[rumbling] [Ms.

Gina] Good morning, artists.

[students] Good morning, Ms.

Gina.

-[Ms.

Gina] Are we ready?

-[students] Yes.

We're gonna take everything before art out of our brains.

We're going to put art into our brains.

And we are now going to say our mantra.

[all] I get messy, I make mistakes, but deep down inside, I have what it takes.

I am an artist.

That's right.

[Ms.

Gina] I'm not gonna brag, but I'm going to brag.

I have, um, a couple of samples of my fabulous first-grade student's artwork that I absolutely love.

Each section of their animal was Britto-esque.

We've been learning about who?

-[students] Romero Britto!

-That's right.

We've been learning about Romero Britto, the very famous Brazilian pop artist, right?

When I was first introduced to his art, I will be honest, the very first time I saw it was on an episode of Real Housewives of New York City.

I was like, "Oh, my God."

I was like, "Who is this?"

It was not always so happy for Romero Britto.

When he grew up in Brazil, he grew up very poor.

I think it is very complicated, especially coming from his humble beginnings and the way he did grow up.

Think about how that must have been for him and how putting happy pictures on a page when you're not feeling so happy.

It takes a lot of bravery, right?

We have a very special guest that's going to be joining us today.

And who do you think it is?

[students] Romero Britto!

I don't know.

Let's see.

[ringing] [knocking on door] [ringing continues] [student 1] What's that noise?

[student 2] Open the door.

Open it!

[Ms.

Gina gasps] Oh, my God!

[students exclaiming excitedly] [Ms.

Gina] Oh, my God!

[lively music playing] [Shapiro] I don't think it's an accident that he has become so world-renowned.

Suddenly, millions of people said, "Who is this Britto?"

[Sirgany] The highest licensed artist, the global sensation... [Schrager] I don't know if there's a celebrity out there who Romero has not done a portrait of.

His art represents happiness, joy, love.

The Romero Britto art is very special.

[in Portuguese] [Winter] There's so many examples of artists who were not celebrated in their lifetime.

[Schwarzenegger] I think he probably heard as many times as I have, "This is impossible.

It can't be done."

[Schrager] Romero was selling art in the street.

He was fighting to show his art.

[Winter] If he could get $0.50 or even a dollar that would be an amazing sale.

The major criticism is he's too mass market.

He's just a commercial artist.

He's very popular, not respected by critics.

[Anthony] What Romero didn't do was paint and just consume it himself.

Romero did it his own way.

Whenever you work in the arts, you better be ready to survive.

Are you unique enough to fill a void?

[Emilio] Show people that you can get things done.

[dramatic music playing] [Bocelli in Italian] [Winter] The story itself is an inspiration.

And to see the man behind it all telling that story is a fantastic idea.

Usually, the people see the glory, and they don't know the story.

But there's a story behind that, coming from nothing.

Sleeping on the floor.

I think I would rather die.

I think.

Yeah.

[dramatic music playing] [pensive music playing] When I think about my mother, she was a tree, like a cashew tree that she gave twelve birth, like seeds and like fruit.

Three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine.

And then, there was three children who died.

And I put them very small here.

We all have sad stories.

And I'm not comparing pain, but I know about pain too.

I was born in Brazil.

My mother, she had 12 children.

Only nine survived.

I don't remember spending time with my father, so he was never around.

Clearly, he probably didn't understand about family and the impact of bringing a child to the world and leave them behind.

I don't know if he ever felt responsibility or remorse about having kids and not being able to be there for them.

If I was in the place of my mother, I would never get pregnant so many times by a man that was leaving me behind pregnant with children.

I would never do that.

But she didn't know better.

She was in love with my father for life.

I remember I didn't know what was happening to me.

I was in school, and I fell down.

I thought I was gonna die.

But it was because I didn't have breakfast.

My brothers, growing up, they were always exercising power over me and my younger sister.

Anytime they did something bad, because I was there, I would get punished too.

