São Paulo – The Brazil-Lebanon Cultural Association (ACBL) is organizing a 360-degree, virtual exhibit to celebrate the 140-odd years of Lebanese presence in Brazil. The opening is on Monday (6) on the website Liban by Lody. The show will run through January 10 on the website. Above, a sample of the exhibition: a picture of the Temple of Jupiter in Lebanon taken by Félix Bonfils.
The virtual exhibition “+140 Years of Lebanese Presence in Brazil” will feature a trove of unpublished material with photos, maps, and commemorative stamp collections. Roberto Khatlab, researcher and director of the Center for Latin America Studies and Cultures at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK) in Lebanon, participates in the show with two maps designed especially for the expo. “One map shows the route used by immigrants from Lebanon to Brazil in 1880, the cities and countries they had to pass through,” Khatlab told ANBA
The second map shows the route Pedro II of Brazil took on Lebanon and the cities he went through during his visit to the country in 1876. “Dom Pedro II was a pioneer in Brazil-Lebanon relations, and his visit led the Lebanese to migrate to Brazil, as it was widely reported by the Arab newspapers of the time, and they talked about Brazil as a huge continent with fertile farmland, rivers, gems and gold, and the Lebanese came to learn about the country and saw that this would be a great land to migrate to,” he said. Khatlab designed the route based on his research, and a commissioned artist did the work. He also donated pictures of his collection for the exhibition.
The exhibition is held by ABCL under the care of its coordinator Lody Brais. “In addition to the brand-new maps, there are photos, stamp collections, and federal lottery tickets from commemorative dates of Lebanon in Brazil, pictures of a tribute to the 300 years of Brazil — a sculpture on Avenida República do Líbano in São Paulo representing the map of Brazil with a map of Lebanon inside, showing that the country has embraced the Lebanese community,” Brais said. Furthermore, the coordinator said the virtual exhibition will feature a notepad of Pedro II of Brazil with his impressions on Lebanon, as well as other images of historical works and pieces.
Quick facts:
Virtual exhibition
“+140 Years of Lebanese Presence in Brazil”
December 6, 2021 through January 10, 2022
On the website Liban by Lody
Translated by Guilherme Miranda & Elúsio Brasileiro
