he adds.

Mestre Bonifácio worked at Emílio Odebrecht e Cia. for 15 years. “Old Emílio was a great boss. He explained everything to us; either that or he left it in writing,” he used to say.

Bonifácio stayed on when Norberto Odebrecht started his own company in 1944. He started out as an assistant blacksmith and was promoted to supervisor on the Tuiutí Building project in 1950. That same year, he bought a house for 50,000 cruzeiros, including 20,000 from his savings and a 30,000-cruzeiro loan from Construtora Norberto Odebrecht.

He kept working on the company’s projects with the same spirit of serving clients and ensuring their satisfaction. Among all the projects he worked on, he particularly remembered building the Castro Alves Theater in Salvador in just one year. “I was the first construction worker on that project,” he would say. “The agreement with the client, Governor Antônio Balbino, was that the theater would open July 2nd (Bahia’s independence day). The night before, on July 1st, Governor Balbino went to the theater and Norberto Odebrecht called all the supervisors and assistant supervisors together. Then Governor Balbino said, ’Norberto, you’ve kept your word.’ But Norberto Odebrecht pointed to us and shared the honor, saying, ’Don’t thank me, thank these people here.’”

Mestre Bonifácio built houses, schools, hospitals, overpasses, apartment buildings and office towers in several Brazilian cities. His favorite city was Rio de Janeiro, where he helped construct the Petrobras Building in 1969. In an interview published in Odebrecht Informa no. 23, in June 1979, he revealed that: “While I was in Rio I wanted to see a samba parade (during Carnival). I bought a ticket, arrived at the stadium at 5 p.m. and only left at 8 the next morning when the sun was high in the sky and Portela had just passed by.”

His dream of going to Portugal came true when he was 78. The trip was a reward for his years of devoted service to the Odebrecht Group. During his stay he visited the headquarters of Bento Pedroso Construções in Lisbon and talked to young entrepreneurs about his work experiences.

He made many friends during his travels. They came from all walks of life, from the humblest construction workers he supervised to engineers who joined Odebrecht fresh out of college. These young people, who are now big names in Brazilian engineering, often relied on the supervisor’s experience.

Bonifácio emphasized the importance of loyalty and responsibility. “People have to trust each other,” he told Odebrecht Informa. “If people love the place where they work, they also love themselves.”

Mestre Bonifácio’s career during his long years of dedication to Odebrecht demonstrated his talent for making work a reason for living. He always fought to win new projects and sought to overcome fresh challenges, setting an invaluable example for everyone around him. In Norberto Odebrecht’s opinion, he was a man of exceptional character.