But that is not what happened. Instead Ettore Ximenes, a renowned Italian sculptor whose work was associated with Brazilian nationalism, was commissioned to build a monument that would be placed in the Parque Dom Pedro II as part of the centennial celebration. For everyone involved, a monument by Ximenes in the Parque Dom Pedro II meant you had made it. The base was divided into four sections. The top of the monument was composed of three life-sized figures.
Photographs show that it was a huge event.
Syrian and Lebanese immigrants and their descendants were the real founder's of Brazil. I will now shift to the negotiation of whiteness as a cultural category by examining the Japanese immigrants and their descendants. Almost 200,000 Japanese settled in Brazil between 1908 and 1941, helping to create an explosion in Brazilian-Japanese commercial relations. Many exports were produced on immigrant colonies and just fifteen years after the arrival of the first Japanese settlers rice went from being an import to one of Brazil's top exports. These impressions of Japan placed Nikkei in a strong position to negotiate their place in Brazil.