{{Infobox ethnic group | group = Lithuanian Brazilians <br>''Lituano-brasileiro''<br> ''Brazilijos lietuviai'' | native_name_lang = | flag = {{flagicon|Brazil}}{{flagicon|Lithuania}} | native_name = | image = [[File:Lithuanian descendants in the 20ª Festa do Imigrante in São Paulo, Brazil.jpg|300px]]<br><small>Lithuanian descendants in [[São Paulo]].</small> | pop = {{circa}} '''200,000-300,000'''<ref name="Um atalho para a Europa">{{cite web |title=Um atalho para a Europa |work=Epoca |publisher=Editora Globo S.A |date= 24 June 2002 |url=http://epoca.globo.com/edic/214/soci1a.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120821072841/http://epoca.globo.com/edic/214/soci1a.htm |archive-date=21 August 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://global.truelithuania.com/brazil-474/|title=Lithuanian descendants in Brazil|publisher=www.global.truelithuania.com|access-date=2016-05-04}}</ref> | popplace = Mainly [[South Region, Brazil|Southern]] and [[Southeastern Brazil]] | langs = Predominantly [[Brazilian Portuguese]]. Some also speak [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]]. | rels = Christianity (Predominantly [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholicism]]) and [[Religion in Brazil|others]] | related = {{hlist|[[Lithuanians]]|[[Lithuanian Americans]]|[[Lithuanian Argentines]]|[[Lithuanian Canadians]]|[[Lithuanian Uruguayans]]}} }} '''Lithuanian Brazilians''' ({{langx|pt|Lituano-brasileiros}}, {{langx|lt|Brazilijos lietuviai}}) are [[Brazilians|Brazilian]] citizens who are fully, partially or predominantly of [[Lithuanians|Lithuanian]] descent or are Lithuanian-born people residing in [[Brazil]].{{cn|date=May 2024}}

==History== [[File:Praça República Lituana - by Lucas.JPG|thumb|left|República Lituana Square in [[São Paulo]]]] [[File:Koseliena-Sampa.jpg|thumb|left|210px|Store with Lithuanian inscriptions and products in São Paulo]] The first [[Lithuanians|Lithuanian]] to set foot on [[Brazil]]ian soil, according to a record dated in 1866, was colonel Andrius Višteliauskas. His mission was to aid the Brazilian armed forces in the [[Paraguayan War]]. In 1890, a group of Lithuanian immigrants and their families arrived in Brazil, in a total of twenty-five Lithuanian families entered the land of Brazil. Their destination was the newly established colony of [[Ijuí]], situated on the red and fertile soil of the northwestern part of the state of [[Rio Grande do Sul]].

From early on Ijuí was settled by peoples of different [[ethno-linguistic]] backgrounds, unlike some other towns in the region. For example, the town of Guaraní das Missões was settled mostly by [[Polish people|Polish]] [[immigrants]]. On the other hand, [[Germans]], who came from the old German colonies (the Altkolonie) located in the eastern part of the state, went on to settle the municipality of [[Cerro Largo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil|Cerro Largo]] (formerly known as [[Cerro Largo, Rio Grande do Sul|Serro Azul]]) and to make it into the small town that it is today.

One can still meet descendants from that first group of [[Lithuania]]n immigrants that settled in the Ijuí area. In 1926, around thirty thousand Lithuanian immigrants arrived in Brazil. They went to work in the many coffee plantations ([[fazenda]]s) throughout the [[State of São Paulo]]. Other groups of immigrants also were lured into the country at the time to fulfill labor shortages. São Paulo may have been the destination of most Lithuanians but they also went to settle in other states such as [[Rio de Janeiro (state)|Rio de Janeiro]] and [[Paraná (state)|Paraná]]. The town of Castro, in [[Paraná (state)|Paraná]], a state south of São Paulo, boasts that amongst [[Japanese people|Japanese]], [[Russians]] and other ethnic groups their town was also founded by Lithuanian immigrants.

In São Paulo Lithuanians developed strong social ties around church congregations. Most were [[Catholicism|Catholic]] but many also participated in [[Lutheran]] [[Divine Service (Lutheran)|church services]].

In 1930, the núcleo (small colony) of [[Barão de Antonina]], was established in [[Itaporanga, São Paulo]]. The center of Lithuanian life in Brazil is [[Vila Zelina, São Paulo, Brazil|Vila Zelina]], a district in one of the biggest [[megalopolis (city type)|megalopolises]] of the world – the city of São Paulo. Everything seems to revolve around the Saint Joseph Catholic Church (São José). One can still taste some of the culinary of the [[Old World]] in this part of town. [[Easter egg]]s are still celebrated in the traditional way.

Two Lithuanian Brazilians ([[Waldemar Blatskauskas]] and [[Radvilas Gorauskas]]) represented the [[Brazil men's national basketball team]] in international tournaments, including the [[Basketball at the Summer Olympics|Summer Olympics]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Eidvilas |first1=Rolandas V. |title=Brazilijos krepšinio šlovę kūrė ir išeiviai iš Lietuvos |url=https://www.lrytas.lt/sportas/krepsinis/2016/08/07/news/brazilijos-krepsinio-slove-kure-ir-iseiviai-is-lietuvos-1199127 |website=[[Lrytas.lt]] |access-date=30 November 2025 |language=lt}}</ref>

In 2001, a documentary Eldorado: Lithuanians in Brazil or ([[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] title: ''Eldorado: Lituanos no Brasil''), by Fabiano Canosa and Julius Ziz was released about the story of Lithuanians in Brazil.

==Notable Lithuanian Brazilians== {{Unsourced|section|date=December 2022}} *[[Angélica Ksyvickis]], presenter, actress and singer *[[Lasar Segall]], painter, engraver and sculptor *[[Waldemar Blatskauskas]], former professional basketball player *[[Klabin]] family

==See also== {{Portal|Brazil|Lithuania}} * [[Brazil–Lithuania relations]] *[[White Brazilians]]

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20040328183539/http://milpovos.prefeitura.sp.gov.br/interna.php?com=13&lang=1&id=216 Lithuanians in São Paulo: City Hall, city of São Paulo, state of São Paulo]. Site in Portuguese. Accessed again on November 3, 2005. *[https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/noticias/story/2004/04/040422_lituaniabrasileirosmp Lithuanians in Brazil and Lithuanians back to the Old Country. A BBC Report]. Site in Portuguese. Accessed again on November 3, 2005. *[https://web.archive.org/web/20040422180246/http://cinema.terra.com.br/ficha/0,,TIC-OI4472-MNfilmes,00.html Eldorado: Lithuanians in Brazil]. In Portuguese: Eldorado: Lithuanos no Brasil. A movie by Julius Ziz & Fabiano Canosa, Brazil, 2001. Site accessed again on November 3, 2005.

{{Ancestry and ethnicity in Brazil}} {{Lithuanian diaspora}} {{Portal bar|Lithuania|Brazil}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Lithuanians In Brazil}} [[Category:Brazilian people of Lithuanian descent| ]] [[Category:Lithuanian diaspora|Brazil]] [[Category:European diaspora in Brazil]] [[Category:Lithuanian diaspora in South America|Brazil]]