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education workers and public employees in the city of Belford Roxo
held a protest rally in that municipality’s City Hall on Monday
The Belford Roxo protest involved several hundred educators and health workers who broke through police barricades
confronted police and guards and surrounded City Hall
At issue is the refusal of the city government to pay two months of overdue wages plus the customary year-end one-month bonus
leading workers to protest at city hall on New Year's Eve
Belford Roxo’s Mayor Wagmer Carneiro is a close ally of President Lula
The protest coincided with Carneiro’s last days in office
Carneiro has so far refused to respond to the city workers’ demands
particularly the “13th month,” is not new in Brazil
due to high levels of municipal debt in the last few years
many workers did not receive their year-end bonus until July
Several other Rio de Janeiro cities have robbed workers of the year-end bonus
known in Brazil as the “13th month,” including Cabo Frio
hundreds marched behind the parents of four children murdered by the Ecuadorean Armed Forces on Christmas Eve
Saúl Arboleda and Steven Medina were abducted from a soccer field by armed officers in the city of Guayaquil and taken away
Their bodies were later found near an air force base near this port city
carrying signs demanding justice and repudiating the government of fascistic president Daniel Noboa and the militarization of Ecuadorean society
The murder of these youth was not an isolated incident; it takes place in the context of a murderous “war on crime,” which has normalized torture and extrajudicial murders by armed soldiers and police
Three to four hundred machinists protested January 3 outside Pratt & Whitney’s jet-engine plant in Middletown
against the company’s imposition of unpaid furlough days
Most of the 3,000 members of the International Association of Machinists (IAM) at plants in Middletown and East Hartford will be affected by the forced furloughs that began January 2
Pratt & Whitney stated that the furloughs reflected the company’s “planning for supply chain gaps and lighter production.” The IAM countered that the company has $100 billion of back orders
Contract talks between the company and two separate IAM locals at the two Connecticut plants begin in May with the current agreements set to expire May 5
Workers are demanding increased wages and an end to the two-tier retirement benefits
with the provision of a defined benefit pension for all workers
The Hawaii Nurses Association (HNA) announced January 2 that 159 nurses at the Wilcox Medical Center on Kauai island voted by a 76 percent margin to strike January 14 through 17 after months of negotiations had failed to move hospital management towards safe staffing ratios
This follows a vote by 1,900 nurses at Queen’s Medical Center campuses of Punchbowl and West Oahu on the island of Oahu to hold a three-day strike beginning January 13
The HNA has filed several charges with the National Labor Relations Board against Hawaii Pacific Health
for “unlawfully interfering with the rights of employees who request union representation.” According to the HNA Wilcox nurses face harassment
discrimination and retaliation by management and “are being put through hell because of their commitment to professionalism.”
and the current practices at Wilcox do not address the older and sicker population coming through our ER
OR and into the inpatient units.” This crisis and the increased demands it places on nurses are at the center of the demand for safe staffing
This past Friday the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU)
which organizes some 15,000 provincial education workers in 24 community colleges
filed notice that job action in pursuit of a new contract can begin as early as Thursday
But despite a strike mandate given by the membership in a vote last October
the union has yet to say what particular action will be taken
Such action could take the form of anything from a work-to-rule campaign to an all-out work stoppage
Both sides have agreed to one final round of mediated bargaining on January 6 and 7
after 30 days of bargaining and 4 days of conciliation
both sides remain far apart on any contract settlement
In 2021-22 the union rejected pursuing a full-scale strike in favour of a 13-week work-to-rule campaign that ended in binding arbitration and failed to address any of the unsatisfactory wage
job security or working conditions that faculty faced
a five-week all-out strike was ended when the union-backed Liberal provincial government of Premier Kathleen Wynne passed back-to-work legislation
accepted the order and called the strike a “victory” simply because the government promised a “task force” to look into “staffing models” in the colleges
the critical issues around precarious work and compensation facing faculty not only remain unresolved
The education workers are demanding a significant increase in wages
an end to unpaid labour and enhanced job security
counsellors and librarians are employed under low-wage short-term contracts with little to no benefits or job security
the workload formula devised for the education workers has not been revised in 40 years
about one-half of bargaining unit members are not paid for preparation time
student evaluations and curriculum development
The unpaid time can amount to a significant portion of the workers’ labour
The predicament faced by college employees is rooted in budget cuts by Ontario governments of all political stripes over the past several decades
