| |
Back
BRAZIL
The Diamond in Your Mind
By Jheri St. James
Flying
high above the Brazilian rainforests, the vulture sees the
Rio Iguacu snaking leisurely and noiselessly . . . then with
an impulsive change of personality, widen majestically around
the vast forest stage, and fall in multiple tiers deep into
the canyon, creating Iguacu Falls, the largest on the planet.
From August to November, this natural wonder located at the
border of Brazil and Argentina is filled with exuberant Argentinians,
Paraguayans and Brazilians on weekend escapes, and other
international tourists in search of the hot tropical climate,
thick rain forests and natural hot springs. But from May
to July, when the floods come, Iguacu turns from being majestic
to formidable and hazardous.” (Jayakrisnan; www.RediffontheNet.com)
Brazil
harbors both beauty and danger: beautiful Brazilwood, gold
mining, sugarcane, gemstones—and simultaneously the
danger of one-third of the world’s remaining rainforests
being systematically removed or destroyed by exploitive explorers,
miners, loggers and highway builders. Big city poverty, hunger,
social injustice and income disparity are dangerous problems.
Illiteracy is high with 14.9 million people not knowing how
to read or write. All human life contains elements of beauty
and danger, and certainly all countries contain these same
polarities. Brazil is not alone.
The
flag of this great country symbolically says it all: green
background (Amazon rainforest); yellow diamond (gold, gemstones);
image of a blue celestial globe (global commerce) with 27
white five-pointed stars (one for each state and the Federal
district) arranged in the same pattern as the night sky over
Brazil; equatorial band in high relief (center of the planet)
with the motto Ordem e Progresso (Order and Progress). These
symbolic elements form the major activities of The Federative
Republic of Brazil (Republica Federativa do Brasil), the
largest and most populous country in Latin America and the
fifth largest in the world. Exploiting vast natural resources
and a large labor pool, the democracy of Brazil has the biggest
GDP in South America, 10th in the world, and is today South
America’s leading economic power and regional leader.
Brazilia is the capital city. As a former Portuguese colony,
that language remains Brazil’s official tongue.
Portuguese
colonists under Pedro Ivarez Cabral claimed Brazil in 1500
and colonization began in 1532. Slaves were extensively used
by plantation owners. The country remained a colony until
winning its independence in 1822. Slavery was abolished in
1888 and Brazil became a republic in 1889.
Spanning
a vast area between central South America and the Atlantic
Ocean, Brazil, like a showgirl wearing a boa, is wrapped
in the borders of Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia,
Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana—every
South American nation except for Ecuador and Chile. Named
after the Brazilwood tree (highly valued by early colonists
for its heavy wood which produces bright crimson and deep
purple colors used in dyes; also violins and cabinets) Brazil
is home to both extensive agricultural lands and rain forests.
Brazil is home to 26 states and one federal district.
In
the north one finds the extensive low-lying Amazon Rainforest,
and in the south a more open terrain of hills and low mountains
where most of the population lives and home to its agricultural
base. Along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean are also found
several mountain ranges, which can reach roughly 2,900m high.
Major rivers include the Amazon, the largest in the world
by volume and considered by many specialists to be the longest,
the Parana and Iguacu, Rio Negro, Sao Francisco, Zingu, Madeira
and Tapajos.
Situated
along the equator, Brazil’s climate is predominantly
tropical, with little seasonal variation, though the subtropical
south is more temperate and can occasionally experience frost
and snow. Precipitation is abundant in the humid Amazon Basin,
though more arid landscapes are found as well. A number of
islands in the Atlantic Ocean are part of Brazil: St. Peter
and Paul Rocks, Rocas Atoll, Fernando de Noronha, Trindade
and Martim Vaz.
Brazil
grows about one-third of the world’s remaining rainforests,
far more than any other country. They are incredibly diverse
and hold many of the world’s species and indigenous
peoples. However, the destruction of these vast forests has
accelerated since 1970. Today 12-15% of Brazil’s forests
are gone, and each year another 19,800 square kilometers
(8,000 sq. miles) are lost and another 11,000 sq. km (4,200
sq. mi.) are degraded by logging beneath the forest canopy.
