[Weldon J. Rougeau] met with Henrique Ulbrig, president of DuPont do Brazil and chair of the board on Integrare. Ulbrig embraced the idea of a summit to be held in August and indicated that the other board members would embrace the idea as well. Ulbrig talked about the value of the inclusion movement from the view of corporate Brazil. He indicated that the business case argument for inclusion had taken hold in Brazil, as it has here in the U.S. Specifically, Clarence Smith, co-founder of Essence magazine has developed a project to establish an airline between Miami, Fla. and Salvador, Bahia, in the northeast of Brazil. Bahia is the center of African culture in Brazil and a frequent tourist destination for African Americans. Currently, no direct flights occur between the U.S. and this region of Brazil. Smith's theory is that a direct route to the area will exponentially increase the number of African Americans traveling to the area.
Executive president of Integrare, Maria Hyeronides Barros DeLima, was also present, and represented Brazil as a signatory on the document. She said, "This partnership will allow Brazilian business entrepreneurs to shake hands with Americans who are way ahead and have so much to teach. Brazilians will also have a chance to enter the walls of the corporate world in Brazil and to do business globally. This is a victory for CBCF, Integrare, the Black community and natives and disabled entrepreneurs. It is definitely a global victory!"
Nego Gato's current production, under the series "Brazil to Pittsburgh, Vol. 2, is Navio Negregiro: The Ships of Enslavement" is a new work created by organization founder [Mestre Nego Gato] along with Paco Gomes. This work is a combination of Modern and Traditional dances that tells the story of the Middle Passage from African and the subsequent struggles in Brazil to regain their freedom. This production runs April 6 and 7 at 8 p.m. at the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater and the goal again according to Mestre Gato is to "share the beauty, variety and dynamic power of Afro-Brazilian culture."
