XVI BrazilFoundation Gala New York Celebrates the Amazon
BrazilFoundation honored projects that promote development and opportunities in the Amazon
BrazilFoundation held its Gala New York on Thursday September 13th at The Plaza Hotel. Cauã Reymond and journalist Mila Burns were the masters of ceremonies, and Patricia Poeta and August Uribe, of Sotheby’s, were the auction hosts. Fafá de Belém was the musical attraction and gave an emotional rendition of the Brazilian National Anthem when the total amount in donations raised for the night reached US$ 100k. The gala raised a total of US$ 400k.
The event celebrated the Amazon and highlighted the work of the leaders two organizations working in the region: Rita Teixeira, of Movimento de Mulheres do Nordeste Paraense (MMNEPA), in Capanema, Pará, and Thiago Cavalli Azambuja, of Casa do Rio, in Tupana, Amazonas. Rita is the Project Coordinator and Educator of MMNEPA, organiztion that promotes income generation, rights and food security for women in Pará. Thiago is founder of Casa do Rio, an organization that realizes projects that revive and strengthen the local culture and identity and promote income generation for a riverside community on the Rio Tupana, in the Amazon region.
The International Philanthropy Award went to The Garcia Family Foundation, an entity that promotes culture, education and arts around the world. The Foundation supports projects that promote the preservation, research and maintenance of cultural, educational and artistic institutions in the United States, Brazil and more.
The auction featured items including: artwork by Marcos Chaves, donated by Galeria Nara Roesler, which was sold to Belinda Brito; an expedition down the Rio Negro, donated by Katerre, sold to André Laport; and a necklace from Yael Sonia’s collection “Teçume”, fruit of a collaboration between the artisans of Casa do Rio, sold to Mandy Gulbrandsen.
To encourage donations, Alexandre Birman donated customized shoes to whomever donated more than US$10,000, and Galeria Tania Sciacco donated customized Amazonian umbrellas created by artist Leli Orleans e Bragança.
Guests present included: Cônsul Geral do Brasil em Nova York, Enio Cordeiro, President of the Latin American Branch of Bank of America Meryl Lynch, Alexandre Bettamio, ABInbev Americas CEO Michel Doureikis, Michael and Gabriela Green, Cris Goodhart, Katia Francesconi, Alexandre Birman and Elen Capri, Luciana Gimenez and Lucas Jagger; models Lais Ribeiro, Luciana Curtis, Barbara Fialho, Schnayder Garnero and Bruna Tenório; Julia Faria; Luiza Moraes, Tania Khalil and Jair De Oliveira, and many more.
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