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 History
of the
Bay Area Brazilian Club
The Bay Area Brazilian Club is the oldest Brazilian social/cultural
non-profit organization in the United States. Founded in 1968 under the
name "Friends of Brazil Club," our membership is made up of Brazilians,
Americans, Latinos, Europeans, Asians, and anyone else interested in bringing
the best of Brazilian art and culture to the San Francisco Bay Area.
When people think of Brazil the first word that often comes to mind is
"Carnaval". Our organization has presented 39 Carnaval
Balls at the Galleria in San Francisco, including 2005's highly successful
"Tropicália", featuring the hot, young band, Prefixo de Verão,
direct from Brazil.
500 Year Anniversary
In April of 2000, we had a memorable party at San Francisco's Union Square
to celebrate the 500 year anniversary of the Portuguese discovery of Brazil.
It was a full day of music, dance, capoeira, children's activities, Brazilian
food, arts and crafts, and a parade of flags from all the states of Brazil.
There were special performances by the SensaSamba Big Band of São Paulo
and the group Cascabulho of Recife. A crowd in excess of 5,000 came to
sing and dance on a beautiful sunny day on the Square, which was all decorated
in yellow and green.
Brazilian Independence Day
In addition, we have presented five celebrations of Brazilian Independence
Day. This September event draws thousands of people to Golden Gate Park
in San Francisco to enjoy Brazilian entertainment, food, children's
activities, and arts and crafts. In 2007 we joined forces with the
Brazilian Consulate and had Mayor Gavin Newson as an honored guest at our Brazilian
Independence festivities.
BABC and SF MOMA
The Bay Area Brazilian Club has participated in two evenings of Brazilian
music and culture at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in San Francisco.
We took part in the Exchange Art Show, exhibiting works of contemporary
Brazilian and American artists at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.
Along with this exhibit we sponsored an "amostra" of Brazilian film, a
varied sampler of videos and classic films.
Brazilian Artists
We have presented to the Bay Area top-flight Brazilian performing artists
like João Bosco, Beth Carvalho, Emilinha Borba, Paulo Belinatti, Originais
do Samba, Elza Soares, Carlinhos Brown and Sergio Mendes. We have also
co-produced the Bay Area performances of Djavan, Jorge Benjor, Gal Costa,
Elba Ramalho, Geraldo Azevedo, and Marisa Monte.
Other Festivities
The Bay Area Brazilian Club originated a Brazilian Children's Day celebration
with "October Children - a Festival for Children" at the Hall of Flowers
in Golden Gate Park. Music, singing, children's capoeira
demonstrations, face painting, games, puppets, contests and prizes made
it a day of adventure and fun for "children" of all ages. But "October
Children" had a serious purpose, too. Those who attended brought used
clothing and toys for children in Brazil, flown there in 22 large air-cargo
cartons courtesy of VARIG Brazilian Airlines, one of the Club's most constant
supporters.
Festa Junina
For several years we have held a traditional Festa Junina. In 1998 our
event was at Golden Gate Park where for the first time in San Francisco
we had an authentic Forro musical group (Trio Virgulino) from the Brazilian
Northeast presenting a typical country-style Festa Junina in 2007. We
brought direct from Brazil, Forrofiando, which played in San Francisco
and Las Vegas.For 2008 we are planning another big Festa Junina in
Golden Gate Park.
Join Us!
If participating in the planning of any of these events appeals to you,
or if you would like to display your art, crafts, or other products, please
let us know. Whatever the Club's activities, they are all unified by a
single goal - to create a more positive image of a fascinating country
and its wonderful, warm and generous people. This is the aim and growing
commitment of the Bay Area Brazilian/Friends of Brazil Club. If you share
these interests with us, we welcome you to contact
us and become part of who we are.
Copyright © 2001-2005 Bay Area Brazilian Club
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