And I couldn't understand why.

I couldn't get away from my brothers because I lived in the same house.

[Zezinho] A number of people would have reacted to being beaten by their brothers.

They might turn violent, but Romero turned to his art.

[Romero] My home was so chaotic.

I wanted to bring some harmony into my life.

And my art could do that for me.

I remember coming back from school and going to do drawings under a guava tree.

Whatever I could put my hands on, a piece of wood, cardboard, I was creating art.

I didn't have brushes.

I would just paint with my finger.

My work was always a place I could go and I could spend hours and hours and hours and hours.

Since I was a kid, I was always kind of entrepreneurial.

I didn't know what that means, but it was a survival thing.

You see still today in Brazil, in certain cities, kids selling stuff in the street.

You know, my mother never asked me to do it.

That's one thing that I learned since I was a kid, to survive and try to do my own thing.

I started going door to door, trying to show and sell my art.

[doorbell rings] Somebody rang the bell, and there he was.

I remember him, and I remember the painting.

He had a few, and he showed them to me.

More than the art itself, I could see the drive behind it, the need.

Later, I was to understand that that money helped him to get some of his very first proper brushes and canvases.

[Romero] I was going to the beach one day with my mother, and we met this family from England.

The kids were super clean.

Everything was put together.

They had great food.

I loved going there after school.

They lived in the same street but different planets.

One end of the street was the slum.

The same street, the same name go all the way to the beach where all, you know, the foreigners and super-wealthy Brazilians have homes.

I loved being at my friend's house.

Their father was a diplomat, so that's what I thought I should do.

I was telling him I would love to be a diplomat.

He said, "Well, the best thing for you to do is for you to go to law school."

And I was like, "Law school?"

I was like, "Okay."

I wanted to have good resumé since I didn't have a great last name.

I didn't come from a very influential family or anything like that.

But when I was in law school, I was so miserable.

One thing is that if you live on an island, and you don't know how other people live, you don't realize you are on an island.

But when you start to realize there's another way, you start asking why I don't have food, why I live in a dump.

[downtempo music playing] There was a bigger world out there.

I wanted to learn, and I wanted to travel the world and learn about people, different culture and speak different languages.

And then I quit law school.

And that's when I thought, you know, maybe I should just embark in the arts.

A few years later, he came to Recife for an exhibition.

And he looked me up.

It had been over a decade since I last seen him, and we spoke for a while.

And then I said to him, "I want to show you something.

Come over here to the dining room."

He just stared at them.

He looks at me, hugs me and cries.

What do you do?

What do you do after?

[Romero] Seeing that Zezinho had kept that art all those years meant so much to me.

And I was like, "Maybe I should try my art.

Maybe I should see what I can do."

[upbeat music playing] A friend of mine in Brazil, he ended up coming to Miami to study.

And I was like, "I really want to be in a place like Miami.

It's so dynamic."

The dreams that I had about being a diplomat was all washed away.

So, I got ticket, very cheap ticket.

Going up to the plane, I was like, "I will never come back here."

[upbeat music continues] Let me just tell you.

People always ask me, "How did you meet Britto?

What kind of a team is this?

Is this the new twins?

Instead of you and Danny DeVito, it's you and Britto?"

No.

-You're not counting.

-I'm counting.

How many reps have I done?

-Twenty already.

-No.

We both are immigrants to America, and we are hardworking.

And we believe that you have to work your ass off to become successful.

-And now we go to ten.

Okay.

-I'll do it.

-One.

-No, eight!

-Oh, eight.

-I said I've already done seven!

Okay, count.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Perfect.

I think that we both have learned to ignore the naysayers.

He was supposed to be a lawyer because this was the accepted thing to do.

But then he came to America.

He wanted to paint.

Because that was in his heart.

But he knew you have to have a vision.

He knew exactly where to go.

Five.

Hit the stomach.

Good.

Well, we don't want to do half-reps.

That's what I teach everyone.

