“My father was from a middle-class family living near Krakow, the ‘city of the princes’, in Poland. He had a brother who had immigrated to the United States, specifically to San Francisco in California. As soon as his brother settled in San Francisco, he wrote to Francisco telling him to embark for America and that he would be waiting for him. Francisco Krakoski, then fourteen, knew that there were ships leaving from Hamburg, Germany to America. He went to this German city and, when requesting a passage to America, all he could say was "San Francisco, America". So that they instead sold him a ticket to San Francisco do Sul, northeast of Santa Catarina, southern Brazil. (…) Francisco traveled among the German immigrants. He recalled that the Germans traveled not only with the whole family but also brought furniture, tools, books, seeds (like the Mayflower pilgrims)…” Chapter 2
“On the political level, the farroupilhas (Ragamuffin Revolutionaries) chose Bento Gonçalves as President of the Republic (…) Soon, the procedures for drafting the constitution of the Republic would begin, inspired in the American Constitution.” Chapter 35
“(…)Around the same time, the Texans were fighting against Mexican General Santana. They were a much smaller number than the Mexicans, but they were headstrong. History goes that David Crockett and his dedicated companions defended the Alamo until the last man. Luiz José, in defending the Republican (Ragamuffin) cause, showed the same attachment to these ideals, thus joining in spirit to David Crockett. Therefore, it can be said that the spirit present in the struggle of the Republicans was the same spirit present among the Texans: the American Spirit. Indeed, the Texans heroes got it even before Texas became a state of the USA.” Chapter 49.
“I have already noted that the American homeland is made of people of all races, ethnicities, creeds, gender, sexual orientation, who are united in sharing American values, including equality of opportunity, freedom of expression, religious freedom, democracy, respect for laws and human rights. When one migrates to America the person becomes American by adhering to these values. On the other hand, humankind holds these values in high esteem, so that those who value them identify themselves with the American nation. (…)With that in mind, I see myself as a "Silver American,” because I live in the second largest river basin in South America, the Prata (Silver) River Basin. In the north of Brazil there are a large number of people who call themselves "Amazon Americans,” as a magazine of national circulation report testified years ago. (…) One night when I was about to give a test to my brilliant students at ESAG, I was a little depressed by the resistance of some radicals to my position. However, I was surprised by the attitude of my students. While distributing the exams they began to tell me: "Professor, I am already an American!" "I'm an American too," said one of the brightest students. And so, it was as I passed by the desks handing out the question sheets. I estimated that approximately one-third of the class expressed itself thus in my support! (…) I came to be known among my countrymen as "Silver American," and in many places I go to, people lend support to me by declaring themselves "Americans" in the ideological sense I have explained above. From the doorman of the faculty to the barber, from the most humble citizen to the one with the highest level of education, I have received expressions of appreciation for this position. They say that "being American is better." ... Chapter 92
