Brazilian literature in the United States lost its greatest supporter and promoter on Thursday, March 7, Mr. Domício Coutinho. Based in New York for many years, he was well-loved in the local community and admired for his tireless efforts to promote Brazilian culture abroad.
I met Domício in 2005 when I learned about a union of Brazilian writers in New York. In search of an interview to 
write an article on the subject, I encountered a very polite gentleman who spoke softly, slowly, and with a distinctly Northeastern accent. We talked for hours, not only about the Union of Brazilian Writers in New York (UBENY), which he had founded in 1999, but also about his inspiring story as an immigrant and, above all, his passion for Brazil.
On that same day, I discovered that he had a dream: to open the first Brazilian library in New York. But, as he said that day: “that’s work for many years.” He downplayed his own persistence. The following year, in 2006, the first Brazilian library in New York was inaugurated. The space was offered by Domício himself, a room on the ground floor of one of his buildings on 52nd Street in downtown Manhattan.
I was there and had the pleasure of seeing his eyes shine. And it wasn’t just that day. After the library opened, Domício and his team provided Brazilians and Americans who loved Brazil with numerous opportunities to enjoy the best of our culture. There were many readings, seminars, shows, recitals, exhibitions, films, or a simple, yet rich, chat for which he was always available.
José Domício Coutinho was born in João Pessoa in 1931. As a child, he moved with his family to Pernambuco, a state he considered his 
home and where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in Anglo-Saxon Languages from the Jesuit University of Recife. At that time, Domício wanted to be a priest and, therefore, went to study theology in Italy, where he graduated from the Gregorian University of Rome.
In 1956, uncertain about his vocation, a beautiful Austrian girl crossed his path. He then gave up on becoming a priest. They communicated through letters while Domício studied in Brazil to obtain another degree, this time in Anglo-German Literature. But fulfilling a promise to visit her, he ended up stopping and staying in New York. At that time, there were no direct flights from Brazil to Austria, so Domício had to make a stop in New York. With a few free hours in the city, he took the opportunity to attend a mass. During a confession, which he made in Latin, the priest, very impressed, offered the young Brazilian a job. Domício accepted, and that’s when his immigrant life in the United States began.
He would say that there was no difficulty in adapting to New York. After living in Rome for three years and traveling around Europe, the climate of the capital of the world was easy for him to handle.
In New York, Domício became a very successful real estate entrepreneur. He loved to tell how it all began.
He, who was working for an airline at the time, and his wife, who was not the Austrian but the Brazilian Maria Socorro (now deceased), decided to buy a property, renovate it, and rent or sell it. He knew absolutely nothing about construction, but saw an opportunity and didn’t think twice about learning. After the first, others came, and many more. In 1986, Domício, along with his wife and two children, started a real estate acquisition and management business.
The passion for Brazilian literature went hand in hand. In 1999, he founded UBENY, where he regularly met with other Brazilian writers and nurtured the dream of creating a Brazilian library. In 2006, the dream became a reality, and the space now has about 4,000 titles available. The good reception that the library received encouraged him to go a little further and found the Brazilian Endowment for the Arts (B.E.A), a nonprofit organization aimed at promoting cultural exchange between Brazil and the United States and supporting local artists whose works reflect Brazilian culture.
Many prominent figures passed through there, including visual artists, musicians, poets, filmmakers, teachers, diplomats, and many others. Domício loved to welcome them. He loved seeing the house full. The pandemic kept people away, and in recent years, the host’s declining health also distanced him.
Domício Coutinho was a theologian, author, writer, entrepreneur, but he will be remembered above all for his love of Brazilian culture and his stubborn effort to make it exist in a foreign country.
KARINE PORCEL
Journalist
info@thebrasilians.com