Full reps, because then the muscles can grow fully.

If you do everything half-reps, you're cheating on yourself and you're falling short on everything.

That's basically it.

And the only one who gets hurt by that is you, yourself.

You don't hurt anyone else by f****** up.

You hurting just yourself.

But I don't have to worry about that with Britto.

See, Britto does full reps.

Give me two more.

We know exactly where we are going, what we want to do, and we don't listen to the naysayers.

You can have the best airplane in the world, but if the pilot does not know where to go, eventually, he's gonna crash.

-That was great.

-High five on that one.

[Romero] Oh, that was great.

[lively music playing] I was doing a lot of odd jobs.

Oh, God.

It was a small pizza place here in Miami.

And just like-- I was not a good pizza person.

And I have a pizza here flying around the hair.

Well, this is like a car wash.

Like, imagine here.

Water coming, you know, from the top.

When I came to Miami, it was kind of being born again.

I was not trained to do anything, but I needed to pay the bills.

And I was sharing an apartment with friends from Brazil.

I ended up going to look for jobs.

Gardening and washing cars.

And then I find a job in a pizza place.

But since I could not afford proper art supply, I started doing drawings on newspaper.

Didn't really believe that I would go anywhere.

I just loved doing it.

There was a point that I didn't eat pizza because I sold so much pizza.

And realized I can't go to do pizza anymore, which was a breakthrough.

Then I was like, maybe I should show my work in the street and the sidewalk.

There's a neighborhood in Miami called Coconut Grove.

It's a very artsy thing.

So, I started putting my work in the sidewalk.

And then a few people bought my work.

One of the time I went to the bank, I asked the bank teller how much was in my bank account.

And then she screamed, and there was a line.

"You have six cents."

I was like, "Oh, s***."

I say to her, "Please, next time, just write it on a piece of paper."

You know, because I didn't have no money in the bank account.

Then I was thinking maybe I should find a place to show my art.

There was a new mall in Miami called Bayside.

I went there, and I saw this store.

It was beautiful.

They sold jewelry.

There was art.

Home decor.

It was a mix of everything.

And I asked the guy, "Do you mind if I leave this portfolio with my art?"

And there was one piece framed.

When I came back to pick it up, he told me, "Mr.

Matto came here and he liked the piece.

He wants to talk to you."

I was like, "Oh, my God.

Finally.

After so long."

He'd start showing my art in his store.

Then he ended up getting a space with an art gallery.

And he put my art in the mix of all that.

At that point, Mayfair was having a lot of problem with vacancies.

I asked him, "How is the gallery?"

He told me, "Oh, I'm gonna close the gallery, but if you want, you can stay there until it's closed."

I didn't thought one second.

I say yes.

And when I went there to see the gallery, I was in shock.

'Cause it was not really a gallery.

It was a hair salon.

Even the place that we wash your hair, there was hair there.

I cleaned up the whole thing.

And as I was cleaning that day, a father and a son walk in.

And then they bought two of my pieces.

With the money that I got, I went to a hardware store and I bought paint.

And I painted the walls and all the murals.

They were all pink.

I painted everything white.

I never had anybody close to me that ran a business.

It was just survival.

At that mall, used to be one of the five-star hotel called The Mayfair.

And then the president of Wine and Spirits of Sweden was with the family visiting Miami, and they happened to walk into the gallery.

And I started talking to them.

They were very interested about my art.

You know, what I was doing was different.

They say, "Oh, we have this company called Absolut Vodka and we do thing with artists.

I'm gonna mention your name to the president of the company in North America."

And I was like, "Wow.

Unbelievable."

I was, like, so blown away.

[Lewis] Michel Roux, great character.

Boy, he definitely lived the life he wanted to live.

Michel simply wanted to meet artists.

He wanted to meet more interesting people.

We had already started advertising in a few of the art publications.

Artforum, Art News, you name it.

It wasn't until sort of the next stage that he would say, "Why don't you paint the bottles?"

