At 5.00p.m., the President left Catetinho and drove over to the “Square of the Three Powers” where he arrived at 5.30p.m., half an hour later than scheduled. A crowd had formed on the square. The Candangos were waiting for JK, workers, and thousands of Brazilians who had traveled here from all over the country just to take part in the great inauguration events. Hundreds of journalists from all over the world were present. A convoy of nationally produced cars?the J.K.s? followed Juscelino’s car and carried the dignitaries of the republic. The convoy stopped in front of the palace. The people surrounded the President enthusiastically, and accompanied him up to the entrance of the Noble Room. Juscelino was in a hurry due to his delay, and walked up fast to the pulpit on the square. Once there, he received ovations from the people. First lady Dona Sarah and their daughters, vice President João Goulart, and Israel Pinheiro and his wife Dona Coracy, followed the President suit. At that moment, Israel was to hand over the key of the city to Juscelino. The key was a beautiful piece in gold, about 60 inches long. Handing over the key was not only a ceremony to demonstrate ‘mission accomplished’, but also marked the crowning of a dream and of the efforts of so many persons who had worked for the benefit of everyone, despite some people’s incomprehension (there were and there will always be people resistant to good new ideas). This ceremony symbolized much more: The certainty that a new era had begun for the nation which had been prepared for changes to the better. The gesture was also meant to show the Brazilian people that they should be conscious of what they could undertake and dare. When handing over the key to the President, Israel stated that the transfer of the capital was like a revival of Brazil’s Bandeirante tradition (Bandeirantes were the flag-bearing first explorers to colonize the interior of Brazil). Their move to the inland had created a consciousness of national integration. Similarly, Brasília had been built as a magnificent new capital not out of an arbitrary act, but because it was the adequate capital for an enormous country and would help to avoid the serious problems that a lack of national unity could cause. At the end of the speech, a Candango stood up and asked for permission to speak. For a while, everybody was astonished, but the President smiled and asked the unexpected orator to speak. The Candango introduced himself as Geraldo Fedulo Queiroz, a popular poet and formerly the barber of Augusto Frederico Schmidt. Geraldo explained that, when he found out about the construction of Brasília, he left his job as barber and changed his scissors for rougher tools, becoming one more worker in that anonymous army of good people who had built the capital. Geraldo Queiroz spoke in the name of all Candangos, expressing their joy for being present at that ceremony. He said that he had been following Juscelino’s achievements since Juscelino was governor of Minas Gerais state and mentioned some of JK’s accomplishments. This experience had made him certain that Brasília would not remain a dream but would become a reality in short time. And because he believed that and trusted Juscelino, he left everything, as many others did, and helped to make the dream come true. After the Candango had spoken, the President began his address. He was interrupted, though, and had to start over again because the flight show of the aerobatic pilots Esquadrilha da Fumaça attracted the attention of the crowd, and surprised the audience when they were flying very low. The initial delay and the Candango’s unexpected speech caused a slight problem that could become worse: It was already dark when the President started to read his speech, and as there was no electric light on the pulpit it became almost impossible to read. Someone considered the possibility of looking for a flashlight but the President, proving his excellent eyesight, went on reading in the dark. Suddenly he stopped: He didn’t find the next page. He thought the pages had gotten into wrong order, and looked for the next page again. Then he turned to Dona Sarah, saying: “I lost two pages of my speech.” A moment later, he repeated the same statement to the crowd. At this moment, someone brought some light. However, the President had already put the speech back in his pocket, and went on improvising. After the presidential address, Israel handed a “Golden Book” over to Juscelino. It contained the names of all the men and women who had helped to build Brasilia. The President, in turn, decorated Israel with the “Great Cross of the National Order of Merit” (Grã Cruz da Ordem Nacional do Mérito).