Dona Remy

Raymunda Pereira Vila Real (born October 24, 1925) is a Brazilian cook. She was born Raymunda Pereira de Brito and is better known as Dona Remy. Known for her culinary skills, she is credited for having worked for an array of politicians in her native Brazil, the most prominent amongst them former President Juscelino Kubitschek and Jânio Quadros. She has also worked for many celebrities in the United States, most notably Michael Jackson.
Early years: 1924-1934
Remy was born in Curvelo, Minas Gerais- Brazil. She was the first daughter of Conceição Pereira de Brito; a seamstress. She never knew her father. At the age of four Raymunda’s mother married a man named Ajenor; he didn’t care much for Remy and kept her outside the house while her mother was away at work. At age four Raymunda was helping her mother and grandparents around the house and started getting familiarized with the kitchen. She learned how to cook through her grandmother Ana.
When Raymunda was seven and while staying with her stepfather Ajenor, Raymunda suffered a grave accident that resulted in her having to move-out of her mother’s house and move-in with her grandparents, Joaquin and Ana Pereira de Brito in the town of Saco Paris in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The accident was due in part to a confrontation she had with her stepfather. During this transitional period of her life she assisted her grandmother in the kitchen, preparing meals and banquets for many wealthy ranchers and individuals. It was here, while visiting one of these wealthy ranchers that she began to go to school and learning how to read and write. She also helped her grandfather with various jobs, including installing a barbed-wire fence. She stayed with her grandparents until age 10.
Adolescence: 1935-1943
After having lived with her grandparents, Remy moved back in with her parents in Curvelo where she continued to expand upon her culinary skills by way of working for her family and others. She started off by working in a household that had 16 children, all of them grown and all of them professors. There she learned how to work with a variety of personalities and juggle many tasks at the same time.
Remy then started working for a man named Jose Barata Sr. and his family. Through him she learned the importance of punctuality, structure and discipline. In search of a better and brighter future for his family, Ajenor, her step-dad, moved to the capital of Minas Gerais- Belo Horizonte. He went there in search of a good job. Once secured, he sent for Remy and the rest of their family to join him.
It was while Remy was living in Belo Horizonte that she heard of the passing of her grandmother Ana. In an attempt to forget the pain caused by her grandmother’s death Remy delved into her work. She worked for several households and companies until she came across Jose Barata Jr., son to Jose Barata Sr. that she had worked for in the past and performed various housekeeping duties and yes, more cooking.
Finding her identity; adulthood: 1944-1950
Remy worked for this family for many years. Remy then learned how to make hors d’oeuvres working for a lady named Babita. This experience would also serve as a school for Remy’s future catering business in Rio de Janeiro and eventually the USA. During this stage in Remy’s life she met and fell in love with a young man named Oswaldo who came from a rich family; rich in comparison to Remy’s family who was quite poor. Things didn’t workout and Remy was devastated and wanted out of her town.
At age 24 Remy decided it was time for a change in her life. She mustered-up the needed courage and left Belo Horizonte and headed towards São Paulo; a much more populated place by contrast. Once there, she landed a job as a cook for a very wealthy lady by the name of Corina Mendonça. Ms. Mendonça lived in a mansion on a street called Higienópolis. This would be the first of many mansions that Remy would live and work in. Here she adapted herself to working as part of a staff and learned the importance of teamwork in addition to other qualifications needed in order to work for a prominent family.
This job was followed by an array of different positions usually involving cooking and/or housekeeping or both, yet always with well-to-do families or individuals. One of these individuals was a man by the name of Clarence M. Marshall. Mr. Marshall claimed to be one of the founders of Lojas Americanas, a well known chain of retail stores founded by three American’s in Brazil. Remy suspected that Mr. Marshall was probably related to one of them yet she wasn’t sure. She continued on this same path of working for affluent individuals until she came across a man by the name of João Paulo de Arruda. After meeting him, life kept her on the same trajectory, yet in a different realm altogether.
Political meddling: 1950-1962
João Paulo de Arruda was an industrialist that lived and worked in São Paulo. João Paulo was involved in high-stakes political activity. He would loan-out his condominium in São Paulo to businessmen and politicians alike. One of the heavy-weights was João Paulo’s friend Sebastião Paes de Almeida. Sebastião needed assistance with running a condo that he had and asked that João let him use Remy; he did. Sebastião Paes de Almeida is credited with giving Raymunda the name “Remy.” It was while working for Sebastião that Remy got to meet and work with the then candidate for President Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira. Juscelino, as it turned out, was running out of money in his bid for President. Sebastião along with some of his friends stepped-in and financed the remaining portion of his campaign and Kubitschek was elected President of Brazil. Remy’s services were no longer limited to the kitchen. She actually played an active role in the politicking that went on inside the condo. She got so immersed in the political apparatus that they started calling her “Senator” in jest. Though they said it jokingly, they took her seriously as her “common-folk” advice carried weight. Remy contributed greatly to getting Juscelino elected.
During the campaign she befriended a gentleman by the name of Augusto Frederico Schmidt. Schmidt was a poet and a businessman and meddled in politics to a certain degree. He was also President Kubitschek’s ghost writer and is credited with coming up with the slogan “50 years in 5” that was used by the Kubitschek camp during the election. Augusto and Remy became good friends and she wound-up working for him for a time.
