Semana Brasil (Brazilian Week)

by Luis Dechtiar
class of 2002

Anyone who has spent enough time in Framingham High School has heard at least five languages which made no sense to them.  In fact there are over fifty different languages and dialects being spoken within our walls.  The flags which hang above our heads everyday as we chomp down our meals are there for a reason.  Each one represents a different nation which we have hosted, a different student which has treaded the floors of our school.  We have even been recognized as one of the most diverse schools in the US, in 1994 when President Clinton himself came to pay us a visit.  In FHS there are currently 175 foreigners enlisted in the ESL (English as a Second Language) program, and amazingly, 120 of those are from the country of Brazil.  Many of them have been living here for less than six months.  It seems natural that this great variety of cultures should be used as an educating tool by the teachers and students themselves.  "I view this as an opportunity,"  says José Bispo Filho Ferreira, a Brazilian teacher in the ESL program, "to create a link ... to make the American kids more aware of the world around them and get the newcomers more involved in the process."  As one of the Brazilian students, Paula Patussi has said, the major problem seems to be the group divisions which occur in schools in general.  "There's a kind of discomfort, from both sides, to approach someone who speaks a different language and acts in different ways.  I wish we could mix up a little more."
Recently, a variety of projects have been held in efforts to promote this cultural awareness.  A magazine called Universal Expressions, which incorporates works from students of all nationalities found here in FHS, has been published already in previous years, and a new issue is soon to be released.  As you may have noticed, during the weeks of early March, the Flyer's News' trivia questions have been far from trivial, exposing a great deal of multicultural content.  Brazil had its space on March 7, when the question "What language do they speak in Brazil?" was asked.  Many people fail to understand that they in fact speak Portuguese, not Spanish or Brazilianese.  This kind of thing should be common knowledge for one who walks past 20+ Brazilians every day in the halls.  While the Flyer's scoreboard scrolled along, in the background the voice of Bispo Ferreira could be heard singing to a very characteristic tune which he himself composed.  "In a country like the US, it's very important to do things, to be productive, do things all the time..."  Him and several other teachers in the bilingual program have been making constant efforts to reach this goal of greater involvement.  Hopefully, the events that will follow later in April, will pay off.
The Portuguese Literature Club, formerly composed of students belonging to the Brazilian community here in Framingham who are interested in art and literature, is holding an event which will unfold from the 24th to the 28th of April. "With this project," says Deivis Gomes, one of the students from the Literature Club, "we will have an opportunity to show our potential.  Many times the Americans don't know what we are capable of, and if they learn about us, maybe this division of 'Brazilians this way and Americans that way' won't exist anymore."  The schedule of the Brazilian Week is far from uneventful.  Starting a few days earlier, the students are preparing an elaborate exposition of poems and verses, which will be posted as a mural, at one of the entrances of the school.  These poems have been written by the students themselves, throughout the year.  A larger collection of these poems, essays and short stories written by the students will be found in a new magazine: Clube de Literatura 2000 which is to be released by the club on the opening day.
To start off, they are holding an event which promises an interesting peek at Brazilian culture.  It will be held in April 24, during period 7 at the school library, where students will recite their poems, and different musicians will provide with background music.  This is a regular practice done by the Literature Club during their meetings in C228, which are held every Monday.  A broader look at Brazilian culture in general is intended for this day, where there will also be various styles of music and poetry as an opening attraction, simultaneous with the release of the Clube de Literatura 2000 magazine.  But the group has not limited themselves only to school grounds.  Plans are being considered for presentations of their recitals in Ipanema, a restaurant in the Boston area named after the most famous beach in Rio de Janeiro.  They will also make appearances in a local radio program called Balança Brasil, and present at yet another location which is under arrangement.  The group is taking with them more than some poems and a guitar.  An interesting tradition done in Brazil is that of hanging up their poems on a line, or varal, as one would hang up clothes, and carrying this from location to location as they follow with the presentations.  On this varal, will be a careful selection of poems by the greatest Brazilian poets and writers from the past four centuries.  The last of these recital presentations will be held in the Damforth Museum, on the night of April 27th.
The Brazilian students themselves are intended to be enriched during these activities.  The school is inviting several Brazilian artists who go to college here in Massachusetts, and possibly a journalist from Globo, one of the major television networks in Brazil, to address the students about the significance of a career exploration in this country, and how to apply their native culture within their professional areas.  They will be holding a workshop for the students on the 26th, and the showing of a Brazilian film, "Orfeu no Carnaval", is also one of the planned attractions on the same day. Some of these guests will give talks, also at the Damforth Museum on the night of the 27th.  This will probably be the busiest night in the club's schedule.  They are also planning to use the museum's space to entertain the younger kids in the Brazilian community, with reading sessions of books in Portuguese, done by the girls, who will dress as princesses for the night.  "We also want to reach the pequeninos," says Daniele Gazola using the Portuguese word for little ones, "And we thought it would be fun to kind of bring back the typical kids' programs they all used to watch in Brazil, by dressing up as princesses."
The school coordination also seems to be interested in getting involved in this project.  "Not only Mrs. Grieci, head of the ESL department, but the English department has also given us their full support," says Bispo, "and that will help make the event what we intended it to be, not just for us Brazilians, but for the anyone in the school who is interested."  Some of the members in the FHS band, it is said, will be borrowed for the same event, and will accompany the performances of the singers and poets.  The club even wrote a letter to the Brazilian embassy in Washington, where literary material is held for occasions when it is needed, and a request is being made for a share of these materials to be sent to Framingham, especially slides and books.
To finish it off on the 28th, a Friday night, the Damforth Museum will hold a dance night, where anyone is invited to dance to the infamous Bossa Nova, a Brazilian style of music which has spread world wide and is considered to be one of the best genres of music in the world.
Undoubtedly, anyone who has access to this culture should feel lucky.  The Brazilian culture has proven to be one of the most vivid and electrifying, yet it remains indisputably romantic.  In the recent Grammy Awards Ceremony, bossa nova singer Caetano Velozo was awarded the prize for World Music, this being the 4th consecutive time Brazil has won that award.  In the current cinema, the country has been nominated for almost a dozen academy awards for foreign film, including "Pagador de Promessas", "Macunaíma", "O Quatrilho", "Oque é Isso Companheiro?", and in 1999, "Central do Brasil" (Central Station), which included a nomination for best actress to Fernanda Montenegro.  The movie and the actress have won numerous other awards, including the Golden Globe and the Berlin Festival, and it has also made it to the movie theaters and video rental places here in the US.
"The Brazilian art is unique, characterized by its ninguémdade," Bispo says referring to a Portuguese term literally meaning "no-one-ness", "In that it is the intense blending of three very different races, the black, the native and the white.  It has an almost indefinable aura, untraceable.  From this mixture is born a very picturesque and authentic style of art, where the main characteristics are its spontaneity, happiness, delicacy and especially gentleness."
     Anyone interested in attending the events is very welcome by the club, more information can be found in room C228, speak to Mr. Bispo Ferreira.

 

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