In order to fund the Ontario colleges to the average of other provinces it is estimated that the disbursements by the hard-right provincial Conservative government of Premier Doug Ford would have to be doubled
The College Employer Council (CEC)—the bargaining agent for the managements of the colleges—has insisted that the demands of the education workers are entirely unrealistic based on current government funding models
whilst the Ford government has called for more cost-cutting “efficiencies” at the tottering post-high-school education facilities
At a square in a Rio de Janeiro suburb plagued by drug trafficking and high rates of violent crimes
children and young adults get together every Tuesday night to fight
they spar in street boxing matches from about 10pm to 1:30am in a weekly event that has been attracting a growing audience in Belford Roxo
It started about four months ago at local square Praca 1 and has since developed into a project called “Ultimate Fighting Praca 1,” or UFP1
the project has become a way for young people to learn more about boxing
maybe drawing them away from the ever-present lure of working for drug traffickers
“This is helping them to not have an empty mind,” said Reis
whose brother died after getting involved with drug trafficking gangs
Nervous at his first match just a few months ago
15-year-old Gabriel Gomes now holds one of UFP1’s championship belts and looks to a career in boxing as a possibility
“I’m thinking of changing my life,” said Gomes
who started training for competitions at a local gym
he added that what they are doing is nothing different from what happens in other countries where martial arts are practiced in public places
“We are now managing to make people understand that this is good for our young people,” he said
Giullia Jaques Caldeira ’24 feels enormous pride for her hometown of Belford Roxo
a Brazilian city that’s part of the larger metro area of Rio de Janeiro
Belford Roxo is a place wracked by poverty and many of the problems that come along with it
and Jaques’ mother often tells her daughter to just say she’s from Rio instead
“I want them to see there are young people like me there
A first-year student at Babson, Jaques was selected for the College’s Global Scholars Program
full-tuition scholarships to international students
It’s not an opportunity she takes for granted
“There are hundreds of people in my hometown struggling to find the future that I have found,” she says
Belford Roxo is never far from Jaques’ mind. Even though she’s now a college student, she works two jobs to support her mother, who still lives there. Jaques also formed an organization, Absorvidas
to bring much-needed feminine hygiene products to an area women’s prison
“You can study abroad and still care about the place you come from,” Jaques says
“You can use entrepreneurship and your education to fight for that place
Helping people from the city I come from is important to me.”
Jaques has long had an entrepreneurial spirit
Jaques began selling a traditional Brazilian chocolate dessert
She would make the treats herself and then sell about 120 every day for 18 cents apiece
“That’s what was paying the bills,” she says
she realized she didn’t have enough money to buy the required ingredients
but her classmates surprised her by pooling their money and buying what she needed
That made Jaques realize just how important her community was to her
“You can study abroad and still care about the place you come from
You can use entrepreneurship and your education to fight for that place
Jaques has left Belford Roxo for the time being
With its cramped space and unreliable Internet
not to mention the frightening and frequent gunfire outside
Jaques says the one-room apartment she shared with her mom in Belford Roxo wasn’t an ideal place to be a college student
She’s currently living in the Brazilian city of Goiânia with a fellow Babson student
Jaques helps with admissions at a leadership academy and also serves as a writing tutor
jobs she finds meaningful but which also pay the rent on that one-room apartment
Jaques founded Absorvidas in 2019 because she grew concerned that women prisoners weren’t being given the basic menstrual products that they needed
“This is because society doesn’t see their lives as worth dignity and respect,” she says
Most women in Brazilian prisons must rely on their families to provide these products
which is difficult given that many prisoners have become estranged from their families
Absorvidas initially will be working with a prison in Rio de Janeiro called Talavera Bruce
Jaques was saddened to see women from her neighborhood there
She knew exactly the hard challenges these women have faced in their lives: the dangerous streets
“We have more in common than what we have different,” she says
the only thing that stands between us is luck.”
Absorvidas first plans to provide 2,000 reusable menstrual pads to the prison
along with lectures and written materials to educate about menstruation
“There are a lot of people who didn’t go to high school and maybe only know what their mother told them,” Jaques says
Absorvidas eventually wants to partner with a foundation that works with inmates to train them to make the pads themselves
That would allow the women to no longer be dependent on outside donations of menstrual products
Making the pads also would allow them to earn money
both while in prison and once they are released
“It’s not enough to have a temporary fix,” Jaques says
“I see in entrepreneurship a powerful tool to empower people.”
