Latvian Brazilian
Encyclopedia
Latvian Brazilian is a Brazilian person of full, partial, or predominantly Latvian ancestry, or a Latvian-born person residing in Brazil.
Brazilians of Latvian origin amount to around 20 thousand, being the largest Latvian community of South America
.
and Latvian communities in Russia
, emigrated to Southern Brazil in search of better socio-economic conditions and freedom of worship. An agency for emigration to Brazil
was founded in Riga.
the Latvian settlers established themselves in the following localities (year): Rio Novo (1890), Rio Oratório (1892), Rio Mãe Luzia and Massaranduba (1893), Jacu-Açú (1898), Ponta Comprida (1899), Terra de Zitnmerman (1900), Schroederstrasse and Linha Telegráfica (1901).
In the State of Rio Grande do Sul
in Ijuí (1893).
Then followed Latvia
n colonies in the state of São Paulo: Nova Odessa, Jorge Tibiriçá or Corumbataí (1906), Nova Europa (1907), Paríquera-Açú (1910), São José dos Campos (1914) and Varpa (1922).
outside their Baltic homeland has been a primary focus of interest and concern for Lithuanians
, Latvians
and Estonians
alike, especially since the diverse migratory travails of large segments of their populations over the course of the last century. Essentially, the dispersal and resettlement of so many Baltic people all over the world has forced them to redefine their identity. As minority communities transplanted into host societies quite different in character and geographically remote from their native region, their history has characteristically been one of adjustment and adaptation to new political, socio-economic and cultural, not to mention ecological, environments.
Because a great variety of collective motivations brought about under distinct and historically separate circumstances have stimulated mass immigration from the Baltic, one can expect a corresponding variety in the settlement patterns and social organization of these groups in their new settings, especially when observed at different points in the procession and development of subsequent generations.
Vārpa is a Latvian Baptist colony in the southern Brazilian State of São Paulo, located on the relatively isolated "Coffee
Frontier," 700 kilometers inland from the Port of Santos
. Only occasional patches of dense tree growth on a hilly landscape hint that there was once a virgin forest that was cleared to make way for agriculture and human settlement. Today only a few hundred Latvian families remain in Vārpa. At its peak during the 1930s and 40's, virtually all of Vārpa's population, which numbered almost 2,000 people, was Latvian. Most of the croplands surrounding the colony have been gradually turned over to native Brazilian cattle
ranchers. The dairy, sawmills and dams which once marked Vārpa's prosperity have been in ruins for decades. Even a once neatly kept memorial at Vārpa's Pioneer Cemetery is overgrown with weeds and almost impossible to reach.
Though many aspects of daily life were meticulously documented by some Latvians in Vārpa, only two comprehensive histories of the colony exist, and these are in Portuguese. This accounts for Vārpa's virtual exclusion from the body of scholarship on Baltic
immigration. The information in this article is based on a synthesis of documentary remains and oral history collected during February 1986 as part of an independent research project.
For a personal account of the 1922 Baptist migration and founding of Varpa Colony in Brazil, log onto Tarzier.org. For the spiritual foundations of the migration, check out Spirit Speaks, on the same site.
The migratory wave which led to the founding of Vārpa had a very different origin and spirit than other movements of Latvians
from their homeland. Like some stereotypes of the "classic" European immigrant, Latvian Baptists were pioneers who looked to the vast and undeveloped frontier of the Brazilian interior with great hopes for opportunity, self-sufficiency, and a free and harmonious existence. They held high hopes for a utopian existence in the new country. Like refugees from famine or war, Latvian Baptists were also under great pressure to "escape" to a safe place, far from the difficult conditions that threatened their well-being at home. Unlike the refugees and opportunity seekers, however, the Baptists who settled Vārpa left Latvia just as the turmoil of World War I
, the struggles for an independent republic, the hopelessness of material privation and the indiscriminate destruction of land and property had finally come to an end.
Brazilians of Latvian origin amount to around 20 thousand, being the largest Latvian community of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
.
History
The Latvian immigration in Brazil began in 1890, when the first 25 families departed from Riga and arrived in Laguna (State of Santa Catarina). It is estimated that more than 3 thousand Latvians, from LatviaLatvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
and Latvian communities in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, emigrated to Southern Brazil in search of better socio-economic conditions and freedom of worship. An agency for emigration to Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
was founded in Riga.
Colonization
In the State of Santa CatarinaSanta Catarina (state)
Santa Catarina is a state in southern Brazil with one of the highest standards of living in Latin America. Its capital is Florianópolis, which mostly lies on the Santa Catarina Island. Neighbouring states are Rio Grande do Sul to the south and Paraná to the north. It is bounded on the east by...
the Latvian settlers established themselves in the following localities (year): Rio Novo (1890), Rio Oratório (1892), Rio Mãe Luzia and Massaranduba (1893), Jacu-Açú (1898), Ponta Comprida (1899), Terra de Zitnmerman (1900), Schroederstrasse and Linha Telegráfica (1901).