Disillusioned with the manner in which Kubitschek presided over the country, Remy refused to support him in his bid to win a second term; opting instead to support the then candidate Jânio da Silva Quadros. Remy helped Quadros with a variety of gimmicks that found favor in the eyes of the voters. Quadros won on a “get out the bums” platform with his vows to clean-up corruption and was elected President of Brazil.
Despite being on top and mingling with powerful people in the country Remy felt as if there was something amiss. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it yet she wasn’t comfortable with the things she saw within the political world, she moved-on.
Entrepreneurial beginnings: 1963-1968
Remy had climbed up the political ladder one rung at time and had gained everyone’s confidence. They knew she could be trusted and relied on her for good advice. Yet Remy was not happy. By this time she was going back and forth between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro helping politicians garner their support in their respective districts. She decided to separate herself from them and settled-in an apartment in Rio de Janeiro and pursued her lifelong talent of cooking. She started cooking lavish banquets and delivering finger-foods to various café’s and eateries in the area, a skill learned from having worked for Babita many years ago. Remy also started receiving a bible study with the Jehovah's Witnesses; a study she did not take seriously at first but would later on in life.
Remy’s apartment in Rio de Janeiro caught on fire one day and she was forced to leave and seek a new location for her to continue with her catering business. She then met a man named Alfredao who owned a club call Barman’s club in Rio who offered the use of his kitchen for her to cook in. Alfredao was so impressed with Remy’s cooking that he contracted her to cook for a friend of his that was about to arrive from the United States. The friend was Sérgio Mendes.
It appears as if Sérgio Mendes was equally impressed by Remy’s cuisine as he offered her a job working exclusively for him in his home in California, USA. She accepted and within a couple of years she was on her way to the United States of America.
Life in the United States-celebrities: 1969-1999
Remy arrived in Los Angeles, California in 1969 and was immediately greeted warmly by Sérgio Mendes and A&M founder Herb Alpert who she had previously met in Brazil. One of the first stops Sérgio made was at Herb’s studio where Remy got to listen-in on a recording of the Carpenter’s. She was truly impressed as she had never experienced this in her home country of Brazil. While working for the Mendes household she met a carpenter that was building a studio for Sérgio in the backyard. The carpenter was an aspiring actor named Harrison Ford. Remy chatted with him in her limited English and was always ready with a hot cup of Brazilian coffee upon his arrival. She also got to meet Dick Van Dyke, Pery Ribeiro and many others while employed with Sérgio.
Remy stayed on with the Mendes household for approximately one year at which point she left and started doing other odd jobs until coming across Dick Martin, the comedian. She worked for Dick at his Beverly Hills home for about five years during which time she got to meet and befriend many of Dick’s house guests. Individuals like Dean Martin, Anthony Quinn, Bill Bixby, Kirk Douglas and Harry Belafonte. Remy enjoyed working for Dick as he treated her with the utmost respect. She was then offered a position to work for an entrepreneur by the name of William Feldstein. Mr. Feldstein also lived in Beverly Hills on a beautiful estate on Roxbury Drive. Remy worked for the Feldstein household for 26 years during which time she continued her catering business. By this time her clientele list had grown to include high visibility actors like Sidney Poitier.
Through Pery Ribeiro Remy was introduced to music legend Quincy Jones. Quincy was looking for a Brazilian cook and Pery referred Quincy to Remy. Through Quincy Remy met Michael Jackson during a dinner party. Michael and Remy hit if off right away as by this time Remy was a baptized and devout Jehovah’s Witness, a faith that Michael was keenly aware of through his mother Katherine. Through Remy’s friendship and business relationship with Michael she got to meet other high profile stars. People like Elizabeth Taylor, Yul Brynner and his wife along with Paul McCartney and many others. Remy was then hired to work as Michael Jackson’s nutritionist in 1981 and 1984 during the Triumph and Victory tours. After the tours were over Remy was still being called upon to cook for the Jackson’s which she did with pleasure as she is very fond of them and has an enormous amount of respect for them.
Things were looking good for Remy; she had plenty of business and a good reputation to go with it, things were well yet with time and age things start to slow-down a bit; and that was fine with Remy.
Personal life
Remy lives in Los Angeles, California with writer and friend Javier Lizano. She cooks large meals from time to time when requested and has maintained contact with her former employer the Feldstein’s in addition to other celebrities. She is a devout Jehovah’s Witness and makes every effort to attend the weekly meetings at her local Kingdom Hall. She enjoys travelling, eating out and spending time with children. She has contributed greatly to the telling of her life story; a story that is being written by Javier Lizano.
Marriage
Remy was married once and has no children. She was married to Jose Elesbon Vila Real in 1961 and has been divorced for many years.
Further Reading
From Brazil to the USA- The Life of Dona Remy-2009 (seeking literary agent at this time).
<references/>http://www.uai.com.br/UAI/html/sessao_27/2009/07/04/em_noticia_interna,id_sessao27&id_noticia117388/em_noticia_interna.shtml
<references/>http://www.donaremi.com/main/
<references/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guy1_X66dgc
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