EN The desire for this post started because I wanted to talk about the songs that played at Playcenter, the largest amusement park that existed in Brazil in the 80s. It opened in 1973 and even Michael Jackson has been there! The park's DJ was very wonderful, they were the same sounds that played at parties: flash houses that I listened to throughout the day on the rides and loved to listen to at home later on the radio. In this post, I'm going to put together some songs with my photos there and images of the park that I found on the internet. ![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmYDAmj9qz4MWdpwNqLbkJGGU5fCLU6qb6ECJgjUBR2H5C/whatsapp_image_2025_02_21_at_17.43.42.jpeg) The two most classic sounds of Playcenter, which match the adrenaline and the amount of stimuli there was in the park, are these: I must have started going there around 1983, at the age of 5, usually with my father. I loved everything: taking pictures with the dolls, the clown-faced trash cans, the Bear Show and the orcas and sea lions, passing through the Labyrinth of Mirrors (of course I hit my face in the mirror, lol), the Enchanted Mountain and the Monster House with its ghost train. For the children it was all big and magical, it was all almost real. I remember drinking orange juice and vomiting after going and a toy that shook a lot 😆. ![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmP8tPTYrFqRkKWfKWZnVTa1h7XqGKycB4EzyjDDpKK2NH/showdosursos.jpg) ![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmacwacCwHgvnZPrSa2XWpHpXcXTG7q8itpUdRhYKyvNoT/montencantada.jpg) ![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmdrTcS1dKvPPHGoTE3HyfR6hspoapQnLaFoQBpMTyzBib/whatsapp_image_2025_02_21_at_17.43.15.jpeg) Look at this video of La Bamba, I loved the graffiti in the background: A very crazy attraction there was Monga, the monkey woman. We would enter a dark place with three cages and after a while the show would begin, which consisted of following a woman's transformation until she became a ferocious monkey that broke the cage and ran after the children. No one ever stayed there to see what happened and I remember my father pulling our hand when it broke the cage. The effect used for the transformation was illusionism, made with lights and mirrors producing a visual effect of metamorphosis. I found this description very interesting on a website: ![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmXZxCrM6xeKdxo7ZquezbEUPCYGA176WUDV48tgcJwmo2/monga.jpg) ![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmW4bvA3Wg6w1E5BHDu29VmayJW8d1v65RVHBDnyFZuKvy/monga2.jpg) "Illuminated by a spotlight in the darkness, the woman stared at the audience with a menacing look. Usually beautiful, she was trapped in a cage, seeming to be guided by a hypnotic trance, as intense as the speaker's words, which alluded to distant landscapes, dormant instincts, and a mysterious past. Little by little, the transformation took place: the arms and legs thickened, the face expanded, the nostrils dilated, hair sprouted all over the surface of the body. The woman became a wild gorilla, which broke through the bars and violently advanced on the audience. Frightened, the spectators ran outside the tent. and there was no one left to witness the outcome of the presentation, when the primate, already tamed, regained the soft features of a woman again". To this day I am completely fascinated by the memories I have of the Playcenter, because it was like walking inside a dream, in which elevators fell from absurd heights, the bravest ones went on the Roller Coaster and the Viking Boat - I was always more into the soft rides and attractions with puppets and narratives. How cute were the clothes my mother put on us for the outing? Last pic: teenager choosing her fav