*
* *
In
the mid-eighties, the Hancock family owed the IRS approximately
$1 million. Although the family business was asset-rich,
they were cash poor. The choice was either sell the family
business or sell Mr. Hancock’s collection of colored
diamonds from Brazil. Out of the hundreds the heirs brought
to Christie’s of New York, three were chosen: a .95
red, a .59 purple-pink, and a .54 reddish purple. On April
28, 1987 at Christie’s of New York, an agent allegedly
representing The Sultan of Brunei bought the .95 red round
diamond for $880,000, plus 10% buyers commission, a new world
record, and the other two stones were also sold, the .54
fancy reddish purple diamond for $65,880 and the .59 purple/ink
for $135,000. The auction house sent the heirs over $1 million
which was used to pay off the IRS debt. The family retains
over 99% of the original colored diamond collection, purchased
from their local jeweler at retail prices. The three that
sold were purchased in the 1950’s. Mr. Hancock paid
$13,500 for the .95 red, and had less than $20,000 invested
in the three stones together.
That
is just one gem adventure story. Many such stories are played
out day after day as the magic of gemstones mined in Brazil,
including Alexandrite, Crysoberyl Cat’s Eye, Peridots,
and green and other colored diamonds influences the world.
In 1725, Brazil produced some light pink diamonds. Red diamonds
are almost priceless. The Star of Brazil is a 128.80 carat
rose-colored gem, which was cut around 1832 in Amsterdam.
An Indian gem collector paid 80,000 British pounds for it
in the 1860’s. It remains in India today.
Alexandrite
is one of the world’s rarest gem, reportedly discovered
on Czar Alexander the Second’s birthday in Russia in
1830. One of the few gems that actually changes color, the
stone appears green like an emerald in natural daylight and
ruby red in artifical light. The deposits of the Ural mountains
were depleted long ago. The main sources today are Sri Lanka
and Brazil, with Brazil leading in the quality of stones
featuring a 100 percent color change.
Crysoberyl Cat’s Eye is in the same family
of alexandrite and was known as oculus solis “eye of the
sun” because this gem’s sharply reflected ray of
light produces the spectacular effect of an iris of a cat. The
best color for a cat’s eye is called milk and honey and
the best stones come from Brazil.
Gems
are not only valued for their carat value. They are also revered
for healing properties. Steeped in myths
and legends, countless beliefs and fascinating tales are related
about the mysterious powers of gems and precious stones. Wearing
a blue sapphire, for instance, is widely believed to bring the
wearer a fortune, love and even release from prison. Since ancient
times, gems, precious and semiprecious stones have been associated
with the power to bring luck and change the course of an individual’s
life. Brazil’s peridots are believed to bring about strength
of character; the Cat’s Eye is associated with power in
the face of adversity and the catlike ability to cultivate the
instinct of self-preservation during adversity; tourmaline is
worn as the bringer of wealth and is a good luck charm. Rather
than being worn on the person, for maximum benefit tourmaline
should be kept in cashboxes, factories, stores and all places
where goods, money or merchandise is kept.
* * *
Common Ground 191’s Brazilian soil came from
Recife, a port city featuring tropical, white-sand beaches lined
with palm trees. It is the capital of the northeastern state
of Pernambuco. Recife is a fast-growing urban area that has been
called the “Venice of Brazil” because it is dissected
by numerous waterways and connected by many bridges. The city
got its name from the coral reefs that line the coast. Rose Francis,
who now lives in Oregon, used to teach in this beautiful, dream-come-true
city, so she is certainly familiar with the traditional jangadas,
crude log rafts with beautiful sails which are unique to that
area and require expert navigational skills to maneuver.
Brazil:
big country, big challenges, big beauty, big danger. Such a
massive country with so many natural resources surely has the
wherewithal to resolve all its challenges, to bring about order
and progress (Ordem e Progresso). Surely the natural beauty
inherent in this land will surely remain intact. Brazil’s
soil surely contains healing microscopic gem dust, giving it
an unique value in the Common Ground 191 project. Thank you,
Rose Frances for your participation and may Brazil and all
human beings … “always keep a diamond in your mind.” (Tom
Waites)
Top | Back
|
|
|