Posted in Community, Entrepreneurial Leadership
More from Entrepreneurial Leadership »
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva promises to give far-right rival Jair Bolsonaro a ‘thrashing’ in tighter-than-expected presidential race
Thousands of favela residents and activists have hit the streets of Rio to voice their support for Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
the leftist frontrunner to become Brazil’s next president
Addressing a sea of supporters in one of Rio’s largest favelas, the Complexo do Alemão, Lula vowed to give his far-right rival Jair Bolsonaro “a thrashing” when South America’s biggest democracy holds the second round of its presidential election at the end of October.
“We’re going to win these elections,” proclaimed the 76-year-old ex-president who fell just short of an outright victory over Bolsonaro in the first round 10 days ago.
Lula, who rose from rural poverty to become Brazil’s first working-class president in 2002, said he was determined to return to power “to prove to the elites who have governed since 1500 that once again a metalworker will fix this country”.
Read more“The only reason I’m running for president once again is my belief that we can change things,” Lula told activists during an assembly at the headquarters of Voz das Comunidades
the favela news group that organised his rare visit
“I promise you that this country is going to change – and it’s going to change for the better.”
View image in fullscreenLuiz Inácio Lula da Silva greets supporters during a campaign rally in Belford Roxo
Photograph: Carl de Souza/AFP/Getty ImagesResidents from more than 30 favelas had flocked to the Complexo do Alemão on Wednesday morning to champion a politician they hope can end Bolsonaro’s tumultuous four-year reign
during which Covid killed nearly 700,000 people and millions were plunged into poverty
“Lula setting foot in the favela is an act of resistance
It shows that we’re not alone – that there’s hope,” said Douglas Viana
a 30-year-old activist from another sprawling working-class community
“This is a historic moment for the country
We’ve never seen anything on this scale,” Viana added
voiced optimism that social change was around the corner under Lula
who used his two-term presidency to help millions escape poverty and enter higher education with the proceeds of a regional commodities boom
“Lula represents hope – hope of less hunger and less inequality
We’ve taken so many steps backwards during Bolsonaro’s four years in power – and it will take a long time to rebuild all of this,” said Silva
View image in fullscreenA supporter of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva flashes the letter L for ‘Lula’ during a campaign rally in the Complexo do Alemao favela
Photograph: Silvia Izquierdo/APAnielle Franco
a campaigner whose politician sister Marielle Franco was assassinated in 2018
said she hoped a Lula victory might help secure justice for her murdered sibling
the black and the north-easterners from the favela to the presidency – everything that we don’t have under this government,” Franco said
Lula won the election’s first round in the region around Alemão
a vast sweep of redbrick housing in north Rio with tens of thousands of residents
as well as in other major favelas such as Rocinha and Maré
But the leftist lost in Rio state as a whole
with Bolsonaro winning 51% of the vote to Lula’s 40.7%
and Lula has stepped up his campaigning here ahead of the 30 October showdown with the far-right incumbent
a Labour party leader who is helping run Lula’s second-round campaign
said Wednesday’s event was designed to raise awareness in the favelas about the urgent need for political change
of anger – and we must defeat it,” Lupi said as the crowds streamed down one of Alemão’s main arteries with banners denouncing the hunger crisis blighting Brazil’s poor
“We need to wake this community up to the harm this government is causing it.”
with many evangelical favela residents remaining loyal to Bolsonaro
whose allies have falsely accused Lula of plotting to close churches
came to the Alemão rally carrying a towel featuring Bolsonaro’s image and his nationalist slogan: “Brazil above everything
View image in fullscreenLula rose from rural poverty to become Brazil’s first working-class president in 2002
Photograph: Carl de Souza/AFP/Getty Images“He has done more in two years than Lula did in eight,” Silva said of the right-wing radical
Silva insisted the throng of Lula supporters around him didn’t represent the working-class area where he was born and raised
But as the young favela leaders addressed Lula
they were united in their plea for better healthcare and education – and an end to the government neglect and police violence that claims hundreds of mostly black lives each year
“We are tired of dying,” local activist Alan Brum told Lula
told the former president the only way of overcoming Bolsonaro and his far-right movement was to join forces with the voices of the favela
“There’s no way that we can stop authoritarianism or stop Bolsonarismo
without the leaders who are here today,” Aguiar said
“It’s only with our help that we’ll be able to get Brazil back on track.”
