Adolpho Bloch

Adolpho Bloch GCIH, born Avram Yossievitch Bloch (in Ukrainian: Аврам Йоссійович Блох; in Russian: Аврам Йосиевич Блох) (8 October 190819 November 1995), sometimes written Adolfo Bloch, was a Brazilian press and television businessman. Founder of the eponymous Bloch media group, he was one of the creators of the weekly magazine Manchete, in 1952, and also of Rádio Manchete and the television network Rede Manchete (1983), now defunct.

Life The Bloch family was of Jewish origin. They suffered from hunger and repression during the Russian Revolution. In 1917, Adolpho Bloch and seventeen relatives left their hometown, Zhitomir, to live in Kiev. In 1921, he had to leave Ukraine permanently. After a nine-month stopover in Naples; they were able to leave for Brazil, arriving in Rio de Janeiro in 1922.

The Blochs had worked in the printing industry, and upon arriving in their new country they continued in this sector. Their first job was printing ballots for the popular jogo do bicho, an illegal lottery. In 1931 they obtained Brazilian nationality.

On 26 April 1952, Adolfo Bloch launched the first issue of Manchete magazine, a national weekly that became the most widely read in the country. Among of the writers who worked in the magazine were Carlos Drummond de Andrade and Rubem Braga. Bloch was known by his close friendship to president Juscelino Kubitschek. left From its foundation until the mid-1970s, Bloch Editores was located on Frei Caneca Street, in the center of Rio. Then, its headquarters moved to Russel Street in the Glória neighborhood (South Zone of Rio). In addition to Manchete, they also published books and magazines in a wide variety of segments: Fatos e Fotos, Pais e Filhos, Desfile, Amiga and Sétimo Céu.

Also in the early 1980s, Adolpho Bloch created a team to develop the project for a television station. On 19 August 1981, the Brazilian government granted Bloch four of the concessions held by the former Rede Tupi (the first TV station in Latin America, which was closed due to bankruptcy in 1980). After several postponements, Manchete began broadcasting on 5 June 1983. That same year, Bloch bought Rádio Clube do Pará, which remained in his hands until 1992.

The conglomerate's companies were then controlled by his nephew Pedro Jack Kapeller (known as Jaquito),

Awards and tributes Statue of Adolpho Bloch at the eponymous square in São Paulo.

On 26 November 1987, he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Infante Dom Henrique of Portugal. In 1996, a park in the city of São Paulo was named Praça Adolpho Bloch, where a statue of the businessman is also located. In 1998, a Technical School bearing his name was inaugurated, located in the Maracanã neighborhood, in Rio de Janeiro; becoming the only public communication school in Latin America. Adolpho Bloch was played by actor Sérgio Viotti in the miniseries JK, released in 2006.