Mauro Di Verde

Mauro dos Santos Verde, known artistically as Mauro Di Verde, was born on November 9, 1956, in Rio de Janeiro. The son of Umberto Verde, originally from Bahia, and Maria Delores dos Santos, a rural worker from Espírito Santo, Mauro arrived in Bahia as a baby when his parents decided to return and settle in Salvador. The young family settled in the old Maciel neighborhood, in Pelourinho — a place that would later have a profound impact on the artist's life and work.

During his childhood, Mauro grew up in an environment rich in culture and history. His father worked as a typographer and graphic composer in an advertising company, while his mother, a seamstress, designed clothing patterns at home. He recalls that Pelourinho and Maciel were home to many traditional trades, such as tailors and shoemakers, and that former residents of the region — many of them former slaves — lived on Gregório de Mattos Street, where Praça das Artes is today.

Life on the streets of Pelourinho in the 1960s was vibrant and bustling. Mauro fondly remembers the street vendors selling water, fruit, vegetables and typical sweets such as taboca and carimã cake. This lively and popular atmosphere would inspire many of the themes present in his paintings years later. Mauro studied primary school at the Azevedo Fernandez School, in Largo do Pelourinho, and attended secondary school at Colégio Nossa Senhora da Nazaré. From an early age, he showed a talent for drawing and painting, often inspired by comic books. Encouraged by his teachers, he even won a dictionary as a prize for one of his school works. Despite this, he dropped out of school before finishing high school and spent about six years traveling around Brazil. During this time, he worked as a waiter and kitchen assistant, especially in Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo. Upon returning to Salvador, Mauro began working on the streets, selling cigars, cigarettes and coffee from a small, handmade wooden truck. At the same time, he continued to draw and paste his illustrations onto wooden boards, many of which he gave as gifts to friends.

In 1981, he began painting with the aim of selling his work. He took his first works to the artist Berto Anatar, from the city of Cachoeira, who had opened a gallery on Rua Alfredo Brito, in Pelourinho. Inspired by the work of Di Cavalcanti and seeking a unique artistic signature, Mauro adopted the name Mauro di Verde. At Berto Anatar's gallery, he began to exhibit alongside other renowned artists from the Bahian scene, such as Luiz Lorence and Evaldo Assis, the latter known for his impressionist painting.

Mauro di Verde's career is marked by the fusion of popular experiences, cultural identity and artistic expression. His work continues to be rooted in the visual and social memories of Pelourinho, transforming everyday experiences into art full of color, emotion and history.