Interview magazine itself that made the suggestion.

"You know, you should have Andy do a painting."

Warhol was quite famous for doing pop art and playing with brands.

Marilyn Monroe, Campbell's Soup.

It struck Michel as a golden idea to introduce an art campaign with a very well-known artist.

But then it became clear that people were talking about them, and we didn't do a one-off.

We were initiating a series.

It's kind of remarkable the simplicity of the idea.

Here's what you have to do.

Paint the bottle any way you want.

All you have to do is make it look like the Absolut bottle.

And it says "Brought to you by Andy Warhol."

It became a very important spoke in the marketing wheel for Absolut.

But after a while, these ads actually became expensive.

And we hit upon an idea of using emerging artists.

And Romero proved to be... the perfect partner for Absolut.

[Romero] Michel never gave me direction.

He was a very open-minded person.

I was the first artist that he commissioned that nobody knew about.

He really appreciate to be around artists.

[Lewis] Like his art, which was bold and fun, colorful and had energy, that was also very much Romero's personality.

He was very ambitious.

So, it was an easy decision... to... make him famous.

[dramatic music playing] [Romero] Absolut Vodka for me was one of the biggest breaks in my life.

[Lewis] When you're an Absolut Britto ad on the back of The New Yorker or Vanity Fair or Rolling Stone, or the New York Times Magazine, suddenly, millions of people said, "Who is this Britto?"

[Romero] Everybody started getting excited.

People started buying my work.

[Lewis] The campaign appealed to many of the people we were interested in attracting.

Cool people, people who are interested in the arts.

Young adults, drinkers.

It made the brand a little more acceptable to people who just looked at us as a Swedish vodka.

But this was a sophisticated, cultivated, fascinating group of people.

[Romero] Usually, people don't want to be the first one to try something.

They only go after somebody else does give an endorsement.

And the bigger the endorsement, the more important and the more safe you are.

[Lewis] What Absolut did for his career, it created the tipping point for him.

It was a very great start for me, for a young artist to feel like, "Oh, my God, you know, my work is being enjoyed by so many people."

It would take me forever for me to reach so many people.

I realized at that point that success is not one thing.

It was a combination of many things.

Cannot just, I did an ad for Absolut Vodka, and that's it.

I need to go from there to another thing.

[reporter 1] It's the work of Romero Britto.

[reporter 2] Romero Britto.

Hi, I'm Romero Britto.

I'm an artist.

[lively music playing] [reporter 3] His influence has spread worldwide.

There's actually a picture of me working the pyramid.

[reporter 3] His public art can be seen at Hyde Park in London, among others.

[reporter 4] Miami artist Romero Britto was honored in this year's event.

[reporter 5] He has served as official artist to two World Cups.

[reporter 6] The torch is heading through... [reporter 5] He's an honorary torch bearer.

Hello from sunny South Florida.

[Berkowitz] He's done Super Bowl.

[Gloria] Internationally acclaimed Miami pop artist, Romero Britto.

[presenter] Romero Britto focuses his philanthropic efforts on engaging children in arts, education and literacy.

He's collected by kings and queens and heads of state.

[lively music continues] [Berkowitz] He's just... He's a giant.

[presenter] The degree of Doctorate of Humane Letters is the highest degree conferred by this university.

This year, we are honoring an exceptional individual who has enriched our community, who has enriched the world of art and design, and has enriched the world in which we live.

Thank you.

Thank you again.

[lively music continues] [DJ Khaled] If I had to intro Romero Britto, like, I would have to be like, in a field of just some beautiful flowers with not a cloud in the sky.

Romero Britto.

His energy is a light bulb.

You can see his art in himself.

Hi.

For you.

Here you go.

[DJ Khaled] My queen and my kids talk about him all the time.

I always seen somebody have his art pieces in somebody's backyard.

I'm like, "I want one of those."

Before I even met him.

So, when I met him, like, oh, my God.

