Paulo Betti champions handwriting, revealing family notes inspired his play at Bonito Literary Fair

Actor, author, and director Paulo Betti recently participated in the Bonito Literary Fair (Flib) 2026, presenting his monologue "De Carona com a Cultura." Betti emphasized the value of handwriting, suggesting it aids in life reflection and offers a therapeutic, almost psychoanalytic process. He shared that his play originated from decades of handwritten notes, capturing family stories and everyday occurrences. These meticulously recorded details, stored in notebooks and on paper scraps, provided ready material when he decided to create the play. Betti noted that during the pandemic, digitizing old notebooks unearthed forgotten memories and events, even those his daughter Juliana no longer recalled. He advocated for maintaining the practice of handwriting in the digital age, citing Sweden's renewed emphasis on calligraphy in schools after extensive digitalization. Betti believes manual writing involves a distinct process, different from typing, and encourages people to take notes by hand whenever possible. He also highlighted the significance of Flib's location in a region with a strong indigenous presence, fostering valuable cultural exchange between visiting writers and local communities.