The city of Chechelnyk in Vinnytsia Oblast will be a sister sity of Ribeirão Pires in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, Vitório Sorotiuk, Vice President of the Ukrainian World Congress and President of the Ukrainian-Brazilian Central Representation (UBCR), said.
The plans were announced at the Ribeirão Pires Literary Fair in São Paulo. During the event, the memory of the Brazilian writer of Ukrainian-Jewish origin, Clarice Lispector, who was born in Chechelnyk, Ukraine, was honored. Jorge Rybka, Honorary Consul of Ukraine in São Paulo, Professor Dr. Svitlana Kryvoruchko, and Emilio Gaudeda attended the event.
The mayor of Chechelnyk, Svitlana Palisika, also joined the event online. The official addressed the audience and thanked them for the decision to start twinning relations.
“Residents of Chechelnyk are giving their lives for Ukraine, for freedom and independence in these difficult times for Ukraine. Therefore, we are grateful for your support and the decision of the mayor Luiz Gustavo Volpi to sign the agreement on sister cities,” Palisika said.
Every year on the birthday of the writer Lispector, events are held in her honor in Chechelnyk: exhibitions, public readings, and last year a memorial panel was also created.
“Ukraine must win, then we will be able to achieve international friendship between the residents of Ribeirão Pires and the community of Chechelnyk. At this historical moment, due to obvious circumstances, I cannot shake the hand of Mayor Luiz Gustavo Volpi, but we have a long way to go. I am infinitely grateful for establishing relations with Chechelnyk in independent Ukraine. I also thank Vitório Sorotiuk, President of the Ukrainian-Brazilian Central Representation, for his help in creating sister cities. The residents of Chechelnyk are very hospitable and look forward to a visit from Ribeirão Pires. See you in Ukraine”, the address reads.