[hip-hop music playing] You know, it's Picasso.

Yeah, it's like you're the Picasso-- [DJ Khaled] There's always more love than haters.

The world is this big.

He loves what he does so much.

Oh, that's great.

That he gives.

And when I say gives, he gives his joy.

Everything that you see, everything paying off now is because of all that love and blessings and hard work and dedication and a vision.

It kicked in.

It connected.

Now, it's gonna be with real paint.

Now go many times.

[DJ Khaled] The victory for me is not about how much money or trophies or accolades.

It's about the joy and the happiness.

[Romero] Let's go.

[DJ Khaled] Blessings attract other blessings.

I cannot imagine somebody out there that doesn't want to feel love and to give back love.

So, I want to exemplify success.

Love is a cornerstone of that, you know, for being wealthy, being happy, being everything.

Be everything, basically.

If you don't know how to enjoy life, or know how to enjoy family time or friends or things like that, and then become a little bit more complex because... And then there's a lot of trouble, a lot of problems, and then a lot of loneliness.

Okay.

Why the light is off?

[clears throat] Where?

Oh, it's here.

Oh, s***.

I don't know.

I'm very grateful that my dad was one of those kinds of people-- I mean, not just my dad, both my parents.

That they were like, you know, "We want you to do what you love."

With both my parents, I inherited, like, their best, like, qualities.

And obviously, some quirks, too, and everything, but... It's very evident when you see his artwork that there's all this, like, liveliness, this colorfulness.

[boy giggles] I got to experience a lot of that.

That was just a constant.

My mom was more, like, introverted.

So, it was just, like, brightness and, like, coolness.

[tender music playing] [Romero] I met Cheryl through friends of mine.

And it was a friendship that grew and grew and grew.

And then we end up going out.

And one day, it happened.

We were in the beach and we realized that we love each other.

I think Cheryl was the best thing that happened in my life.

She was the most incredible person.

Very sweet.

She was very tender, very thoughtful.

[tender music continues] She could talk about anything and everything.

She read a lot.

She wanted to be a mother.

And she was the most, the most beautiful mother for my son, the most loving.

[Brendan] Whenever my friends would come over, she would always treat them as if they were her own children.

Like, the family would just keep getting bigger and bigger.

She was one of the sweetest, most endearing people on the planet.

[Romero] She was the kind of person that she understood me also and me as an artist and my struggle.

[Brendan] She was born just outside of Rochester.

And we had a summer house there, just a little bit south in the Finger Lakes area.

And we always go there every summer.

We had a garage we didn't use, so all of it was with tables of canvases and everything.

And he'd just be there painting, having the music on.

He would pretty much commandeer the entire garage or attic every day.

Like, it felt like he had to have a brush in his hand.

Without painting, I never really spent time alone.

I was always moving, doing something.

I always kept myself busy.

[Brendan] I was always there, around, in the studio.

It was my favorite thing.

Sometimes I would paint as well.

Not like on his paintings.

I would paint my own things.

It was a very loving, very nurturing environment.

[Romero] She developed this early stage of Alzheimer's.

It develops really fast, so it's very hard.

Since my wife passed away, you know, I'd never liked to be alone.

Could be with tons of people.

You know, my exhibitions, people making lines, whatever.

But when I go to my room, was a very painful thing.

It's difficult, and it's lonely sometime.

Not everyone can understand.

What are you doing?

What are you saying?

What are you thinking?

[Brendan] He was trying to do everything he can to shield me, or, like, keep me from experiencing those hardships that he went through as a kid.

That was, like, his goal.

[Romero] It's just a big reminder for me how temporary everything is.

If I was traveling in Japan or whatever it was, I was always calling him before going to school and telling him, "I love you.

Have a great day."

They were, like, "Do what you love and just pursue that.

And we're behind you, like, 100% and over."

[voice breaking] I never knew what it means to be a good dad because I never had one.

So, how can you be one when you don't have one?

