Object Details
Interviewer
Fleming, Peggy, 1937-
Taylor, Grace
Names
Dona Flor (Restaurant : Washington, D.C.)
Collection Creator
Smithsonian Institution. Anacostia Community Museum
Citation
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Scope and Contents
Interviews at Dona Flor restaurant, located in northwest Washington, DC, included assistant manager Cristina Pinheiro who is Brazilian; waitress Giselle Cruzeiro who is Argentinian and married to a Brazilian; cook Andres Romero who is Salvadoran; and tour guide Marcello Martins who is Brazilian.
Andres Romero, Cristina Pinheiro, and Giselle Cruzeiro spoke about how long they and the other restaurant employees have worked at Dona Flor restaurant; their knowledge of Brazilian food; the creation of the menu, including the specials and for holidays; Brazilian food and drinks, including recipe for chicken Copacabana; finding and purchasing ingredients; restaurant patrons' favorite dishes; handmade candy; why name of restaurant is Dona Flor; and the Brazilian tourist company which the restaurant has a contract with.
Tour guide Marcello Martins spoke about leading tours for Brazilians around the world; explaining the similarities and differences, including politics, economic priorities, and social conditions, between Brazil and the United States to Brazilians; teaching Brazilians how to respect the United States and Americans; his preference to work with Americans; how he would like to see Brazil and United States working together to help both Brazilians and Americans; helping other countries understand Brazilians; and preserving Brazilian customs.
The interviewees also described Brazilian holiday traditions, celebrations, and festivities, including food prepared and served; and what food they eat at home. A few of them explained how long they have lived in the United States and why they migrated to the US. Pinheiro also spoke about her future goals; living and working in Los Angeles, California versus Washington, DC; what surprised her when she arrived in the United States; and what she misses about Brazil.
Dona Flor restaurant interviews were conducted by Peggy Fleming and Grace Taylor. Interview is in English with minimal Spanish. Digital audio files include white noise and static, and some background noise. Interviewees' voice are intelligible for the most part.
sova.acma.03-027_ref1894
General
Associated documentation, including partial transcripts, for this interview is available in the Anacostia Community Museum Archives. The textual transcripts are not verbatim of the audio recordings.
Title created by ACMA staff using text written on sound cassette, contents of audio recording, textual transcript, and/or associated archival documentation.
Place
Brazil
Washington (D.C.)
United States
Topic
Argentines
Latin Americans
Restaurants -- Employees
Women
Tour guides (Persons)
Restaurants
Cooking, Brazilian
Holidays
Manners and customs
Government and politics
Social history
Emigration and immigration
Interviews
Interviewer
Fleming, Peggy, 1937-
Taylor, Grace
Culture
Brazilians
Salvadorans
See more items in
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. Exhibition Records
Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. Exhibition Records / Series 3: Oral History Interviews
Sponsor
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF). A number of oral history interviews in this collection were digitized and catalogued in 2022 with support from the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative.
Extent
2 Digital files
1 Sound cassette
Date
1993 May 26
Archival Repository
Anacostia Community Museum Archives
Type
Archival materials
Digital files
Sound cassettes
Collection Rights
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Note
The total playing time of interview recording is approximately 1 hour and 5 minutes.
Collection Restrictions
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
ACMA.03-027_ref1894
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/qa752837145-6695-4d96-873e-eea565d9c104
ACMA.03-027
ACMA
Record ID
ebl-1712088000981-1712088003353-1