Marina Sarruf*
marina.sarruf@anba.com.br
São Paulo – Every two years the students of Vértice School, in São Paulo, promotes event Cultural Heritage of Immigrants, whose objective is to show the public the influences of a country or region in the Brazilian cultural heritage. This year, the theme chosen was "The Middle East– building peace through coexistence between people". On the 23rd, the school from São Paulo will be the stage for several music and dance presentations, handicraft exhibitions and multidisciplinary works about the theme.
"We want to show that in Brazil there is harmonious coexistence between the Arab and Jewish communities, and that this may be spread as an example all around the world," stated a spokesperson for the school, Walkíria Gattermayr Ribeiro. According to her, all the students at the school are working on the matter, from the children in preschool to the adolescents in secondary school.
According to Walkíria, it is not very common to focus the studies on the Arab countries. "We generally study the countries of Europe and America, and a little about Egypt, so we decided to work on this new theme with the students," she said. Each class has chosen a matter connected to the Middle East on which they would like to focus. The sixth year of primary school (there are eight in Brazil), for example, has established a fictitious travel agency specialized in the Arab countries. "One student got in contact with the Moroccan embassy to collect further information about tourist sites in the country. The embassy sent a large volume of information, and it was very gratifying for the students," added Walkíria.
According to her, the activities developed by the students involved several disciplines, like History, Geography, Art and Information Technology. The students from the second year of primary school decided to use their art classes to produce the masks of the pharaohs of Egypt, which will be exhibited at the event together with the mosaics and kites from Afghanistan, which is not an Arab country, but is in the Middle East.
The visitors are also going to be able to see a map of the Middle East at the event, with fruit and spices typical of the region, and arabesques (geometric Arab ornaments), the theme of a text written by the students of the fourth year of primary school, the publication of a Newspaper about the Middle East, made by students in the fifth year of primary school, and plates with pictures of Egyptian figures and with the filming of tales adapted from the "Thousand and One Nights", by the students in the eighth grade of primary school.
The event is open to the public, not just to students and their relatives, and admittance is free. "We want to show the whole community the immigrant culture that is present in Brazil. The event is also a great integration of peaceful coexistence," stated Walkíria.
Apart from the works presented by the students, the event is going to count on one of the greatest Arab music celebrities in Brazil, musician Tony Mouzayek. Also in the area of music, the visitors will be able to listen to the repertoire of Sami Bordokan, a composer of classical and folkloric Arab music. On the Jewish side, the event is also going to count on band Zamarm, which has intensified the work on research of Jewish music in its most varied expressions.
Those interested in sampling traditional Arab and Jewish food will also be able to go to the Gourmet space. Apart from that, the event will offer products typical of the region, like handicraft, Persian carpets, pictures, fabrics, costume jewellery, clothes and decoration objects, to be sold at the site.
31 years in activity
Vértice School is also celebrating its 31st anniversary. Last year the school received the highest grade in the National Secondary School Examination (ENEM), among the schools in the state of São Paulo, and was also considered the second best school in Brazil.
Service
II Cultural Heritage of Immigrants 2007 – Middle East
Date: September 23
Time: from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm
Site: Vértice School
Address: Rua Princesa Isabel, across from number 1036, on the corner of Vieira de Moraes street – Campo Belo
Tel.: (+55 11) 5533 5500
Site: www.colegiovertice.com.br
*Translated by Mark Ament
