News from São Paulo, Brazil / News of the Month

The newspapers of São Paulo repeated with much pride the news of the "cocktail party" given last month by Mrs. Victoria, wife of Mr. Fares Raji, Consul General of Lebanon, in honor of the first lady of São Paulo, the wife of Dr. Jânio Quadros.

It is worth mentioning that this is the first time such a party has been held in the Lebanese house in São Paulo, gathering the wives of the consuls of Italy, Spain, France, and Peru, alongside the choice elite of the ladies of the Lebanese colony. At this party the refinement and taste that distinguish the Lebanese woman shone forth — she drew all eyes, not to her elegance alone, but to her wit, the breadth of her culture, and her skill in conversing in English and French, besides Arabic, for which she was envied...

With the words "Ahlan wa sahlan" Mrs. Victoria Raji welcomed her gracious guests, and so commanded the respect and admiration

of all; and conversation circled, deep and fluent, in an atmosphere of friendliness and welcome...

There is no doubt that the task of those in the diplomatic corps is delicate in the extreme... A single gesture or phrase may create a crisis between two countries... It is wisdom, without doubt, to choose the members of this corps from among those of broad culture and keen intelligence, together with open-heartedness and graciousness; for they are the face of Lebanon outside Lebanon, and the face is the mirror of the soul...

• Among the month's news: the government has conferred on Dr. Anas Barakat Baz, wife of Mr. Jirji Niqula Baz, the gilded Lebanese Order of Merit, in appreciation of her abundant services in the field of women's medicine over a long stretch of time. Since Dr. Anas was the first woman to practice medicine in Lebanon and to persevere in it, we shall present her next month to our gracious readers.

• God has blessed Mr. Abdullah Muhammad al-Jundi and his esteemed wife with a baby boy, whom they have named "Abd al-Rahman" in fulfillment of a vow. The birth took place on the sixteenth of August.