Rescuers conduct rescue operation in Lote XV
The death toll from the storm that hit the southeastern Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro on Sunday has risen to 12
Governor Claudio Castro announced on Monday
15 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from the storm that hit the southeastern Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro on Sunday has risen to 12
floods and the consequent disruption of public services in much of the northern part of Rio de Janeiro and neighboring municipalities such as Duque de Caxias
Rio de Janeiro was declared in a state of emergency on Sunday following the disruption caused by the storm
The governor said that the tragedy "exposed" the effects of the El Nino weather current and that is why he will ask President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to prioritize infrastructure projects to try to control the situation of rivers and streams that pass through the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro
"It is fundamental that this work be a priority
Especially this year as we are going through this new reality with El Nino
The state and the cities have to be more resilient every day
We have to work more every day on construction projects that help prevent situations like this from happening again," he said
Castro said he will distribute subsidies of 3,000 reais per home (about 613 U.S
dollars) next week so that families can rebuild homes and purchase destroyed appliances
A resident walks through a flooded road in Lote XV
Residents walk through a flooded road in Lote XV
2024 shows a house and a car submerged in flood water in Lote XV
Volunteers arrange donated food in Lote XV
Volunteers unload donations at a distribution spot in Jardim das Flores
Volunteers carry donations in the floods in Duque de Caxias
People choose clothes at a supporting spot in Duque de Caxias
Firefighters evacuate residents through a flooded street after deadly rainfall in Belford Roxo
Residents cross a submerged road in a boat after deadly rainfall in Duque de Caxias
A woman carries her belongings through a flooded street after deadly rainfall in Belford Roxo
rest in a school serving as a shelter for residents who lost their homes to flooding after deadly rainfall in Duque de Caxias
A child pushes a bicycle in a flooded street after deadly
People wade through a flooded street after deadly
Streets are flooded after deadly rainfall in Belford Roxo
Ingrid Monteiro carries her one-year-old daughter Aylla Perola over floodwaters outside their home after deadly
shows the inside of his flooded house after deadly
Heloisa Regina walks inside her flooded bar after deadly
Children play in a flooded street after deadly
Dayse Almeida walks on the porch of her home by furniture and appliances she lost to flooding after deadly rainfall in Belford Roxo
Rosimery de Jesus closes the gate at her flooded home after deadly
Residents cross a submerged road by boat after deadly rainfall in Duque de Caxias
Neighborhoods in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro state remained flooded after torrential rains killed at least 12 people
the metro line in the city of Rio de Janeiro and a main freeway
The heavy downpour wreaked havoc over the weekend
the metro line in the city of Rio and a main freeway section
Some people drowned and were killed in landslides
while at least three died after being electrocuted
Eighteen towns across the state remained at “high” risk of landslides
The floods were particularly devastating in Rio’s northern peripheries
It’s not normal to live like this,” Heloisa Regina
said as she surveyed her flooded bar and home in Duque de Caxias
a city to the north of Rio where more than 100 millimeters (3.9 inches) of rain fell in 24 hours
Regina spent the night trying to sleep on a pool table
wondering how she was going to pay to repair the damage to the bar she has owned for 30 years
Residents waded through waist-high water Monday to navigate streets in Duque de Caxias
Others climbed on roofs and called for help as helicopters flew overhead
according to video footage from Brazil’s Globo television network
Firefighters were searching for a woman who disappeared after her car fell into the Botas River in Rio’s Belford Roxo neighborhood
Around 2,400 military personnel from Rio’s firefighters corps were mobilized over the weekend and used ambulances
drones and aircraft to rescue residents and to monitor affected areas
Ingrid Monteiro carries her one-year-old daughter Aylla Perola over floodwaters outside their home after deadly rainfall in Duque de Caxias
Authorities intervened in over 200 incidents due to the flooding across the state
according to a statement from Rio’s civil defense
But some people accused authorities of negligence
“We are completely abandoned,” Duque de Caxias resident Eliana Vieira Krauss
“Nothing has improved” since similar floods more than a decade ago
Krauss carried her 80-year-old disabled father-in-law to her sister-in-law’s home herself
Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes on Sunday declared an emergency and urged people to not force their way through flooded areas and to avoid disrupting rescue and recovery efforts
lightning and gusts of wind were forecast Monday afternoon
Rio’s civil defense advised people not to swim in lakes or the sea
and when at home to stay away from sockets
