The centenary of the first 14-Bis flight

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The centenary of the first 14-Bis flight

The conquest of the skies

On October 23^rd 1906, a crowd in Paris witnessed the first flight of a heavier-than-air aircraft. The pilot was Brazilian Santos Dumont, who had built the plane he called 14-Bis

   The world experienced one of the most creative periods in its history in the last decades of the 19th Century and the beginning of the 20th Century. It was in this period than man invented electric light, cinema and the automobile, amongst other inventions (read more about them on page 12). At that time man had flown in hot-air balloons, but no one had managed to fly in a motorized machine that was heavier than air and that could be controlled – that is, that could be directed wherever the pilot wanted it to go. Brazilian Santos Dumont was the first man to achieve this feat.  On October 23rd 1906, a crowd gathered in Paris and saw an aircraft fly for the first time without the aid of a catapult or any other external boost. Santos Dumont was piloting 14-Bis, as had called the plane he had made himself. This made the headlines the world over and the Brazilian became a worldwide celebrity.

A brief biography

Dumont: love for machines and aviation

He had a few accidents during test flights, but never gave up fighting for his dreams

   Alberto Santos Dumont was born on July 20, 1873 in a small city in Minas Gerais called Palmira (it is today called Santos Dumont, in honor of its illustrious son). When still a child, little Alberto used to like watching birds fly and asked how they could do it if they were heavier than air.  Dumont left Brazil when he was just 19 years old and went to live in France. In Paris he studied physics, mechanics and electricity. From 1898 he began planning, building and flying different hot-air balloons and dirigibles. Dumont had a few accidents during test flights, but he never gave up on his dreams. Besides becoming a famous aviator all over the world, Dumont was also well-known for other inventions of his, such as the wristwatch, for example. The Brazilian was considered to be a simple and generous man. In the last years of his life, Dumont suffered from two serious diseases: multiple sclerosis, and depression. On July 23rd 1932 Santos Dumont committed suicide in Guarujá (SP) andBrazil lost one of the greatest geniuses it has ever had. 

The aeronautical industry in Brazil

The Aeronautical Technology Center (CTA) was opened in the 1950s, in São José dos Campos-SP. It was the first step towards Brazil’s building of top quality airplanes and its advances in varied scientific and technological fields. Specialized schools were set up in CTA to train professionals to work in the aerospace industry and to fly planes. The following decade the government decided to build a large aeronautical company. Embraer (the Brazilian Aeronautical Company) was opened in 1969, also in São José dos Campos, being privatized in 1994. Today this company sells its airplanes to countries all over the world. 

Vocabulary

1 crowd – multidão

2 to witness – presenciar / testemumhar

3 heavier-than-air aircraft – aeronave mais pesada do que o ar

4 plane (= aircraft) – aeronave / avião

5 to flew – voar

6 hot-air ballon – balão movido a ar quente

7 wherever – na direção / por onde

8 feat – feito / proeza

9 catapult – catapulta

10 external boost – impulso externo

11 to make headlines – virar manchete

12 to give up – desistir13 to fight – lutar14 bird – pássaro

15 dirigibles – dirível

16 wristwatch – relógio de pulso

17 to be set up – ser criado

Matéria publicada na edição de número 33 da Revista Maganews.

Fotos - www.santosdumont.14bis.mil.br

The centenary of Japanese immigration to Brazil

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Japan & Brazil

The centenary of Japanese immigration to Brazil

Brazilians and Japanese are celebrating 100 years since the arrival of the first Japanese boat in Brazil. Today, 1.5 million people of Japanese origin live in Brazil, most of them in the State of São Paulo

   On June 18^th 1908 the Japanese ship “Kasato Maru” dropped anchor at the port of Santos, bringing dozens of families to work in the coffee plantations in the State of São Paulo.  That was the first group of Japanese immigrants to arrive inBrazil in search of work. In the following decades a growing number of Japanese came to Brazillooking for new opportunities. At that time Japan was going through a serious economic and social crisis. The Japanese colony in Brazil is now one of the largest in the world. There are about 1.5 million Japanese and descendents living in Brazil – 80% in the State of São Paulo, 12% in Paraná and the rest in other States.

Liberdade, a Japanese neighborhood in SP

The city of São Paulo is home to about 326,000 people of Japanese origin. The famous neighborhood of Liberdade is a good example of how Japanese culture has influenced the State capital. Whoever walks the streets of this neighborhood feels as if they were in Japan. Japanese writing covers the facades of local bars and restaurants, and even Japanese architecture is in evidence in many buildings.

The influence of Japanese culture in Brazil

   The strong influence of Japanese culture can be seen outside the State of São Paulo. Millions of Brazilians certainly know the meaning of a lot of Japanese words, such as samurai, karate, judo, kimono and “nisseis” and “sanseis” (children and grandchildren of Japanese who were born on the American continent).  Another well-known word is “geisha,” who are women who use art (dance, music or theater) to entertain customers at tea houses or other places of business. Typical dishes such as sushi (made with rice, vegetables, eggs and fish) and sashimi (made with fish) have also been successful in Brazil, as well as sake, a drink made from rice.

Japan

The land of the rising sun

Located in the Asian continent, Japan is a rich country offering its population a good quality of life

In the Japanese language, Japan means “land of the rising sun.” In this country, rice is the staple food, used in sweet and savory dishes.  Japan has a population of 127 million and is one of the richest countries in the world. The political system is parliamentarianism, the currency is the yen, and the predominant religion is Buddhism (80% of the population).  About 88 million people have Internet access and life expectancy is one of the highest in the world, at almost 82. However, nature has not been kind to the country. Earthquakes are common in many regions of Japan. Tokyo, the capital, has a population of about 8.5 million people, but the most unforgettable city for Brazilians is Yokohama, where Brazil won its fifth World Cup in 2002.

Matéria publicada na edição de junho da Revista Magananews

Foto 1 – Ituverava-SP promove festival para comemorar os 100 anos da Imigração Japonesa no Brasil – crédito “Shigow”

Foto 2 - (batata, pronta para a venda - década de 30) – crédito - Acervo do Museu Histórico da Imigração Japonesa no Brasil

Vocabulary

1 boat – aqui = navio (ship)

2 to drop anchor – ancorar

3 growing - crescente

4 writing – letreiros / luminárias

5 facade - fachada

6 customer – freguês

7 tea houses – casas de chá

8 rice – arroz

9 sake - saquê

10 rising sun – sol nascente

11 staple food – ingrediente principal

12 savory dishes – pratos salgados

13 currency – moeda

14 earthquake - terremoto