I mean, my son... I mean, like... I think is the most important person I have in my life right now.

And I always try my best to be the best father to him.

[crying] And he tells me that I am, but I really hope that I was.

[Brendan] He only wants, like, the best for me.

I'm just very appreciative, of, like, everything that he's done for me.

I love him very much.

[tender music playing] [Romero] I always told Brendan, "Brendan, never compare yourself to me.

Never compare yourself to no friends.

You have your own journey."

When you are, like, visual artist or performing artist, you expose yourself, and you open up to so many criticism.

And you have to really learn how, you know, to take all that.

Oh!

There you are!

Bonjour, mon frere!

[both speaking French] [Boulud] I love it.

I'm cooking moqueca for you today.

-[Romero] No way.

Really?

-Yes.

-[Romero] Oh, my God.

-Yes.

So, I put all that in a bowl.

Like this, voila.

Vas-y, vas-y.

I've been to Brazil many time.

-My favorite fish is moqueca.

-Really?

[Boulud] And of course, when I have it in Brazil, it's very rustic.

And Brazil is really, really good for nuts there.

Yeah.

I used to do paintings of cashews.

When I was a kid, I did painting by finger.

[Boulud] Uh-huh.

Coconut milk.

[Romero] All right.

That's the secret of a good moqueca.

Is the coconut milk.

-Fresh coeur de palmier.

-Oh, yeah.

Heart of palm.

-Oh, mon Dieu.

-[Boulud] Today, I'm having a Brazilian lunch with Britto.

[Romero] Oh, Daniel, my Daniel.

Okay.

Mmm.

I'm sure that for you as an artist, it was not easy to start.

Yes.

If you listen too much what people are saying, if you compare yourself to other people, and you lose yourself.

There's a lot of art critics that didn't made as an artist and see somebody very famous-- That's the same in the restaurant business.

So, I have been spending my entire life with critic.

There's always been challenges.

[Romero] It's a continual growing process.

You know, we can't live without the critic.

The critic cannot live without us.

So, of course, we constantly feed them with ideas.

Right.

Yeah.

-Good or bad.

-There you go.

[Winter] There's so many examples of artists who were not celebrated in their lifetime.

Take a Warhol.

How he was criticized.

He's just a commercial artist, not respected by necessarily even critics or a lot of other artists and so on.

[Berkowitz] There are people who don't believe Britto is worthy.

So, what makes an artist worthy?

[Winter] I think Romero divides opinion.

He's very popular.

But, you know, is it real art?

The same attitude that pop music gets compared to classical music.

The major criticism is he's too mass market.

He's actually in Brazil like cringe.

If you are successful, it cannot be merit, it cannot be talent.

Either you stole or you had somebody in your family who opened the doors for you.

It cannot ever be your own efforts.

[Winter] We may sort of admire the starving, struggling artist who dies in poverty and decades later is famous.

But that's a tough gig to actually live that life.

There's a practicality to this thing.

[Shapiro] He produces art, and much of that art is simple.

And I don't think it's an accident that he has become so world-renowned.

I think he is thinking, "How can I spread this?"

[Winter] The point is, if you've got something to say, and I do think Romero does, saying it in multiple ways, in multiple mediums, good for him.

But also good for the consumers of that.

He is a successful artist.

What's wrong with that?

[crowd applauding and cheering] [Romero] The more popular you get, the more criticism you receive.

For me, I just try to focus on the ways that I could bring more joy.

One of the most interesting opportunity was with Dr.

Shapiro at Harvard University.

[Shapiro] I invited Romero to Harvard College to work with my 16 students in my undergraduate class.

Romero is about harmony.

He is about finding the positive in our human spirit.

[mellow music playing] What can we do together in terms of building some sort of art project?

An idea emerged.

"So, would you come to draw artwork with students?

We're not gonna tell you what we're gonna be drawing, but would you be open to that?

It has to do with peace and conflict resolution."

And Romero says yes.

