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Umuarama – 'Tupy' expression for "Where friends meet"
Umuarama,
a 240 Hectares private area, covered with native preserved forests,
is 6 km out of the city Campos do
Jordão – Sao Paulo.
There
are located the highest sources (
1,800 meters over sea-level )
of brooks that flow into the La Plata river estuary.
The
acquisition of the land also-called "Umuarama Retreat",
took place in 1933 by the "Associação Umuarama de
Campos do Jordão” an ecumenic project conceived by a wise
Presbyterian minister - Erasmo Braga, integrating a group of
evangelic churches and denominations. There was built an Hotel The
“Associação”, established leases for small lots of
land, to persons interested in building their week end homes. The
lease-contracts were in force indefinitely, and contained
restrictions, as prohibiting:
hunting, fishing, sale of alcoholic beverages, dances, exercise of
any commercial activity, as well as producing noise that might molest
any neighbors, etc. ..
The
formal signed documents secured the lessees the possession of their
properties granting them, in case of the Association’s extinction,
the definitive transfer of their lots to their names, by the
Association or its successors.
Since
the closing down of the Hotel Umuarama, a so called condominium
'in fact' emerged through the union of the lessees, for
protecting the area and providing the necessary maintenance of:
internal roads, security, water supply, etc.
That status remained for over three decades.
In 1976 Mr.Hering, assisted by his S.Paulo-office, managed to gather all owners, including the “Associação Umuarama” (at the time represented by Dr.Lindolfo Konder Anders), for the purpose of building a gate (shelter) at the entrance of the estate, in order to ensure the private ownership of the whole area. That little construction saved Umuarama from becoming a public domain. He personally, employed a staff for the daily tasks related to the maintenance. All happened with the consent and contribution of the owners. From that time on, access to the area became restricted to proprietors or invited guests. Records of entrances and exits (day and night) were kept in file by the S.Paulo-office. In
1991, six years after the extinction of the original
“Associação” (1985),
the majority of "tenants" were provided with their
definitive titles signed by the association's successors, then
registered at the local Registry of deeds.
Presently, half of the area (110 Hectares) belongs to Mackenzie Presbyterian Institute, as well as to 53 owners of small lots, and the other half (East side), to the Association of the Methodist Church. The
abandoned building of the former Hotel was then completely restored
by the Mackenzie Presbyterian Institute and transformed into
Mackenzie's Resort (for teachers, ministers,
staff and pupils),
called
“Colônia de Férias Mackenzie”.
On
March 21, 2007, Mr. Hering managed to gather all owners, establishing
the "Associação dos Proprietários
no Umuarama” - ( Umuarama's Owners Association
), with the same purpose
as the previous status, but according to the Law, as well as
representing the owners’ interests and specifically destined to
preserve the environment, providing the maintenance of the internal
roads, walking trails, general surveillance and water distribution to
all properties and assuring the compliance of the original
restrictions established by the founders of Umuarama. The employees
registered as Mr. Hering's were paid off and employed by the new
Association.
On behalf of the “environment protection” in reality, Umuarama is presently an unique area in Campos do Jordão – an authentic example of untouched nature, a model of preservation, not solely due to Legal restrictions established by the State's “Environment Department”, but due to the spontaneous firm decision of its owners in preserving nature there,as it was found there over eighty years ago, where multiple species of animals feel safe. “Associação
dos Proprietários no Umuarama” - Tel.: (011) 3258-4635 Umuarama-Engl-1-XI-11  |
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