hairstile. ![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmcwHR8NqAEAYoVqXNBVytrbfbrxqF9rBwNcGeZbk9zq2F/whatsapp_image_2025_02_21_at_17.43.46.jpeg) ![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmZ969bUJ4WgsekdSy9rwkH3SZ2kDnqkM7p9EFCUhAN6dK/whatsapp_image_2025_02_21_at_17.43.46_1_.jpeg) ![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmXT284sH7i318em3zHXucCRyAZKAW8jFLQFZi5D2L8Qr4/whatsapp_image_2025_02_21_at_17.43.45.jpeg) ![](https://images.ecency.com/DQmNeEnVFLPZQhKtfPvJKAgdcE4r2hEofoRefGicmeGazML/whatsapp_image_2025_02_21_at_17.43.41.jpeg) The main reason for the closure of the Playcenter in 2012 was debts and they say that it will return this year, but sponsored by a chocolate brand. Let's close with this classic that also touched a lot in the most incredible park that ever existed in São Paulo: PT A vontade desse post começou porque eu queria falar sobre as músicas que tocavam no Playcenter, o maior parque de diversões que existiu no Brasil, nos anos 80. Ele foi inaugurado em 1973 e até o Michael Jackson já esteve lá! O DJ do parque era muito maravilhoso, eram os mesmos sons que tocavam nas festas: flash houses que eu ouvia ao longo do dia nos brinquedos e adorava ouvir em casa depois no rádio. Neste post, vou juntar algumas músicas com as minhas fotos lá e imagens do parque que achei na internet. Os dois sons mais clássicos do Playcenter, que combinam com a adrenalina e a quantidade de estímulos que tinha no parque, são estes: Devo ter começado a ir lá por volta de 1983, com 5 anos de idade, geralmente com o meu pai. Eu amava tudo: tirar fotos com os bonecos, as lixeiras com cara de palhaço, ao Show dos Ursos e das orcas e leões marinhos, passando pelo Labirinto de Espelhos (claro que eu bati a cara no espelho, hahaah), a Montanha Encantada e o a Casa do Monstro com seu trem fantasma. Para as crianças era tudo grande e mágico, era tudo quase de verdade. Lembro de tomar suco de laranja e vomitar depois de ir e um brinquedo que chacoalhava muito 😆. Olha esse vídeo do La Bamba, eu amava os graffitis ao fundo: Uma atração muito doida que tinha lá era a Monga, a mulher macaco. Nós entrávamos num local escuro com três jaulas e depois de um tempo começava o show, que consistia em acompanhar a transformação de uma mulher até ela virar uma macaca feroz que arrebentava a jaula e corria atrás das crianças. Ninguém nunca ficava lá para ver o que acontecia e lembro do meu pai sair puxando a nossa mão na hora que ela arrebentava a jaula. O efeito usado para a transformação era o ilusionismo, feito com luzes e espelhos produzindo um efeito visual de metamorfose. Achei esta descrição bem interessante em um site: "Iluminada por um foco de luz na escuridão, a mulher encarava o público com um olhar ameaçador. Geralmente bonita, encontrava-se presa numa jaula, parecendo guiada por um transe hipnótico, tão intenso quanto fossem as palavras do locutor, que aludiam a paisagens distantes, instintos adormecidos e a um passado misterioso. Pouco a pouco, a transformação acontecia: os braços e pernas engrossavam, o rosto se expandia, as narinas se dilatavam, cabelos brotavam por toda a superfície do corpo. A mulher se convertia num gorila selvagem, que rompia as grades e avançava com violência sobre a plateia. Assustados, os espectadores corriam para o lado de fora da tenda. e não sobrava ninguém para testemunhar o desfecho da apresentação, quando o primata, já amansado, recuperava novamente os traços suaves de mulher". Até hoje eu sou completamente fascinada pelas recordações que tenho do Playcenter, pois era como caminhar dentro de um sonho, em que elevadores caiam de alturas absurdas, os mais corajosos iam na Montanha Russa e no Barco Viking - eu sempre fui mais dos brinquedos suaves e atrações com bonecos e narrativas. Quão fofas eram as roupas que a minha mãe colocava na gente para o passeio? O principal motivo do fechamento do Playcenter, em 2012, foram dívidas e dizem que ele vai voltar este ano, só que patrocinado por uma marca de chocolates. Vamos fechar com este clássico que também tocou muito no parque mais incrível que já existiu em São Paulo: