Heartland Film Festival Runs Through 23 October

Heartland, the annual 10-day celebration of international film, includes movies from Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan (and the United States).

For more information, including a schedule, go online.

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A Weekend with Antonio Rocha

Antonio Rocha, a native of Brazil, comes to Indianapolis for two performances in the Basile Theater at the Indiana Historical Society, 450 West Ohio Street, Indianapolis.

The first, "Jungle Tales" is 7 p.m. 21 January. Rocha draws from his repertoire of animal tales with an ecological theme and a myriad of fantastic sound effects. Tickets are $5 for children 5-12, and $10 for adults. The second, "Brazilian Extravaganza", is 7:30 p.m. 22 January. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door.

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Pasquotto and Yoder Promoted at Cummins Inc.

Columbus-based Cummins Inc. has announced that Luis Pasquotto has been named Vice President – Cummins Latin America, Engine Business. With the promotion, Pasquotto, who has been with Cummins since 1992, also will become a Cummins corporate officer.

Pasquotto, 51 and a native of Brazil, has held leadership positions within the Cummins Engine Business Unit (EBU) in Brazil for the past several years. He currently serves as General Manager of Cummins EBU Brazil, a position he has held since July 2008. Prior to taking that role, Pasquotto served as Director – Marketing for the EBU in Brazil from 2000-2008.

In his new role, Pasquotto will oversee the EBU’s business across Latin America. He also will lead Cummins’ overall business in the region as Chair of the Company’s Latin America Leadership Council.

Cummins Inc. has also announced that it has promoted Lisa Yoder to the newly created position of Vice President – Global Supply Chain. In her new role, Yoder will report to Cummins President and Chief Operating Officer Tom Linebarger and become a corporate officer.

Yoder joined Cummins in 1987 as a manufacturing engineer and has served as Executive Director – Supply Chain and Operations for Cummins Power Generation since November 2007. Yoder now assumes responsibility for management of Cummins’ worldwide supply chain across all business segments.

Cummins is a corporation of complementary business units that design, manufacture, distribute and service engines and related technologies, including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission solutions and electrical power generation systems. Headquartered in Columbus, Indiana, Cummins serves customers in approximately 190 countries and territories through a network of more than 500 company-owned and independent distributor locations and approximately 5,200 dealer locations. The Company reported net income attributable to Cummins Inc. of $428 million on sales of $10.8 billion in 2009.

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Brazil in the World Cup!

Brazilians, Brazilianistas, futbol lovers and just plain Hoosiers are gathering from 2 to 5 p.m. 20 June in the Rathskeller Restaurant, 401 East Michigan Street, Indianapolis to root for the All-Brazil team in World Cup 2010 play. The soccer match, held in South Africa, is between Brazil and the Ivory Coast.

Tickets are $5 in advance ($7 at the door) for adults (which includes a caipirinha or a beer); children are free. Food is available for purchase from the Rathskeller.

To purchase tickets in advance, go online.

The World Cup rally is sponsored by Indiana Partners of the Americas and Brazilian Mothers of Indiana.Questions? Email Rosane Zelmanovitz.

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Develop Indy Travels to Europe

Develop Indy will lead a series of international trade missions throughout the next few months as part of its efforts to attract more jobs to Indianapolis.

First up: Paris, France, from 14-17 June, with a focus on aerospace/defense and renewable energy industries.

Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, and Sao Paulo, Brazil, from 5-15 July, with a focus on clean tech, motorsports, information technology, exports (Brazil to U.S.)

The International Air Show in Farnborough, England, from 19-25 July, for aerospace/defense.

Valencia, Spain and Rome, Italy, September 6-10, for the photovoltaic industry.

Develop Indy is Marion County's local economic development organization.

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Brazilian Driver in Pole Position at Indy "500"

Helio Castroneves, who was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, captured pole position for the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race during qualifying today at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. His run included a lap of 228.213 mph – the fastest of the month.

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Ballard Packs for Brazil

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard is headed to Brazil for his second economic development mission to the country in nine months, reports the Indianapolis Business Journal.

Ballard will visit Sao Paulo from 13-15 March to meet business and government leaders. Last July, he went there attempting to broker business related to the clean-technology industry.

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Notre Dame to host Brazilian Carnaval

Vibrant Brazilian dance rhythms will transport revelers from South Bend to the streets of Rio de Janeiro during the University of Notre Dame’s 12th annual celebration of Brazilian Carnaval. It will be held from 8 p.m. to midnight Friday (12 February) in Notre Dame’s South Dining Hall. The family-friendly event is free and open to the public.

The Brazilian celebration of Mardi Gras, Carnaval will feature professional Brazilian dancers performing and teaching dance steps to the authentic axe and samba music of Chicago Samba. Directed by Moacyr Marchini, Chicago Samba features Brazilian musicians who have performed together for almost 20 years.