And I said to the students as well, "You're going to need to also describe these well enough that we can then use these pieces of art as means for helping global leaders understand these concepts more effectively.

We had this magical day.

This was in an art studio on the second or third floor of this building in Harvard.

We're in this room, big long table.

And, you know, the canvases were huge.

And Romero was there with his pen in hand.

All of the students are surrounding him.

The question we were asking was, as you negotiate, whether it is in the international realm or with a loved one, as you negotiate, how do you deal with emotions?

So, one of the students says to Romero, "Draw a knife."

And this is Romero Britto.

You know, positive artwork and so on.

And I-- The moment she said that, I was like, "Oh, my gosh."

You know, this is like... This is taboo.

We all turned to that student.

We said, "Why a knife in a picture on appreciation?"

And she had this beautiful response.

She said while a knife can be used to slit a throat, it also can be used to cut fruit.

Romero's artwork doesn't tell the full panorama, the full story of humanity.

But I think it tells the most important one.

You know, who we are at an essence and where we wanna go.

It is about that desire for happiness, for connection, for love, for appreciation.

[pensive music playing] We never, ever, ever went to the studio to try to make a hit.

-[upbeat music playing] -[crowd cheering] We were really trying to express who we were musically.

"Well, you have to change your last name and you'll have to change the sound."

Some guy even told Emilio to get rid of me and he should sing in the band because girls didn't sell.

♪ As you dance the night away ♪ 'Cause tonight we... ♪ [Emilio] I think me and Gloria and Romero, we have a lot of things in common.

Whatever darkness he's gone through in his life, he has transformed it into beauty and happiness.

♪ Amor -♪ Amor -♪ Amor -♪ Amor -♪ Amor [Gloria] I know that there's a lot of elitists that in music, in art, that feel like things that are commercial have no place there.

People say, "That's too commercial."

That's all they tell you, "No."

[singing in Spanish] [Emilio] I love the way he kept his dream.

He didn't change his dream 'cause somebody told him no.

Because some critics will say this will never work.

[Gloria] What good is it to have a hit and not do what represents you or what you love?

[singing in Spanish] [Gloria] It's a beautiful thing to have someone creating more joy for the world.

Boy, do we need it.

[singing in Spanish] [Romero] You have to be very careful because the more success you get, the more people want to be around you to take advantage of you.

And then, you know... And then... And if you don't watch out-- I mean, there's so many stories of people out there that become successful.

And then they lost everything because somebody come in and destroy everything that you built, or just doesn't give the time for you to do it.

And... And then everybody expect a lot from me.

A lot.

You see a lot with athletes and people that become successful overnight.

In my case, that success was not overnight.

It took me a while to do it.

But I can only imagine somebody coming from the slums of any part of the world, any country, even a wealthy country like America, like a poor person, you know, and to become super famous is like winning the lottery.

And all this, and everybody wants something from you.

And most of the time it's to take your money.

And that's a problem.

Because now people don't see you as a person, a brother, sister, friend, or just a human being.

They see you as cash or access or whatever.

And then they just want to use you.

And... And once you feel like that, used like a paper cup, and it's not a good feeling.

[dramatic music playing] A lot of people, they ask, and many times ask, "Oh, you must be such a happy artist."

I'm like anybody else.

I have my days that are very difficult.

My bed, I do every day in the morning.

First thing I do in the morning.

I love seeing my bed done.

I cannot leave a mess.

I'm very precise, where the pillows go and... And usually, I don't sleep with the pillows on my bed.

All the pillows on my bed is all, like, beautiful.

And I don't sleep with them.

I have one pillow that I sleep on every night, so.

I'm constantly in fear of losing anything that I worked so hard for.

I was the guy always in charge, the person always involved with everything, because everything has my name.

Something goes wrong, I can't just say, "I'm quitting.

I'm out of here."

I'm the artist.

I'm the guy there.

The business aspect can be very complicated because the more successful you are, the more ferocious people become.

