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Luiz Freire

" Olá, I'm Luiz Freire, an artisan, set designer, decorator, and prop manager from northwest Brazil. Here they call me the 'laborer from the north,' because even when I feel weak, I still work hard. I fear nothing. I can face death and the struggles of every-day life, thanks to God who gave me luck. I come from a big yet impoverished family, but thank God I was born an artisan and ever since I was seven years old I've been crafting paper goods. When I was 30 years old I became hors-concours of ball masks.

"I moved to Rio de Janeiro in 1997 filled with the courage and dream of working in the Carnival. After making inquiries at several samba schools, I started to realize my dream was nothing but an illusion. Not wishing to return home empty-handed yet needing to survive, I drew upon what I knew best, handicrafts. I began by recycling paper – I didn't need to invest any money on that. With two and a half pounds of glue and a bamboo stick, I began my journey. To save on paints, I made sure to use paper that was already colorful, and by gluing them together I started to create pieces that caught people's attention.

"I created an opportunity and God helped me. He sent me an angel who invited me to teach with her. A year later I had a position at the university teaching during the holidays. I have not stopped since then and now I teach at several other places too. Recycling transformed my life.

"I am very thankful for the carioca people, I love my work, and I love Rio. I was ecstatic when I was invited to show my work on a TV program. I am grateful for this opportunity. May the Lord illuminate you and bring you the peace we all dream of, for it's inside each one of us."