Elvira Boni

Elvira Boni de Lacerda (Espírito Santo do Pinhal, 1899 - Rio de Janeiro, 1990) was a political activist and strike leader. She defined herself as the "lady of the last century". She was the daughter of Italian immigrants from Cremona, Angelo Boni and Tercila Aciratti Boni. She had her first contact with socialist ideas at home, with her father who was a metal worker, and her brothers. At the age of eight, she moved with her family to the city of Rio de Janeiro in the Cordovil neighborhood. Elvira had to leave school to take care of one of her siblings who fell ill and, therefore, did not complete primary school. At age 12, she started working as an apprentice in a sewing workshop.

In 1909, as a result of the spread of anarchist ideas, the Anticlerical League was founded in the then federal capital. The League carried out intense activity, including a campaign called “Where is Idalina?”, which lasted two years, denouncing Father Faustino Consoni for the rape and death of Idalina de Oliveira, a minor. In the midst of all this unrest, Elvira got started in union and political life. with her father who was a metal worker. At the age of eight, she moved with her family to the city of Rio de Janeiro in the Cordovil neighborhood. At the age of 12 she started working as an apprentice in a sewing workshop.

The headquarters of the Union operated in the former headquarters of the "Tailors Union of Rio de Janeiro". The strike was reported by Jornal do Brasil as “the strike of luxury bees”. From there, it is possible to notice the importance that Elvira acquired within the labor movement, as she was chosen to chair the opening table of the Congress, and also to speak, being much applauded by those present at the end of her speech. The worker who had not even finished primary education In the period 1921–1922, she participated in the magazine Renovação, directed by the Portuguese Marques da Costa, giving her name as the person responsible for the vehicle (since the director was a foreigner, which was not allowed at the time). In one of the magazine's articles, entitled A Festa da Penha, after showing the happy but also sad side of the promise-takers, climbing the Penha Staircase on their knees, Elvira Boni ended with the following statement: "And you, women, who are indispensable to the success of any initiative, you must impose yourself by abandoning all these manifestations of vice and depravity; you must combine all your efforts, seeking education as the main factor for a conscious victory, and alongside men, train in battalion of a society where the jail is replaced by the School and hate does not exist instead of love". - "It seems incredible that this Jesuitada in a frock coat and so many others in a cassock are so concerned with the resolution that half a dozen have taken of men to repel the prejudices of the infernal Mother Church in the clash of struggles (...): they still try to impose their will on the private lives of those who find themselves divorced from their prejudices".

Along with Noêmia Lopes (also founder of the Union), she was determined to represent the Union of Seamstresses, and was also appointed treasurer between 1919 and 1922, when the organization ended up closing due to lack of interest among women in participating in the union movement.

With the divergences between the founders of the Brazilian Communist Party and the anarchists, Elvira Boni moved away from the libertarian movement.

Marriage During her participation in a working class theater group, Grupo Dramático 1º de Maio, in 1917, Elvira met the merchant Olgier Lacerda, one of the founders of the Brazilian Communist Party (PCB), whom she married some time later.

Her marriage coincided with the closure of the Seamstresses Union, when Elvira stopped working outside the home, and continued to work at home, not only doing housework, but also some small sewing jobs, such as producing men's pants and vests. Between 1925 and 1929, the couple lived in Rio Grande do Sul. They had two daughters - Vanda Lacerda (Brazilian theater, film and television actress) and Zeni Lacerda (Balle dancer at the Teatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro). On account of the children, during this time, Elvira participated little in political activities. But even so, she became involved in Socorro Vermelho, an international communist organization whose main objective was to collect and channel funds for families of persecuted and imprisoned workers. Despite being a great collaborator of the communist cause, Elvira never really joined the PCB. In 1938, she went to live in the city of Rio de Janeiro in Santa Teresa. There, in 1949, she founded with other women the Women's Association of Santa Teresa, which developed an important community work for the protection of children, seeking improvements for the neighborhood.

Elvira died in Rio de Janeiro in 1990.