Who are these people? And why they are famous, or should be.

Unknown Gentleman. The earliest photo (1840s) of Brazil I have ever come across. I don't know who the man is but the background is very familiar. The second I saw the picture I recognized it. The church is that of Santa Luzia in Rio, right next door to where I worked for over 10 years. The picture was taken in front of the Santa Casa de Misericordia hospital, or maybe on the Calabouço Point. The old church was at one time on the edge of Guanabara bay; now it is almost 1 kilometer inland. This daguerreotype sold for over $1200 on Ebay.

The Divine Sarah. I figured that if I included Gottschalk, I would also have to write about Sarah Bernhardt - they have many things in common, both being talented, Jewish, extremely unconventional and suffering the 'Brazil curse'. From a somewhat modest beginning, overcoming great obstacles, Sarah becomes Europe's greatest actress, perhaps even the greatest actress of all time, acclaimed in both France and England. She also made triumphant visits to America, promoted by B.T. Barnum (who, by the way, unsuccessfully tried to contract Gottschalk). Many churches spoke out against her "erotic" roles, calling her the "whore of Babylon" - which really brought in the crowds - to the theatres, not the churches. All of Europe worshiped at her feet. Oscar Wilde wrote a play just for her, the infamous Salome - but for some reason it was banned before opening night. You might say that Sarah was somewhat eccentric, or macabre - but only if you consider collecting skulls, skeletons, coffins, lions and tigers (kept in her house, in the living room) to be weird. She visited three Brazil three times, and is best remembered for starting the practice of sunbathing on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, except that she didn't take off all her clothes - just enough to scandalize the Cariocas. These days Sarah would have been the scandalized one. Perhaps the greatest impact of Brazil on her life was an accident on a stage in Rio in which she hurt her leg badly - causing intense pain for years, and eventually developing into gangrene, until it was finally amputated. Even with one leg she continued to perform, thus was the term "break a leg" invented, expressing the idea that it would be good luck to be like her. Some US promoter offered her $100,000 for her leg, to exhibit it in America, to which Sarah asked 'which leg?'. The lady was a riot. There are two well-known Brazilian 'art' works about her: a novel A Samba for Sherlock (fiction by Jo Soares, who for reasons unknown once kissed the top of my head!) in which Sarah, while on a visit to Rio, advises the Emperor Dom Pedro II to bring Sherlock Holmes to Rio to find his missing Stradivarius violin, which he had given to a charming female friend (ie, mistress), and find a serial killer, my Dear Watson. Another work of fiction is a rather confused film called Amelia (with Marilia Pera, a great actress also), in which Sarah for some stupid reason is persuaded by her Brazilian maid to go to Brazil and live with the maid's hillbilly sisters out in the boondocks. Oh well, if you can live with lions and tigers, farm girls should be a step up.

The Seller of Souls. So what do Xuxa, James Bond, and Napoleon have in common? This answer is Georg Anton Schaeffer (1779-1836). Who? Born in Bavaria, linked to ancient Prussian nobility, a pharmacist and medical officer by training, Schaeffer is one of those names that will pop up in history books not only in Europe, but also South America, Turkey, India and China. You can find his name on monuments in Alaska and Hawaii. Working with the German Army, he first appears in a scheme to use hot air to attack and murder Bonaparte - I mean hot air balloon! Didn't happen. So how about trying poison? Didn't work. Giving up the life of Secret Agent, Major von Schaeffer next joins a the Russian Navy Scientific Expedition (as either George or Yegor Scheffer) and sails around the world, making stops as well as friends (and enemies) in South America, the Pacific Islands and the Far East. In 1818 Schaffer finds himself back in Rio de Janeiro, and becomes close to Empress Leopoldina, future wife of Dom Pedro I. It was at this time that Schaeffer forever changed the world, or at least Brazil. Dom Pedro wanted European colonists and soldiers, to occupy the South and keep the evil Argentines out. There are letters from to D. Leopoldina to Schaeffer saying: "Send 3,000 men more, all bachelors and young" (I could have made a joke here, but I resisted the urge!). From 1824 to 1827 Schaeffer and his agents persuaded thousands of young Germans to seek a new life either in the Emperor's armies or in the fields of Southern Brazil. For each immigrant, Schefer received a commission, thus becoming known as the "seller of souls". This was the beginning of the great Germanic immigration to Brazil, that was expanded later by Dom Pedro II, who even more aggressively sought immigrants from Germany, Italy and other European countries. This is also the reason why Brazil, with its Native Indian, African, Portuguese, Italian, Middle Eastern and even Japanese people has, easily, the most diversified genetic mixture (gene pool) on the planet. This is why Brazil has xanthochroid people (ie, persons with light complexions and light hair) like Xuxa and Gisele Bundchen.