In the State of Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...
in Ijuí (1893).
Then followed Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
n colonies in the state of São Paulo: Nova Odessa, Jorge Tibiriçá or Corumbataí (1906), Nova Europa (1907), Paríquera-Açú (1910), São José dos Campos (1914) and Varpa (1922).
Culture
The preservation of the cultures of the Baltic peoplesBaltic states
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
outside their Baltic homeland has been a primary focus of interest and concern for Lithuanians
Lithuanians
Lithuanians are the Baltic ethnic group native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,765,600 people. Another million or more make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Russia, United Kingdom and Ireland. Their native language...
, Latvians
Latvians
Latvians or Letts are the indigenous Baltic people of Latvia.-History:Latvians occasionally refer to themselves by the ancient name of Latvji, which may have originated from the word Latve which is a name of the river that presumably flowed through what is now eastern Latvia...
and Estonians
Estonians
Estonians are a Finnic people closely related to the Finns and inhabiting, primarily, the country of Estonia. They speak a Finnic language known as Estonian...
alike, especially since the diverse migratory travails of large segments of their populations over the course of the last century. Essentially, the dispersal and resettlement of so many Baltic people all over the world has forced them to redefine their identity. As minority communities transplanted into host societies quite different in character and geographically remote from their native region, their history has characteristically been one of adjustment and adaptation to new political, socio-economic and cultural, not to mention ecological, environments.
Because a great variety of collective motivations brought about under distinct and historically separate circumstances have stimulated mass immigration from the Baltic, one can expect a corresponding variety in the settlement patterns and social organization of these groups in their new settings, especially when observed at different points in the procession and development of subsequent generations.
Work
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
Frontier," 700 kilometers inland from the Port of Santos
Port of Santos
The Port of Santos is located in the city of Santos, Brazil. As of 2006, it is the busiest container port in Latin America. It possesses a wide variety of cargo handling terminals - solid and liquid bulk, containers and general loads. It is Brazil's leading port in container traffic...
. Only occasional patches of dense tree growth on a hilly landscape hint that there was once a virgin forest that was cleared to make way for agriculture and human settlement. Today only a few hundred Latvian families remain in Vārpa. At its peak during the 1930s and 40's, virtually all of Vārpa's population, which numbered almost 2,000 people, was Latvian. Most of the croplands surrounding the colony have been gradually turned over to native Brazilian cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
ranchers. The dairy, sawmills and dams which once marked Vārpa's prosperity have been in ruins for decades. Even a once neatly kept memorial at Vārpa's Pioneer Cemetery is overgrown with weeds and almost impossible to reach.
Though many aspects of daily life were meticulously documented by some Latvians in Vārpa, only two comprehensive histories of the colony exist, and these are in Portuguese. This accounts for Vārpa's virtual exclusion from the body of scholarship on Baltic
Balts
The Balts or Baltic peoples , defined as speakers of one of the Baltic languages, a branch of the Indo-European language family, are descended from a group of Indo-European tribes who settled the area between the Jutland peninsula in the west and Moscow, Oka and Volga rivers basins in the east...
immigration. The information in this article is based on a synthesis of documentary remains and oral history collected during February 1986 as part of an independent research project.
For a personal account of the 1922 Baptist migration and founding of Varpa Colony in Brazil, log onto Tarzier.org. For the spiritual foundations of the migration, check out Spirit Speaks, on the same site.
The migratory wave which led to the founding of Vārpa had a very different origin and spirit than other movements of Latvians
Latvians
Latvians or Letts are the indigenous Baltic people of Latvia.-History:Latvians occasionally refer to themselves by the ancient name of Latvji, which may have originated from the word Latve which is a name of the river that presumably flowed through what is now eastern Latvia...
from their homeland. Like some stereotypes of the "classic" European immigrant, Latvian Baptists were pioneers who looked to the vast and undeveloped frontier of the Brazilian interior with great hopes for opportunity, self-sufficiency, and a free and harmonious existence. They held high hopes for a utopian existence in the new country. Like refugees from famine or war, Latvian Baptists were also under great pressure to "escape" to a safe place, far from the difficult conditions that threatened their well-being at home. Unlike the refugees and opportunity seekers, however, the Baptists who settled Vārpa left Latvia just as the turmoil of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the struggles for an independent republic, the hopelessness of material privation and the indiscriminate destruction of land and property had finally come to an end.