BOOK 1

SANTA LUZIA DO RIO DAS VELHAS*

* the name of a colonial city in Brazil's Minas Gerais province

This first book begins circa 1610, in the village of Elvas, Portugal, where a merchant of wax products and his wife planted the seeds of a family whose members would achieve remarkable success, in Brazil and globally, in fields as diverse as public service, medical science, arts, law, journalism, industry, farming, and charitable initiatives.