President delivered this Thursday (20.MAI) 126 Medals of the Order of Cultural Merit during an event in Rio de Janeiro
The President (PT) stated on Tuesday (20.MAI.2025) that artists suffered “A hard blow” and were “Demonized for 4 years”. The speech was during a ceremony of delivery of the Order of Cultural Merit in Rio de Janeiro.
“We kept attentive and strong, as Caetano wrote [Veloso] e [Gilberto] Gil, In the eternal song, in the voice of the late and eternal Gal Costa. The Ministry of Culture and the artists suffered a hard blow for 4 years, in which they were demonized and treated as enemies of the people ”, said the president.
Lula delivered this Thursday the medals of the Order of Cultural Merit to 112 names of artists and 14 institutions.
The tribute was suspended since the government of the former president (PL) in 2019. The first lady Janja da Silva received the Grand Cruz medal, the biggest distinction of the tribute ceremony, along with 41 other artists and producers. This is that of all honorees (PDF – 239 KB).
Among those who received the medal are writer Marcelo Rubens Paiva, 66, author of the book “I’m Still Here”, who inspired the eponymous Oscar -winning film; Actress Fernanda Torres, 59, who starred in the feature film; and the director of the work, Walter Salles, 69 years old.
The honorees are recognized in three different degrees:
-Great Crossfor the greatest distinctions;
– Comethfor prominent contributions;
– Knightfor relevant contributions in their areas.
The government did not disclose the specific criteria for the selection of the recipients in this edition. However, one form was opened for popular vote to assist in the choice of honorees.
Entities that contributed to the construction of the Brazilian cultural scenario were also awarded, such as the theatrical producers’ association, the Bahia Folkloric Ballet and the Parintins Festival.
During the event, Lula, the Minister of Culture, Margareth Menezes, and the president of the Post Office, Fabiano dos Santos, launched the new editions of seals in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Ministry of Culture.
Reopening of the Capanema Palace
The event of this Thursday also had the function of reopening the building designed by Lúcio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer. Fell in 1948 and closed 10 years ago, Palace Capanema was restored with an investment of $ 84 million via Novo PAC.
Considered a milestone of modernist architecture and Brazilian heritage, the building underwent an internal modernization and recovery of furniture and gardens, conducted by IPHAN (Institute of National Historical and Artistic Heritage). It was built with the objective of hosting the then Ministry of Education and Public Health, located in the center of the state capital.