Floods in the basement of the Ronaldo Gazolla Municipal Hospital led to power cuts that were resolved by Sunday
but all appointments at the hospital have been delayed by 15 days
Rio Health Secretary Daniel Soranz said on X
Brazil’s National Institute of Meteorology had warned Thursday of the potential for heavy rain in Rio
Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais due to a combination of heat
humidity and areas of low pressure in the atmosphere
spent Saturday night on the roof where she was taken by neighbors to escape the flooding of her home in Belford Roxo
she found her belongings drenched in muddy water
We don’t have any money to leave,” Geralda Francisco said
so this is what we’re getting in return,” she added
Felipe Luther spends his afternoons studying for a degree from one of Brazil's top universities
tucked in the green hills of Rio de Janeiro above the ritzy beaches of Leblon and Ipanema
He spends his nights hauling trash in those wealthy communities below
they're often shocked," Luther said in an interview
he got a full scholarship to the social sciences program at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio (PUC-Rio)
a private school that has minted central bank presidents and movie stars
Luther's rare opportunity and daily routine are reminders of the disparities in Brazilian society and Rio in particular
where a police raid killing dozens in May stirred fresh debate about the dangers and disadvantages facing Black men like him
had previously passed up college for work to support his family
including a job sweeping streets with the municipal cleaning agency since 2009
"Many students like me start working when they are very young," said Luther
who comes from humble roots in the northern reaches of Rio
"This reduces the time and structure they need to be able to compete with children of the elite."
Studying at PUC-Rio has put Luther's dreams within reach
while bringing him face-to-face with the overwhelmingly white elite of a country where 54% of people have African ancestry
the national census found white Brazilians were five times more likely to have attended university than their Black
"Because there are so few Black people at this renowned university
a woman mistook Luther for an elevator operator
someone tried to pay him for a cup of coffee
because you get the impression that you don't belong there," he reflected
Brazil's educational inequalities have only grown during the pandemic
as remote classes force students to rely on resources at home
widening a gap between the haves and the have-nots
Luther was reading at night by candlelight in Niterói
where his student residence often lacked power
He charged his phone and laptop at work and used them to study until his street-sweeping shift from 9 p.m
I need a better computer than the one I got
But some people aren't even given a computer," he said
noting the array of challenges for disadvantaged students forced to study from home
"Not all phones are good enough for working
or enough internet data to download their readings."
Recent events in Rio have underscored even greater challenges Luther faces as a Black man
in a raid targeting the Red Command drug gang
The hours-long shootout killed 27 men in the neighborhood and one officer
making it one of the deadliest police operations in the city's history and drawing backlash from human rights groups
who has two sisters living a few minutes from Jacarezinho
joined a demonstration in Rio the week after the deadly raid
using the official anniversary of abolition in the country to protest police violence against Afro-Brazilians
"NO to genocide against Black people," read one protestor's sign
Luther said he lives in constant fear of police violence and makes a point of staying off the streets in certain neighborhoods at night
I would still be living in a Black body in a city
a country where Black people seem expendable," he said
More than three-quarters of the almost 9,000 people killed by Brazilian police over the last decade were Black men
Afro-Brazilian culture continues to thrive in Brazil as it has for centuries
Luther visits a local "terreiro" to practice Umbanda
a religion with origins in West African spiritual traditions
Dressed in all-white clothing with beaded necklaces hanging over his chest
"It connects me with my ancestry," he said
like fellow Afro-Brazilian religion Candomblé
has roots in the transatlantic slave trade
which brought as many as 5 million enslaved people from Africa to Brazil – 10 times the number brought to the United States
Those who sought to practice their rituals free from the harassment by Europeans would blend their native traditions with elements of Catholicism
creating syncretic religions now practiced by over half a million people in the country
Brazilian churches often serve as community centers
like the one where Luther took a free college prep course in 2017
Luther says one of his goals is to begin teaching college prep courses in low-income communities
opening the door for the next generation of aspiring students
"I want to give back to other young people by allowing them to hope that this is possible," he said
(Photo editing Marika Kochiashvili; Text editing Brad Haynes and Lisa Shumaker; Layout Julia Dalrymple)
Luther takes part in an online class as his wife Erica Maria da Silva
