It brings us great sadness to share the news that a beloved Brazilian community member and Rep alumnus, Ricardo Pontes has recently passed away.
Ricardo was one of the first Brazilian community members, contributing for more than 10 years, a good friend, and a mentor to other volunteers.
His work was instrumental on the Firefox OS days and his passion inspiring. His passing is finding us sadden and shocked. Our condolences to his family and friends.
Below are some words about Ricardo from fellow Mozillians (old and new)
- Sérgio Oliveira (seocam): Everybody that knew Ricardo, or Pontes as we usually called him in the Mozilla community, knows that he had a strong personality (despite his actual height). We always stood for what he believed was right and fought for it, but always smiling, making jokes and playing around with the situations. It was a real fun partner with him in many situations, even the not so easy. We are lucky to have photos of Ricardo, since he was always behind the camera taking pictures of us, and always great pictures. Pontes, it was a great pleasure to defend the free Web side-by-side with you. I’ll miss you my friend.
- Felipe Gomes: O Ricardo sempre foi uma pessoa alegre, animada, e que tinha o dom de unir todos os grupos. Até em sua luta foi possível ver como as pessoas se uniram para rezar por ele e o quanto ele era querido para seus amigos e familiares. As memórias que temos dele são as memórias que ele registrou de nós através de sua câmera. Descanse em paz meu amigo.
- Andrea Balle: Pontes is and always will be part of Mozilla Brazil. One of the first members, the “jurassic team” as we called. Pontes was a generous, intelligent and high-spirited friend. I will always remeber him as a person with great enthusiasm for sharing the things that he loved, including bikes, photography, technology and the free web. He will be deeply missed.
- Armando Neto: I met Ricardo 10 years ago, in a hotel hallway, we were chatting about something I don’t remember, but I do remember we’re laughing, and I will always remember him that way in that hallway.. laughing.
- Luciana Viana: O Ricardo era quieto e calado, mas observava tudo e estava sempre atento aos movimentos. Nos conhecemos graças a Mozilla e tivemos a oportunidade de conviver graças às nossas inúmeras viagens juntos: Buenos Aires, Cartagena, Barcelona, Toronto, viagens inesquecíveis graças a sua presença, contribuições e senso de humor. Descance em paz querido Chuck. Peço a Deus que conforte o coração da família.
- Clauber Stipkovic: Thank you for everything, my friend. For all the laughter, for all the late nights we spent talking about mozilla, about life and what we expected from the future. Thank you for being our photographer and recording so many cool moments, that we spent together. Unfortunately your future was very short, but I am sure that you recorded your name in the history of everything you did. May your passage be smooth and peaceful.
- Luigui Delyer (luiguild): Ricardo was present in the best days I have ever had in my life as Mozillian, he taught me a lot, we enjoyed a lot, we travel a lot, we teach a lot, his legacy is inevitable, his name will be forever in Mozilla’s history and in our hearts. May the family feel embraced by the entire world community that he helped to build.
- Fabricio Zuardi: As lembranças que tenho do Ricardo são todas de uma pessoa sorrindo, alegre e com alto astral. Nos deu ótimos registros de momentos felizes. Desejo conforto aos familiares e amigos, foi uma pessoa especial.
- Guilermo Movia: I don’t remember when was the first time that I met Ricardo, but there were so many meetings and travels where our paths crossed. I remember him coming to Mar del Plata to help us talking pictures with ” De todos, para todos” campaign. His pictures were always great, and show the best of the community. Hope you can rest in peace
- Rosana Ardila: Ricardo was part of the soul of the Mozilla Brazil community, he was a kind and wonderful human being. It was humbling to see his commitment to the Mozilla Community. He’ll be deeply missed
- Andre Garzia: Ricardo has been a friend and my Reps mentor for many years, it was through him and others that I discovered the joys of volunteering in a community. His example, wit, and smile, were always part of what made our community great. Ricardo has been an inspiring figure for me, not only because the love of the web that ties us all here but because he followed his passions and showed me that it was possible to pursue a career in what we loved. He loved photography, biking, and punk music, and that is how I chose to remember him. I’ll always cherish the memories we had travelling the world and exchanging stories. My heart and thoughts go to his beloved partner and family. I’ll miss you a lot my friend.
- Lenno Azevedo: Ricardo foi o meu segundo mentor no programa Mozilla Reps, no qual me guiou dentro do projeto, me ensinando o caminho das pedras que ajudou a me tornar um bom Reps. Vou guarda pra sempre os ensinamentos e incentivos que me deu ao longo dos anos, principalmente na minha atual profissão. Te devo uma companheiro. Obrigado por tudo, descance em paz!