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Dance Kaleidoscope: World Carnaval

"Play Mas" from Dance Kaleidoscope will be on stage at the Indiana Repertory Theatre 7-10 January. Billed as "a vibrant up-beat collection of dances inspired by Brazilian and Trinidadian Carnavals featuring large costume sculptures like those in a Carnaval parade, and the return of Food of Love, an exotic blend of international music, sensual dancing and sumptuous costumes," it features music from Argentina, Pakistan, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Spain and Africa.

Tickets are available IRTLive.com, and range from $6 (for the "mini-matinee at noon Thursday, 7 January) to $37 for the performance on Friday (8 January) January.

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Brazil Consulate Stops in Indy Tomorrow

Indiana Partners of the Americas today announced collaboration of their organization with the Brazilian Consulate in Chicago to open a Travelling Consulate tomorrow (5 December) from 9:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. at The Market Street Center in the Stockyards Building, Suite 1200, 136 East Market Street, Indianapolis.

Indiana Partners of the Americas is a member of the Nationalities Council of Indiana.

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International Water Ski Competitions Come to Central Indiana

Central Indiana has won a bid to host the 2010 Disabled Water Ski National Championships and 2nd Pan Am Championships next summer, reports Inside INdiana Business. The competition will take place 25-28 August 2010 at Hawthorn Lake, near Danville. Organizers say they expect a record number of water skiers from the United States, Brazil, Mexico and Canada to perform tricks and tackle the courses.

Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana Sports Program, the Indiana Water Ski Association and Hawthorn Lake Ski Club prepared the winning bid. The Water Skiers with Disabilities Association is one of nine sport disciplines of USA Water Ski, the national governing body of organized water skiing in the United States. Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana Sports Program is an independent, self-funded, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization of the Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana Foundation. Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana is a community collaboration between Clarian Health and St. Vincent Health.

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Lotus Festival: World Music & Arts

The Lotus World Music & Arts Festival, set for 24-27 September in Bloomington, has so much going on it's hard to settle on just one aspect.

For example, here are just some of the performers scheduled to appear:

# Rahim AlHaj / Friday
Virtuoso Iraqi oud

# Bajofondo / Saturday
Electrotango from Argentina

# BLK JKS / Saturday
Psychedelic, Afro-futuristic rock from South Africa

# Cara Dillon / Friday, Saturday
Irish traditional song

# Forro in the Dark / Saturday
Northeastern Brazilian party music

# Hanggai / Saturday, Sunday
Folk music from Inner Mongolia & China

# Huun Huur-Tu & Carmen Rizzo / Friday
Electronica meets throat-singing from Tuva

# Kinobe & Soul Beat Africa / Friday, Saturday
Ugandan song, dance, & drumming

# Srinivas Krishnan & Madras Broadcast / Saturday, Sunday
Indian fusion

# Little Cow / Thursday, Friday
Ska/rock/funk/Gypsy fusion from Hungary

# Los de Abajo / Friday, Saturday
Salsa, punk, and rock from Mexico

# The Megitza Quartet / Friday
Roma and East European world fusion

# Occidental Brothers Dance Band International / Friday
Central & West African dance music

# Orchestra of Tetouan / Friday, Saturday
Traditional vocal & instrumental music of Andalusia & North Africa

# Parno Graszt / Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Hungarian Gypsy music

# Salaam / Saturday
Middle Eastern & North African traditional music

# Väsen / Thursday
Contemporary instrumental folk music from Sweden

# Vishtén / Saturday, Sunday
Acadian traditional music, song, and dance

# Watcha Clan/ Friday, Saturday
Global fusion from France

# The Zolfonoon Ensemble of Iran / Saturday
Classical Persian

Did you know that the festival honors Lotus Dickey (1911-1989)? The folk singer, songwriter, and musician from rural Orange County, Indiana, wrote tunes and songs that drew from his family and community, as well as from country singers and fiddlers he heard on the radio. Each year, the Lotus World Music and Arts Festival honors Lotus Dickey's memory with a set of music or an interactive workshop that introduces new audiences to his music and the old-time traditions of the United States.

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Indy Linked with Campinas, Brazil

Inside INdiana Business reports that Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard and Mayor Helio De Oliveria Santos of Campinas, Brazil, on Tuesday (28 July) signed an agreement to make Campinas the newest Sister City of Indianapolis. The city has existing partnerships with Cologne, Germany; Monza, Italy; Piran, Slovenia; Hangzhou, China; and Taipei, Taiwan.