Luther kisses Da Silva goodbye as she leaves for work
Luther holds his cell phone as he takes part in an online class at his home
Luther packs his lunch as he gets ready for work
Luther travels to work on a bus in Belford Roxo
Luther walks along the shore of the beach picking up rubbish that sunbathers leave on the sand on Arpoador beach
Luther has breakfast with a friend at the student residence where he temporarily lives in Niteroi
Luther stands in front of a poster of Marielle Franco
a Black openly gay Rio de Janeiro politician
and her driver Anderson Gomes were gunned down in 2018 in what investigators said appeared to be a political assassination
Luther takes a bath at the student residence
Luther stands at the front door of the student residence
Luther gathers with his friends as they take part in a protest against racism and police violence in Rio de Janeiro
The Brazilian star who played a favela gangster on film and sang Bowie in Portuguese says he makes music to get people thinking as well as dancing • Voices of Brazil: ‘Funk is dangerous and democratic’
“It’s a long time since I’ve been to my place,” says Seu Jorge
referring not to the LA home he shares with his wife
but to the favela in the city of Belford Roxo
where he grew up as a different person entirely – Jorge Mário da Silva
It was only as a musician that he become Seu (“Mr”) Jorge – the drummer Marcelo Yuka assigned him the nickname
“My place had nothing,” he says of Belford Roxo
Sitting poolside at Sydney’s Four Seasons hotel in blue jeans and a grey T-shirt
the 44-year-old Jorge is a world away from that home – and visibly fatigued
Intermittently he pauses to sip on tea with honey
Scheduled to arrive a day earlier to be boxfresh for two headline dates at Sydney festival
Jorge pushed back his plans to attend his father’s 84th birthday
the legendary Brazilian musician Caetano Veloso
along to spend time with their grandfather
“Lots of friends and musicians there for my daddy.”
In Brazil, Seu Jorge is a superstar. A consummate performer, respected composer but, above all else, possessor of an incredible, smoky baritone. It’s a voice that first reached a significant international audience via the director Wes Anderson’s quirky comedy The Life Aquatic with Steve Zizzou
in which Jorge plays a sailor with a penchant for singing David Bowie songs in Portuguese
Bowie himself credits Jorge with giving his songs “a new level of beauty”. But it is Jorge’s performance in another film – Fernando Meirelles’ powerful drama City of God – that affords more insight into his previous life
The film brutally depicts the sort of rampant violence and corruption he grew up with in the favelas
“They are true, true stories in City of God
and expecting that one day everything is going to be fine
Everyone wants to express themselves and in the favela it is not different.”
At 12 he left school (though he’d later return to a private college after his mother wangled four scholarships through a vote-seeking politician)
He picked up his first instrument – the cornet – during a year of compulsory military service
his 16-year-old brother was killed in one of Belford Roxo’s frequent battles between police and favela drug gangs
Jorge spent the next three years living on the streets
It is difficult to reconcile this hardened youth with the gentle man opposite me – with Seu Jorge the star
Jorge has always eschewed the gangster life and culture of vengeance
“I take my revenge when I decide to make music and send a great message to the people,” he says
“I’ve done movies and talked about these stories but as an artist I never played in favelas because I’ve been working hard to escape that
“I don’t want to go back because if I go back the big boys say
I’m gonna meet him,’ – and I don’t want to be involved with these things.”
View image in fullscreenThe ultimate revenge: Jorge in the Domain
he left the favela after his brother’s death in 1990 to avoid being cast as avenger “especially as I was older than my brothers
He moved in with his uncle in a different neighbourhood and
he learned of a theatre program run by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
auditioned for the great saxophonist Paulo Moura
he doesn’t like my voice.” But it turned out Moura wanted him for his composition team
with the single Carolina still a popular classic
Subsequent records Cru and Músicas Para Churrasco Vol 1 cemented his place as one of Brazil’s most important samba and Afro-Brazilian artists
He’s now working on a second volume of Músicas Para Churrasco and has wrapped an acting role as the father of the Brazilian football great Pelé in a film due out this year
“I don’t have so much skills but cinema is magic
“If you look at me in the movie you’ll say
Jorge likes to experiment with different musical styles, as well as the ball, but so far has baulked at funk carioca, otherwise known as favela funk
the electronic dance music hybrid derived from Miami bass that has been popular in Brazil’s favelas since the 90s
“I like the idea but I don’t like the lyrics
So what does he think the role of an artist should be
“In my country I think it is to produce culture,” he says
“Maybe in the US it is to be a great entertainer
Maybe you don’t need a big connect [with] the people
you need a connect with the audience – this is different
you need to send a sound for making people think.”