- Reuben Morais: Ricardo was a beautiful soul, full of energy and smiles. Meeting him at events was always an inspiring opportunity. His energy always made every gathering feel like we all knew each other as childhood friends, I remember feeling this even when I was new. He’ll be missed by all who crossed paths with him.
- Rubén Martín (nukeador): Ricardo was key to support the Mozilla community in Brazil, as a creative mind he was always behind his camera trying to capture and communicate what was going on, his work will remember him online. A great memory comes to my mind about the time we shared back in 2013 presenting Firefox OS to the world from Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress. You will be deeply missed, all my condolences to his family and close friends. Obrigado por tudo, descanse em paz!
- Pierros Papadeas: A creative and kind soul, Ricardo will be surely missed by the communities he engaged so passionately.
- Gloria Meneses: Taking amazing photos, skating and supporting his local community. A very active mozillian who loved parties after long working Reps sessions and a beer lover, that’s how I remember Ricardo. The most special memories I have from Ricardo are In Cartagena at Firefox OS event, in Barcelona at Mobile world congress taking photos, in Madrid at Reps meetings and in the IRC channel supporting Mozilla Brazil. I still can’t believe it. Rest in peace Ricardo.
- William Quiviger: I remember Ricardo being very soft spoken and gently but fiercely passionate about Mozilla and our mission. I remember his eyes lighting up when I approached him about joining the Reps program. Rest in peace Ricardo.
- Fernando García (stripTM): I am very shocked by this news. It is so sad and so unfair.
- Mário Rinaldi: Ricardo era uma pessoa alegre e jovial, fará muita falta neste mundo.
- Lourdes Castillo: I will always remember Ricardo as a friend and brother who has always been dedicated to the Mozilla community. A tremendous person with a big heart. A hug to heaven and we will always remember you as a tremendous Mozillian and brother! Rest in peace my mozfriend
- Luis Sánchez (lasr21) – The legacy of Ricardo’s passions will live throughout the hundreds of new contributors that his work reach.
- Miguel Useche: Ricardo was one of the first mozillian I met outside my country. It was interesting to know someone that volunteered on Mozilla, did photography and loved to do skateboarding, just like me! I became a fan of his art and loved the few time I had the opportunity to share with him. Rest in peace bro!
- Antonio Ladeia – Ricardo was a special guy, always happy and willing to help. I was presented with the pleasure of meeting him. His death will make this world a little sadder.
- Eduardo Urcullú (Urcu): Ricardo o mejor conocido como “O Pontes” realmente fue un amigo muy divertido, aunque callado si cuando aún no lo conoces bien. Lo conocí en un evento de software libre allá por el año 2010 (cuando aún tenia el cabello largo xD), realmente las fotos quebtomaba con su cámara y su humor situacional son cosas para recordarlo. R.I.P. Pontes
- Dave Villacreses (DaveEcu) Ricardo was part of the early group of supporters here in Latin America, he contributed to breathing lofe to our beloved Latam community. I remember he loved photography and was full of ideas and interesting comments to make every time. Smart and proactive. It is a really sad moment for our entire community.
- Arturo Martinez: I met Ricardo during the MozCamp LATAM, and since then we became good friends, our paths crossed several times during events, flights, even at the MWC, he was an amazing Mozillian, always making us laugh, taking impressive pictures, with a willpower to defend what he believed, with few words but lots of passion, please rest in peace my friend.
- Adriano Cupello: The first time we met, we were in Cartagena for the launch of Firefox OS and I met one of the most amazing group of people of my life. Pontes was one of them and very quickly became an “old friend” like the ones we have known at school all our lives. He was an incredible and strong character and a great photographer. Also he was my mentor at Mozilla reps program. The last time we talked, we tried to have a beer, but due to the circumstances of work, we were unable to. We schedule it for the next time, and this time never came. This week I will have this beer thinking about him. I would like to invite all of you in the next beer that you have with your friends or alone, to dedicate this one to his memory and to the great moments we spent together with him. My condolences and my prayers to the family and his partner @cahcontri who fought a very painful battle to report his situation until the last day with all his love. Thank you for all lovely memories you left in my mind! We will miss you a lot! Cheers Pontes!
- Rodrigo Padula: There were so many events, beers, good conversations and so many jokes and laughs that I don’t even remember when I met Ricardo. We shared the same sense of humor and bad jokes. Surely only good memories will remain! Rest in peace Ricado, we will miss you!
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Brian King: I was fortunate to have met Ricardo several times. Although quiet, you felt his presence and he was a very cool guy. We’ll miss you, I hope you get that big photo in the sky. RIP Ricardo.
Some pictures of Ricardo’s life as a Mozilla contributor can be found here