Lord Cochrane. Did you like the movie Master and Commander about Captain Jack Aubrey (created by Patrick O'Brian) or the Horatio Hornblower books (by C.S. Forester)? Well, they were based upon the real life adventures of the "Father of the Brazilian Navy", who was an Englishman - of course. In 5,000 years of naval history, Thomas Cochrane is perhaps the greatest naval captain ever. During the French and Napoleonic wars he captured over 50 vessels including enemy frigates many times more powerful than his ship. He was a master of trickery and guile, and when these were not enough, he used improvisation and daring. When Bonaparte was exiled for good, and things began to slow down in Europe (after 20+ years of war), Cochrane took off to Chile to command their fleet. After the battles ended in the Pacific, Lord Cochrane accepted Emperor Dom Pedro I's offer to command the Brazilian fleet and fight the Portuguese navy. He soon sailed from Rio de Janeiro with orders to do reconniscance on the Portuguese forces in Northern Brazil. Why anybody would think that Cochrane would just observe the enemy and report back I don't know. In typical fashion, he immediately attacked the larger Portuguese fleet, defeated them, and then captured Bahia, Maranhao and Para. Later he put down separatist revolts in Pernambuco and Ceara. More than anybody (except Dom Pedro), Cochrane is responsible for the territorial unity of Brazil (it could have ended up being two or three nations, like many areas of Latin America). Well, after Independence things slowed down again, and there was an issue with payment for his services, so old Crochane soon took off for greener pastures (Greece, fighting the Turks) or in his case, bloodier waters. Cochrane and Dom Pedro got along fine, but Cochrane had a real attitude problem, and fought authority all his life. He was loved by his men, but not so much by his superiors - who considered him a undisciplined troublemaker. After many problems, later in life, he was able to rejoin the British Navy and served for many decades. In fact, at the age of 80 he couldn't understand why the Navy wouldn't give him a command in the Crimean War. Cochrane's personality and influence were so strong that many of his traditions live on even today in the Brazilian Navy. He is also remembered in Brazil for his Irish sailors (joined by Schaeffer's Germans) that staged a revolt (because of money and discipline problems) which caused considerable damage to the City of Rio de Janeiro. One thing about the movie... there is a scene where our hero, Captain Jack Aubrey, needs a new main mast for his ship, so he says "I am not going to wonder all over the Brazilian rainforest looking for some dang tree" (or some words to that effect...). I doubt that any English captain would have used the word rainforest. I also seriously doubt that anybody had ever even heard the word rainforest in 1825. The proper word is "jungle", but now even characters in movies about early 19th Century events have to be politically correct (PC). By the way, the word 'rainforest' does not even translate well into Portuguese (floresta de chuva? No! floresta pluvial? Nope! the best is floresta tropical, I think). Brazil has the world's largest rainforest, and they still have to call it only a "floresta" or "selva" or even "mata". What a bummer! (see my page on this subject here: )

How Brazil is responsible for electing GW Bush. Kind of, sort of. Well, actually, Brazil may only be indirectly responsible, not for what Brazil did, but for what it didn't do. Yep. There is a certain American political figure who has been around for many years. Everybody knows him - we will call him Ralph, Rambunctious Ralph. Changing the subject here. One of the best books on Brazil is The Brazilians, by Joseph Page. Mr. Page has managed to capture the spirit and soul of Brazil as well as any gringo can. Well, one day I was looking at the book and I noticed at the very beginning there was a dedication to Ralph. I was shocked. No way! Could it be that Ralph had spent many months in Brazil with Page? Normally a person who goes to Brazil enjoys the trip and lives, really lives. Ralph, on the other hand, is about as fun as a rattlesnake. I bet he complained every inch of the way: the water is unsafe, the girls don't ware enough clothes, they will get skin cancer, the feijjoada will clog your arteries, the buses are unsafe, grumble, complain, grumble some more, bla, bla. bla. If Ralph had learned to live and enjoy life during his trip to Brasil, he might have become less sour, less obnoxious, and a little less self-centered (menos antipatico e egoista!). And maybe, if he had acquired the good humor and joyfulness that is so characteristic of Brazil, he would have realized that his political aspirations served only his own vain, self-centered personality, and he would have given up and W would not have been elected in 2000. So, because Brazil did not change Ralph, Brazil made it possible for Bush to be elected. Oh yes, I voted for W., but it is a fact that more than anybody else, Ralph made W president. I still find it hard to believe that Ralph spent months in Brazil. Saudi Arabia I would believe, but not Brazil! Click on the icon for a picture of Ralph. One last word: Can you imagine a party with Sarah, Teddy, Eros, Percy, Louis and Orson? I would even accept Charlie and Tom, but I don't think I could handle either Stefan or Ralph. In fact, if I were to have a party with all the people on this page, the one person that I would not want to show up would be Ralph.

