Exactly twelve years ago, on January 27, 2013, a fire broke out at Nightclub Kiss, in the city of Santa Maria, in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul. Between 1,000 and 1,500 people were at the nightclub, at a party organized by high school students. six courses at the local Federal University. The space’s capacity was 691 people and 242 young people died.
Tributes were organized by the Association of Relatives of Victims and Survivors of the Santa Maria Tragedy (AVTSM) and the Kiss Collective: Let It Not Be Repeated, with the support of Santa Maria City Hall.
On the night of last Sunday (26), a vigil took place in Praça Saldanha Marinho. Then, a silent walk along Avenida Rio Branco to the place where the nightclub operated, and where a memorial is being built today.
There, the “Wall of Memory” event took place, with photos of the victims and candles forming the number 242. Videos with messages and testimonies were also shown, in addition to the traditional “noise minute”, close to the time at which the fire started.
This Monday (27th), at Praça Saldanha Marinho, from 6pm, the program continues with:
- Speech by the President of AVTSM, Flávio Silva;
- Update of the latest decisions in the Criminal Process with AVTSM lawyer, Pedro Barcellos Jr;
- “Vozes da Saudade” panel with victims’ families;
- “Survived to Tell” panel with survivors of the tragedy;
- “Caring and Welcoming” panel with members of Santa Maria Acolhe;
- Photographic exhibition “I Survived to Tell”, produced by the collective ‘Kiss: Que Não Se Repita’, which portrays survivors and family members.
Memorial
The city of Santa Maria is preparing to inaugurate a memorial in honor of the victims of the Kiss Nightclub. The project, chosen through a national architecture competition, envisages the construction of a space that represents mourning and memory. The building where the nightclub operated has now been demolished.
The memorial will feature a circular garden with 242 wooden pillars, each with the name of a victim and a flower stand. There will also be an auditorium, a multipurpose room with a multimedia collection and a room for the AVTSM headquarters. The facade, with a concrete and brick wall, seeks to convey the austerity of mourning.
According to the project manager, the positioning of the hardware and the closing of the boxes, shoring and concreting will be completed this month. After this, in February, the lifting of the concrete block walls begins, a stage that will last until March.
The memorial will have 383.65m² of total built area distributed over a single floor and includes an office room, multipurpose room, auditorium, men’s and women’s bathrooms, access to the auditorium, storage, technical area, balcony and garden.
Remember the case
On the night of the fire, between 1,000 and 1,500 people packed the nightclub, which had a capacity of 691.
During the performance of the band Gurizada Fandangueira, the vocalist lit an outdoor flare, the sparks of which reached the ceiling covered with flammable acoustic insulation foam, without adequate protection against fire. The fire spread quickly, generating toxic smoke that asphyxiated the victims.
The situation was worsened by the lack of communication between security guards, who initially prevented people from leaving through the only door, believing it was a fight or an attempt to evade without payment.
The confusion intensified, with many people searching in vain to exit through the bathroom doors. One of the security guards admitted the lack of fire training and the lack of adequate emergency exits.
The following day, the temporary arrest of the club’s partners, Elissandro Callegaro Spohr and Mauro Londero Hoffmann, and band members Luciano Augusto Bonilha Leão and Marcelo de Jesus dos Santos was ordered.
Situation in Justice
After judicial reversals, in 2019 the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) decided that the four accused would be taken to a popular jury. In December 2021, the trial resulted in convictions for possible intent, with sentences ranging between 18 and 22 years and 6 months in prison.
However, in 2022, the Court of Justice of Rio Grande do Sul (TJ-RS) annulled the trial, alleging procedural nullities, such as the draw of jurors outside the legal deadline and the impossibility of prior access to the list of jurors by the defenses. The decision generated outrage among family members and survivors, who considered the annulment based on technical details that did not prejudice the trial itself.
In September 2024, Mauro Londero Hoffmann, Elissandro Callegaro Spohr, Luciano Augusto Bonilha Leão and Marcelo de Jesus dos Santos returned to prison. The decision was handed down by Minister Dias Toffoli, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), who overturned the previous decisions that had nullified the jury.
The annulment, which took place in August 2022 by the Court of Justice of Rio Grande do Sul, had freed the four defendants, under allegations of irregularities in the process, such as failures in the selection of jurors. The STF’s decision reinstated the original convictions, ordering the immediate arrest of the defendants.
* Under supervision
This content was originally published in Boate Kiss: 12 years after tragedy, family members pay tribute in RS on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil

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