São Paulo – The Immigrant Fest is scheduled for June 4, 10 and 11 in the city of São Paulo and will include a series of attractions from the Arab culture. The event pays tribute to the more than 50 nationalities coexisting in São Paulo, with the Arabs among them. The Arabs will display in the celebrations their cuisine, handicraft, dance and music.
“The participation of the communities from the Arab countries is indispensable to the party, expanding the knowledge on the many cultures within the Arab population and their contribution to the Brazilian culture,” says Marília Bonas, executive director of the Immigration Museum, which is organizing the event. According to Bonas, this participation is crucial for what the party is aiming to achieve, which is to take to the large audience the diversity of cultures that make up São Paulo.
“The Arab Community is historically essential to the city of São Paulo. The strength of the communities, their impact, not only cultural, but economic and political, is prominent in the history of the São Paulo state due to the contribution of all types of entrepreneurs. For the Immigration Museum, it’s also very important to highlight the role played by the community within the contemporary context of asylum and the strength of cultural ties within this context,” said the director to ANBA via email.
To promote the Arab participation in the event, the Immigration Museum is relying on a direct partnership with members of the Lebanese, Egyptian, Palestinian and Syrian communities, plus the support of the Arab, African and South American Library and Research Center (BibliAspa). Marília Bonas says that BibliAspa plays a crucial role in promoting the Arab culture in Brazil and points to its actions in aid of refugees.
The executive director highlights also the fest’s programme, the Dabke workshop, a dance from the Levante region, very traditional in the Arab world. “It’s a guaranteed hit among the audience,” says Bonas. It takes place on Sunday, June 11, at 4:30 pm, presented by the Palestinians. On June 11, a dance presentation from Morocco, at 12:30 pm, by the Sawalef group, and a dance presentation from Palestine, at 1:30 pm, by the Arab Productions group, are also scheduled.
Another Arab attraction will be a workshop of Palestinian embroidery for traditional dresses and kerchiefs on June 4, at 4 pm, given by Palestinians. In the same day, at 11 am, BibliAspa will present a belly dance presentation. On June 10, at 2:30 pm, the Malaika Arts and Therapeutic Center will present Arab dances. And there will be cuisine from Lebanon, Egypt, Palestine, Syria and Iraq.
In its promotional material, BibliAspa says it will represent Iraq with its cuisine, handicraft and dance presentations. There will be a tent with food, including vegan choices, plus esfihas, shawarma, falafel, hummus, labneh, mutabbal (called babaganoush in Brazil), fattoush, among other typical foods, sweets and beverages. In the handicraft stand, there will be calligraphy boards, cushion covers, kerchiefs, books and other items. Those that spend more than BRL 50 (USD 15.38) will have their names written in Arabic calligraphy. The revenues from sales will to the aid of refugees.
The Immigrant Fest is in its 22th edition and brings also activities, concerts and cuisine from countries such as Germany, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Chile, China, South Korea, Croatia, Spain, France, Greece, Madeira Island, India, England, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Mexico, Mozambique, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Czech Republic, Russia, Senegal, Turkey, Vietnam, Ukraine, among others, plus the Arabs.
The fest takes place in the buildings complex that was formerly the Hospedaria dos Imigrantes do Brás (The immigrants’ lodge of Brás neighborhood) and that currently host the Immigration Museum, a body from the Secretariat of Culture of the São Paulo state. In the event’s schedule is included the participation of 44 food vendors, 32 handicraft exhibitors, and 45 groups of dance and music. The idea is for people to get in touch, in a single place, with the cultures from many parts of the world.
The event will also host the project “Sabor Paulista” (Taste of São Paulo State), an initiative from TV network Rede Globo, with open workshops of the state’s typical cuisine, in addition to a kid’s space that will include plays and games. There will also be a space called “Faz e Conta” (Do and Tell, a wordplay with the Portuguese expression Faz de Conta, which means make-believe) with storytelling that will open in all three days of the event, from noon to 3 pm. The fest is open from 10 am to 6 pm.
Quick facts
22th Immigrant Fest
Date: June 4, 10 and 11, 2017
Time: 10 am to 5 pm (box office)
Where: Rua Visconde de Parnaíba, nº 1316 – Mooca –São Paulo
Tickets: BRL 10,00 (USD 3.07) / Half-ticket: BRL 5,00 (USD 1.53)
Information: (11) 2692-1866 or www.museudaimigracao.org.br
Programme: http://museudaimigracao.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Programacao-22a-Festa-do-imigrante-2.pdf
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
