Cornélio Pires was born on 13 July 1884 in the city of Tietê in the state of São Paulo and died on 17 February 1958 in the city of São Paulo. He was a man with a distinctive personality and became a popular and prominent figure throughout Brazil, thanks to his work travelling through the inland cities of the state of São Paulo and other states, making his debut as a country comedian. In his youth, he aspired to take an entrance exam for a pharmacy school. With this goal in mind, he travelled from Tietê to São Paulo to register as a candidate for one of these competitions, but despite his achievements, he was unsuccessful in this attempt.

He then decided to dedicate himself to journalism and began working in the editorial department of the newspaper O Comércio de São Paulo, where he underwent a rather gruelling training. He then worked for the newspapers O São Paulo and O Estado de São Paulo, traditional press organs in São Paulo, where he worked as a proofreader, and finally, in 1914, he began writing for the newspaper O Pirralho. Many writers have commented on the personality of Cornélio Pires, and to illustrate this, let us quote Joffre Martins Veiga, who wrote in his work A Vida Pitoresca de Cornélio Pires: ‘No one loved his people as much as Cornélio Pires; no one cared for his fellow human beings as much as this man, who was above all a good person’. The famous poet Martins Fontes wrote about him: ‘He is a pure bandeirante, a tireless artist, an ennobler of the land and an enricher of the language’.

The great journalist Amadeu Amaral also admired him and suggested that he become one of the greatest disseminators of Brazilian folklore.

Around 1910, Cornélio Pires published the book Musa Caipira, a work that was highly praised by critics thanks to its typically Brazilian content. Sílvio Romero became one of its most prominent critics and commented on the publication of this work as follows: "I greatly appreciated the chiste, the local colour, the grace and spontaneity of his productions, which, in addition to their intrinsic value, are an excellent document for the study of the Brazilianisms of our language".

At the beginning of this century, Cornélio Pires joined the Presbyterian Church, but could not reconcile the teachings of this religion with his way of thinking. He accepted neither the existence of eternal punishment nor a God who favoured the followers of certain religions. His excessive adherence to literalism in the interpretation of the Gospel texts almost led him to slide into materialism.

At that time he did not yet know what the Spiritism was, but while travelling in the countryside he experienced various mediumistic phenomena, including some messages from the spirit Emilio de Menezes, which made a great impression on him. He then began to study spiritualist works, in particular those of Allan Kardec, Leon Denis, Albert de Rochas and some books by the medium Francisco Cândido Xavier.

From then on, he became intensively involved in the Spiritism and was very interested in the phenomena of physical effects. From 1944 to 1947, he wrote the books Coisas do Outro Mundo and Onde estás, ó morte? (Where are you, Death?), and he died while working on Coletânea Espírita (Spiritist Collection).

His extensive bibliography includes: Musa Caipira, Versos Velhos, Cenas e Paisagens de minha Terra, Monturo, Quem conta um conto, Conversas ao Pé do Fogo, Estrambóticas Aventuras de Joaquim Bentinho - O Queima Campo, Tragédia Cabocla, Patacoadas, Seleta Caipira, Almanaque do Saci, Mixórdias, Meu Samburá, Sambas e Cateretês, Tarrafas, Chorando e Rindo, De Roupa Nova, Só Rindo, Ta no Bocó, Quem conta um Conto e outros Contos. ..., Enciclopédia de anedotas e Curiosidades, as well as the two spiritist books mentioned above.

In one of his writings on Spiritism he said: "The Spiritism will sooner or later do Roman Catholics, Protestants and followers of other religions the favour of strengthening their faith with the facts that prove the immortality of the soul, which transforms into a spirit when it leaves the material shell", and further: "The Spiritism gives us a RATIONAL FAITH, frees us from the yoke of dogma and teaches us to understand GOD as he is".

Shortly before his disincarnation, Cornélio Pires, who had proved that he had internalised the commandment of Jesus Christ ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’, returned to the town of Tietê and bought a farm there, where he founded the ‘Granja de Jesus’, a home for destitute children. Unfortunately, he did not live to see the end of this institution.

Cornélio Pires even organised the ‘Teatro Ambulante Cornélio Pires’, with which he travelled from city to city and was applauded by the entire Brazilian population wherever he went. This project was realised after he had given up his career as a journalist. This book is a short biography of this tireless fighter who fulfilled a most meritorious task on earth.