Lithuanian Brazilians (, ) are Brazilian citizens who are fully, partially or predominantly of Lithuanian descent or are Lithuanian-born people residing in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

History

The first Lithuanian to set foot on

ian soil, according to a record dated in 1866, was colonel Andrius Višteliauskas. His mission was to aid the Brazilian armed forces in the

Paraguayan War The Paraguayan War (, , ), also known as the War of the Triple Alliance (, , ), was a South American war that lasted from 1864 to 1870. It was fought between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, the Empire of Brazil, and Uruguay. It wa ...

. In 1890,a group of Lithuanian immigrants and their families arrived in Brazil, in a total of twenty-five Lithuanian families entered the land of Brazil. Their destination was the newly established colony of

Ijuí Ijuí () is a Brazilian municipality of Rio Grande do Sul, situated from the state capital, Porto Alegre. In 2020 its population was 83,764, making it the third most populous city of the Missões region, behind Passo Fundo and Erechim. Demo ...

, situated on the red and fertile soil of the northwestern part of the state of

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...

. Today the city of

is a developed town. From early on Ijuí was settled by peoples of different

ethno-linguistic Ethnolinguistics (sometimes called cultural linguistics) is an area of anthropological linguistics that studies the relationship between a language or group of languages and the cultural practices of the people who speak those languages. It exam ...

backgrounds, unlike some other towns in the region. For example, the town of Guaraní das Missões was settled mostly by Polish

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

. On the other hand,

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

, who came from the old German colonies (the Altkolonie) located in the eastern part of the state, went on to settle the municipality of Cerro Largo (formerly known as Serro Azul) and to make it into the small town that it is today. One can still meet descendants from that first group of

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

n immigrants that settled in the Ijuí area. In 1926, around thirty thousand Lithuanian immigrants arrived in Brazil. They went to work in the many coffee plantations ( fazendas) throughout the

State of São Paulo State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

. Other groups of immigrants also were lured into the country at the time to fulfill labor shortages. São Paulo may have been the destination of most Lithuanians but they also went to settle in other states such as

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

and Paraná. The town of Castro, in Paraná, a state south of São Paulo, boasts that amongst

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

and other ethnic groups their town was also founded by Lithuanian immigrants. The

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

of Brazil had been freed in 1888. More and more in the following decades the coffee barons of the land tried to obtain laborers from other sources, mostly from

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an sources.Lithuanian immigration to Brazil
/ref> In São Paulo Lithuanians developed strong social ties around church congregations. Most were

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

but many also participated in

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

church services. In 1930, the núcleo (small colony) of Barão de Antonina, was established in Itaporanga, São Paulo. The center of Lithuanian life in Brazil is Vila Zelina, a district in one of the biggest megalopolises of the world – the city of São Paulo. Everything seems to revolve around the Saint Joseph Catholic Church (São José). One can still taste some of the culinary of the

Old World The "Old World" () is a term for Afro-Eurasia coined by Europeans after 1493, when they became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia in the Eastern Hemisphere, previously ...

in this part of town.

Easter egg Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian holiday of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are commonly used during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The ...

s are still celebrated in the traditional way. In 2001, a documentary Eldorado: Lithuanians in Brazil or ( Portuguese title: ''Eldorado: Lituanos no Brasil''), by Fabiano Canosa and Julius Ziz was released about the story of Lithuanians in Brazil.

Notable Lithuanian Brazilians

* Angélica Ksyvickis, presenter, actress and singer * Lasar Segall, painter, engraver and sculptor * Waldemar Blatskauskas, former professional basketball player * Klabin family

References

External links

Lithuanians in São Paulo: City Hall, city of São Paulo, state of São Paulo
Site in Portuguese. Accessed again on November 3, 2005.
Lithuanians in Brazil and Lithuanians back to the Old Country. A BBC Report
Site in Portuguese. Accessed again on November 3, 2005.

In Portuguese: Eldorado: Lithuanos no Brasil. A movie by Julius Ziz & Fabiano Canosa, Brazil, 2001. Site accessed again on November 3, 2005. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lithuanians In Brazil

European diaspora in Brazil

History

Notable Lithuanian Brazilians

See also

References

External links