Fernando Ramos da Silva

Fernando was the star of only one film in his short life He played Pixote a street child in Pixote a Lei do Mais Fraco 1981 During his short period of fame Fernando was seen as a symbol of hope for the Brazilian street kids He grew up in a poor neighborhood of Diadema a industrial city close to São Paulo Brazil Illiterate and poor Fernando played Pixote at the age of 11 years old His only previous experience in acting was an amateur play After the success of Pixote Fernando moved briefly to Rio de Janeiro There he tried his luck as an actor in a novela Brazilian soap opera The fame was brief without literacy he could not memorize the scripts He ended up returning to Diadema There he had the same fate as many like him He got involved with gangs and drug dealing At age 19 he was killed inside his house by the police The circumstances of his death are are still a mystery Three of Fernandos brothers were also killed in the streets of the Brazilian inner cities Fernando is survived by a daughter Although he never lived in the streets and always had a family he stands as a symbol of the Brazlian street children until this date