Paulo César Tavares DUARTE

Short Biography

Paulo César Tavares Duarte was born in Cambará. At the time of his accident Paulo Tavares was living with his aunt and his cousin in Santa Catalina. On the day of his accident in December 1996, he and a friend went to a pond near his home. He decided to jump into the pond from a diving board too close to the shore. He suffered a spinal cord trauma with fracture of the fifth and sixth cervical vertebrae. He became permanently paralysed. At first, he was completely confined to the bed and depended totally on his siblings for daily tasks. In 2001 he started to paint with his mouth to pass the time. He came to enjoy it very much and it gave him back the feeling that he was doing something useful. In the framework of regular painting lessons with a renowned art professor, the artist was able to make considerable progress in a very short time. The Association supported him as a student member since 2003.