São Paulo – Dom Pedro II, who ruled Brazil from 1840 to 1889, liked to travel. As the emperor of Brazil, he went to Europe, visited the United States during the celebration of its 200th independence anniversary, and last but not least, of course, he went to the Arab countries. In 1871 he visited Egypt. Few Brazilians know it, but six years later he returned to the Middle East, this time to see Egypt again and then head on to Syria, Palestine and Lebanon. Now, 135 years after the Brazilian emperor’s tour of the Arab world, his four-day long visit to Lebanon is the theme of an exhibition at SESC Vila Mariana, in São Paulo.
Organized by the Brazil-Lebanon Cultural Association, the show features photographs of places the emperor visited, pictures of Dom Pedro, objects and excerpts from the diary of his horse trip between Lebanese cities. Dom Pedro arrived in a ship at the Port of Beirut on November 11, 1876. From the capital, him, his wife Dona Maria Cristina and the 200-strong entourage went to Bkerke, Baabda, Sidon, Tiro, Sofar, Zahlé and Baalbek.
The Brazil-Lebanon Cultural Association director, Lody Brais, claims that but a handful of people are aware of the emperor’s visit to Lebanon. “Last year, we celebrated the 130th anniversary of Lebanese immigration to Brazil, and we remembered Dom Pedro’s trip to the country. We always mention that particular moment in our celebrations,” says Lody, who did the research along with the association’s cultural director, Nouha Nader.
The exhibition reveals, for instance, that the house where Dom Pedro II was born, in Rio de Janeiro, was leased by a Lebanese merchant, Antonio Elias Lubbus, for the royal family to live in, when the Portuguese king John IV moved to Brazil, in 1808. At that time, there already was a small colony of Arab immigrants in Brazil, but it was after the emperor’s visit to Lebanon, in 1880, that most of the immigrants came to the country.
“When Dom Pedro met with the Lebanese [in 1876], he spoke very highly of Brazil and said they would be welcome to visit the country and then go back to Lebanon. Instead they came, they liked it and never went back,” says Lody.
In his horse trip through Lebanon, the emperor met religious leaders, local authorities, scientists and scholars. There he met Nami Jafet, a philosopher who migrated to Brazil in 1893, where he established a fabric factory. During Dom Pedro’s trip to Lebanon, he was presented with Arabic books, and even learned a few words.
The exhibition features excerpts from his diary that show his admiration for Baalbek, the city he liked the most: “I have never seen monuments, mostly architectural, as majestic as Baalbek’s,” he wrote. The city was founded by the Romans between 138 BC and 217 AC, and some of the buildings are replicas of Roman Empire buildings. These were built in Lebanon in an attempt to impress the East with Rome’s “grandeur.”
In addition to retracing the emperor’s steps, the show features some of his objects, such as a sword and the official Brazilian flag as of 1822, on lease from Casa Imperial (the Imperial House). The travel accounts and photos were found by the Brazil-Lebanon Cultural Association researchers at other institutions: the National Library and the Imperial Museum of Petrópolis. “This show helps retell part of the history of Brazil,” says Lody.
Service
The show “D. Pedro II in Lebanon – 135 years of the emperor’s visit” will run until January 15 at Sesc Vila Mariana, in São Paulo (Pelotas St., 141, telephone: 5080-3000). Mondays to Fridays from 7:00 am to 9:30 pm. Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 9:00 am to 6:30 pm. At the atrium. Free of charge.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
