Walter Salles
Salles in 2012, photo by kathclick/Bigstock.com
Birth Name: Walter Moreira Salles, Jr.
Place of Birth: Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Date of Birth: April 12, 1956
Ethnicity: Brazilian [Portuguese, distant Sephardi Jewish, possibly other]
Walter Salles is a Brazilian filmmaker, film producer, and editor.
Walter was born in the city of Rio de Janeiro, the son of Elisa Margarida Gonçalves and Walther Moreira Salles. He speaks fluent Portuguese, Spanish, French, and English.
Walter’s patrilineal line can be traced back to Francisco Richion da Costa Pereira, who was born near Braga, Portugal, and moved to Brazil, c. 1760. Francisco was Jewish, and converted to Catholicism.
Walter’s paternal grandfather was João Theodoro Moreira Salles (the son of José Amâncio de Salles and Ana Rosa Moreira). João was born in Cambuí, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Walter’s paternal grandmother was Lucrécia Vilhena de Alcântara (the daughter of Saturnino Vilhena de Alcântara and Georgina Augusta Duarte). Lucrécia was born in Pouso Alegre, Minas Gerais. Saturnino was the son of Joaquim Pedro de Alcântara and Maria de Jesus de Vilhena Braga. Georgina was the daughter of Francisco de Paula Duarte and Francisca Brazilina Marques Teixeira, whose own paternal grandfather was from Celorico de Basto, Braga, Portugal.
Walter’s maternal grandfather was named José Augusto Gonçalves.
Genealogy of Walter Salles – https://www.geni.com
He’s the heir to a massive banking empire (the Itau Unibanco group), so he’s not just an artist lol
That is not an unsurprising thing, all these Latin American showbiz people alwais hail from wealthy posh families.
Yes, but as far as Brazilian directors who broke into Hollywood go, José Padilha and Fernando Meirelles didn’t come from big money. They’re from middle class families and southeastern, but not wealthy.