According to Inside INdiana Business, the Indy Mayor's criteria for selecting a Sister City include "having a metropolitan population of more than one million, an international airport, economic vitality in multiple industries and an education and cultural infrastructure able to foster exchanges with Indianapolis institutions". However, neither Monza nor Piran meet all of those criteria. Last year, the mayor canceled a nascent Sister City agreement with Eldoret, Kenya, where the Indiana University School of Medicine and Moi University School of Medicine have engaged in a cooperative program since 1989.

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Valpo's Engineers Without Borders Work in Tanzania

A team of Valparaiso University students recently returned from a 10-day trip to Tanzania, where they launched what will be at least a five-year relationship with a village facing health and land degradation due to problems with its water canal system.

Alex Williams, president of Valpo’s chapter of Engineers Without Borders and a junior civil engineering major from Fargo, N.D., traveled with seven other students and an engineering professor to the village of Masaera, where they assessed the scope of the project and sought to gain the support of its people.

Over the next year, the chapter will research the best designs for improving the canal and create an educational program so the community is prepared to maintain the canal network themselves.

Valpo’s chapter will return to Masaera next May to begin implementing its canal improvement plan and education program.

Masaera is the second community in Africa that Valpo’s EWB chapter has worked with. In 2008, the chapter completed a five-year project constructing drinking and irrigation water systems for the village of Nakor in Kenya.

EWB-VU was the first university chapter to begin a project in Kenya and it was named a Friend of Kenya by the country’s ambassador last year. Valpo’s chapter won the Engineers Without Borders-USA Educational Achievement Award in 2005 and members have presented information about its Nakor project at several conferences, including the World Education Colloquium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

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Visitors from Sudan and Brazil Scheduled

The Global and National Missions Commission of the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis will host 12 visitors from two countries next month.

The visitors, from the Bor diocese in Sudan and the Brasilia diocese in Brazil, will be in Indiana 17 June through 7 July. They'll visit Waycross Conference Center on 30 June, and will be hosted by St. Philip's Episcopal Church of Indianapolis for the July 4th celebrations.

Helio Castroneves Wins His Third Indy 500

When Helio Castroneves took the checkered flag at the 86th running of the Indianapolis 500 mile race on 26 May, 2002, he became the first driver to win the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” two years in a row since Al Unser won in 1970 and 1971; and only the fifth driver in Indianapolis 500 history to win in consecutive appearances. And, Castroneves, a native of Brazil, won his third Indy 500 today.


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Indy's Mayor Postpones Visit to Brazil

According to Inside INdiana Business, Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard (left) is postponing his economic development trip to Brazil due to the current circumstances surrounding the Capital Improvement Board (CIB).

The posting says the postponement allows Ballard to "devote his full attention to preserving the downtown economy." The trip, focused on creating energy opportunities, was scheduled for next month.

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Greek Mythology, Shakespeare and the IMA

Get KO’d by this last Saturday-of-the-month double feature film offering at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, 4000 Michigan Road, Indianapolis, that pairs two films for interesting reasons.

Black Orpheus (1959, dir. Marcel Camus, 107 mins) and William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet (1996, dir. Baz Luhrmann, 120 mins) will be shown at 1 and 3 p.m. Saturday (28 March).

As the IMA reports, "These two films share vivid, heart-pounding art direction, a theme of young love doomed, and classical literary origins. Black Orpheus reinterprets the Greek myth of Orpheus and celebrates the culture of Brazil.
"Luhrmann’s psychedelic, MTV-style Romeo + Juliet delights with an over-the-top sensibility."

Purchase tickets online, call 317:955-2339 or purchase at the door. Prices range from $5 to $13.

There will be a carnivale mask-making workshop for adults and children in the IMA’s Red Art Lab from noon to 1 p.m. Saturday (28 March).

The mask-making activity and Black Orpheus screening are co-presented by the Indiana/Rio Grande do Sul Chapter of Partners of the Americas and Maes Brasilaeiras.

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Dow AgroSciences Uses New Technology in Brazil

Inside INdiana Business reports that Indianapolis-based Dow AgroSciences has received approval to use WideStrike Insect Protection to control cotton pests in Brazil.

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Brazilian-Born Artist Exhibits at Harrison Center

Brazilian-born Emma Overman’s exhibition “Symphonies and Dirges” stages its opening reception from 6 to 9 p.m. 2 January in the Harrison Center, 1505 North Delaware Street Indianapolis. (Pictured is her "Chance Encounter".)

She says it's "a collection of works based on life’s highs and lows, from simple pleasures and trivial inconveniences to great successes and hardships", according to Provocate.org.

Emma Overman was born in Sete Lagoas, Brazil, in 1975 and raised in Union City, Tenn. She was graduated from Hanover College in 1997 and completed the Post Baccalaureate program at Maryland Institute College of Art a year later. Now living in Indianapolis, Emma divides her time between illustration and mural painting.