How a duck and a parrot replaced Hollywood's greatest director. After doing two of the greatest artistic works in the mid 20th Century (War of the Worlds and Citizen Kane), the US Government asked Orson Welles to make a documentary film to prove to the Latin Americans that the Gringos up north really loved and respected them. Orson had read in Time magazine about an epic voyage by four poor fishermen on a raft (jangada) along the coast of Brazil to call attention to their plight. This, he thinks, is a perfect story for the documentary. Off to Brazil goes Orson, and from there on his life goes to hell in a handbag - slowly. His third great film, The Magnificent Ambersons, which he was working on when he accepted the Brazil project, becomes involved in turmoil at the studio and is never finished. Meanwhile, back in Rio, Orson does the party thing, and Orson knows how to party! When sober, the director does some great and artistic shots of samba and carnaval (Mardi Gras)in Rio de Janeiro. Several months go by and money is running out - and no film. Orson Wells (6 feet tall, 230 pounds) and Grande Otelo (4 feet, 11 inches, 100 pounds) get involved in a drinking match. Grande Otello wins. Still no movie. The US Government is getting nervous. The Government of Getulio Vargas (the FDR-like miniature Brazilian dictator) is getting even more nervous. They don't like the fact that Orson's film is showing poor people, black people and slums (favelas). Please understand that for most of the 20th century the government of Brazil attempted to portray Brazil as a cultured, white, European society - not as a mixture of 15 different peoples, most of them a little too brown for comfort (In fact, only whites could serve in the Brazilian Navy and the Itamaraty, the Foreign Service). The Vargas government is fighting the commies at this time, and are worried that the four pescadores will become red heroes. There are rumors that Wells is also a Communist. Everybody is unhappy. Soon the money ends, but Orson doesn't give up. With only $10,000 he tries to complete the movie. After a few dramatic shots in Rio (one in which Jacare, one of the original 4 men, disappears under the waves) he leaves Rio and flies to the poor villages of the Northeast. No more pinga, surubas and bacanals for Orson. He works hard and quickly, but the project is never completed. In fact, this is just one more in 30 plus years of failed projects and incomplete films that were to become as much a part of Orson Welles' legacy as Citizen Kane. Only one segment, called "Four Men on a Raft" was actually filmed, to be included in Welles' documentary, to be called "It's All True," and that was in unedited, incomplete format, and in black and white with no sound, because that was the cheapest film and camera available. Later in life Welles confirmed the curse but blamed it on Dom Quixote, not the Mae de Santo in Rio that promised him Noites sem dormir, dias sem amor (sleepless nights, loveless days). Over 50 years later, It's All True was released as a documentary, using only parts of the original work. Perhaps the best part of this version is the ending credits, in which two of the greatest artists of the 20th century - Orson Welles and Carmen Miranda - have a delightful exchange about the finer points of samba. I will end this by saying that the US government didn't get the film it wanted, but FDR didn't give up. The State Department called in Walt Disney, who was able to work a deal with a very temperamental duck (Donald Duck) and an easy going, bon vivant parrot (Ze Carioca) to do a very successful movie called Los Tres Caballeros, that proved once and for all that the US, Mexico, Brazil, and even all of Latin America are, in fact, the best of friends, or amigos. How or why Orson thought he could make a film (in black and white, with no sound!) about rough, ugly men on a raft, using illiterate, untrained actors, in an hostile environment (ie, men against the sea), without any studio technical resources, and think this would interest the public and/or that it would be suitable for the "US-Brazil friendship" project - I have no idea. This is probably the biggest mystery in the history of cinema. That, my friend, is genius and passion, or maybe just madness. Maybe Orson Wells imagined an American Aircraft carrier showing up at the end of the movie to save the 4 fishermen, one of which would marry the beautiful daughter (played by Elizabeth Taylor) of the ship's Captain (played by Bob Hope) with in a grand finale dance scene in the Copacabana Palace with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Maybe, just maybe. Oh yes, almost fifty years later, according to a magazine article, Jacare's widow still thinks her husband was kidnapped by the Americans and is being held hostage by FDR in the basement of the White House. Maybe!

Charlie D. In April of 1832 a small English ship dropped anchor in Rio de Janeiro. Waiting for one of the crew members was a "dear john" letter from Fanny Owen to her boyfriend saying she wasn't going to wait no five years while he sailed all over creation collecting ugly, stinking, stupid beetles. Having to choose between the bugs and the lady, Charlie opted for the insects. With time on his hands while waiting for his ship, Charlie moved into a small cottage in Botofogo for a couple of months, and studied the local wildlife. Because at that time Botafogo was a rural area, and there were no bars and nightclubs where he could drink to forget sweet Fanny (or celebrate!), he instead dedicated himself to ants, beetles, crickets and caterpillars. It was just like being with Fanny, probably! It was on a quiet evening in Botofogo, on June 2, that he watched a fight to the death between a wasp and a spider. As Charlie sat smoking his pipe and observing this epic battle, he began to think about an idea he would initially call the "struggle for survival" but would later become better known as the "survival of the fittest". So, because of Brazil and Fanny, and Rio and Brazil, and lets not forget the wasp and spider, we have something called the "Theory of Evolution" - except in Kansas, of course. After five months in Brazil, Darwin boarded the good ship Beagle and headed south to the Buenos Aires, to see if he could figure out the good people of Argentina (I have a page about Brazil and Argentina here: ). No luck there! Let it be said that while in Brazil, Charles Darwin was shocked at the cruel treatment of the slaves.

The twenty most.