“His sound needs to say something; [it’s] not just for making people dance
You need to touch people and I think my role is this.”
As for reaching people worldwide: “I never imagined I’d be in Australia
Now I have five continents that I’ve discovered – this is more than I expected for my life.”
The Sydney festival runs until 26 January. Find all Guardian Australia’s coverage here
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Christian pastors and their followers attend a rally with Brazil’s minister for social development under President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Belford Roxo
The country’s fastest-growing religious group holds the keys to Brazil’s political future
Its president is fighting to regain their support.
XLinkedInEmailLinkGiftFacebookXLinkedInEmailLinkGiftBy Andrew RosatiJune 4, 2024 at 7:00 AM EDTBookmarkSaveOn a sweltering day in March in a scruffy Rio de Janeiro suburb, a group of hundreds of Christian pastors and their followers listened intently as Brazil’s top social policy official pleaded for help.
“We need you,” Wellington Dias, Brazil’s minister for social development under President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, told the crowd.
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Investigator alleges wife began plotting with lover to kill ambassador after the couple had serious fight three days before Christmas
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Ambassador Kyriakos Amiridis went missing on Monday in Nova Iguacu, a city just north of Rio de Janeiro
The couple lived most of the time in the capital of Brasilia
police investigator Evaristo Pontes Magalhaes said that 29-year-old police officer Sergio Gomes Moreira Filho had confessed to killing Mr Amiridis
He said the policeman was having an affair with the ambassador's 40-year-old wife
acknowledged taking part in the killing as a lookout
The cousin accused Francoise of offering him the equivalent of $25,000 (£20,000) to participate
A judge ordered the detention of Francoise
Francoise has denied any role in the alleged plot
Francoise said she couldn't stop Filho from killing her husband and insisted she was not at home at the time of the crime
But the police investigator said in a press conference late Friday that the "evidence clearly puts the ambassador's wife as a co-author of the crime."
He said she started plotting with her lover to kill the ambassador after the couple had a serious fight three days before Christmas
"All our evidence suggests that her motivation was to use the financial resources left by the ambassador so she could enjoy life with Sergio," the police officer
The first signs the ambassador had been murdered emerged late Thursday
when police found blood spots believed to be his on a sofa inside the house the couple kept in Nova Iguacu
Filho told police that he strangled the ambassador during a fight
but the blood evidence found on the scene makes his claim unlikely
Neighbours said they did not hear any shots
leading police to believe the policeman stabbed Amiridis
The investigation showed that Amiridis' body was removed from the house in a carpet at the same time that Francoise arrived with their 10 year-old daughter
who did not see the body of her dead father
Brazil's government has offered its condolences to Greece over his death.
The Greek Embassy website in Brazil says Mr Amiridis started his career as diplomat in 1985 in Athens and became Greece's top diplomat in Brazil in 2016.
He earlier was Greece's ambassador to Libya and worked as consul in Rio from 2001-2004.
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Welcome to Obama-mania, Brazil-style. Few countries have embraced the idea of the US's first black president as enthusiastically as Brazil
a country with one of the largest Afro-descendant populations on Earth yet where black faces remain a minority in politics
Obama T-shirts are everywhere while chat shows and newspaper columns are filled with talk of the 47-year-old Illinois senator
Now even Brazil's politicians are lining up for their piece of the pie
candidates are allowed to run under the name of their choice
at least six Brazilian politicians have officially renamed themselves "Barack Obama" in a bid to get an edge over their rivals in October's municipal elections
"In truth it was an accident," says Belford Roxo's Obama
an IT consultant who is bidding to become the city's first black mayor
"I'd been on the television wearing a suit and people thought I looked a bit like him so they started calling me Barack Obama
They'd see me in the street and shout: 'Hey
Barack!" So I decided to register it."
Brazil's Obama also has one foot in Africa
His grandfather was the descendant of slaves
He admits he has also been looking to his namesake's speeches for inspiration
Despite their similarities the two Obamas have yet to meet although the Brazilian Obama says that as mayor he would "extend an invitation" to the real Obama to dine in Belford Roxo
"It would be great if he could come and see our reality," he beams