And you need to have somebody to handle all that.

Sometimes I will go for dinner and I'll drink to the max because it was so much, the pressure.

I always feel worried about somebody that's going to do something bad to me.

I can only believe in friends that I made through the years that they don't need me for nothing.

I'm a physician.

That's my background.

I studied 12 years of medicine.

The first time I met Romero Britto, I was doing a rotation, and Romero came for a consultation.

[Romero] And he said, "There's a doctor here from Brazil.

I'd like to introduce you to him.

And here come Lucas.

And when I saw Lucas first, I was like, "Oh, my God, he's a kid.

He's a doctor."

[Vidal] We ended up talking for a few minutes.

We took a photo.

He said, "Just send me this photo to this email."

Months passed by.

I was at a charity event, and Romero was actually one of the people that were honored.

So, here comes Lucas.

I was like, "Oh, my God, that's the doctor."

[Vidal] Then he's like, "We met for so many times.

We should just hang out."

With time, he started opening up.

People are very protective when discussing numbers and when discussing difficulties and challenges because it's not with everybody that you can actually share this type of situation.

And I started understanding more about his business and what, in my view, had to change.

There were days that I came to paint with him.

He was interrupted so many times.

There were about ten meetings a day.

There was a lot of back and forth.

He always asked my opinion and I was just there as a friend.

It's like, "What do you think about that?"

Very direct.

So, I always gave my thought.

And he came to my parents, we were all there, and he kind of joked.

But now I understand it wasn't really a joke.

But he was saying, "Oh, it'd be great to have Lucas come work with me."

Since I was little, my father told me that I used to ask him to carry his suitcase.

My father has this grandiose personality.

He's that type of person that walks into a room and everybody notices.

He's a very successful businessman in Brazil.

There has always been this healthy rivalry, a little bit of competition to be able to have my own path.

I became a physician, you know, after six years.

Once you already have some sort of success in whatever field you're doing, you start reflecting, "What's my real purpose?"

I started asking Romero, "Okay.

In the wildest possibility that I come, how would that work?"

There were a lot of things that were unknown to me, and I actually never ran a business.

And then he started giving some ideas, and I asked him to make an offer that I couldn't refuse.

And I would think about it.

[Romero] When you go to work in an organization that everything is about the founder, and it takes somebody or takes someone that really love and care so much to really make sure you protect that.

I asked him, first, I would have to come as the CEO of the company, and the second was to have a white card.

The white card means that I could basically do anything that I put in the business plan that I said I would do.

And I ended up putting a business plan for him about 60 pages.

And I asked him, "If I can execute this business plan, I would put a hold on my career as medical doctor and I would come and work for you, for the organization.

It's such a peace of mind when you have that in someone.

And then I could do my art.

[Vidal] The next morning, he calls me and said, "Hey, anything you want.

I want you here."

That was definitely an offer I couldn't refuse.

[people clapping in rhythm] [indistinct chanting] [Romero] Hello, everyone.

Good morning, everyone.

Good morning, Britto team.

[all] Good morning!

[Vidal] I would never imagine, ever, that I would come to run this big business.

You know, it fills my heart with joy, when we're doing a review, and we hear that you feel like this is a home.

So, I really appreciate all of you and I'm thankful to be part of this team.

-Thank you.

-[cheering] [Vidal] My job here is to make our operation to be even more successful.

To bring more revenue.

To bring more jobs.

Increase the number of retail operations.

A variety of products which will also franchise all over the world.

We have collaborated through the years with incredible brands.

Coca-Cola, Mattel with Barbie, Disney over 20 years.

[Newman] He's the only artist ever given permission by Disney licensing-wise to change the articles of clothing and the details on the Disney characters.

[Vidal] And the studio is considered the largest art studio in history, 60,000 square feet.

The entire surroundings is gonna be bigger than the White House.

[woman] Smile.

I'm David.

Very nice to meet you.

Welcome.

[man] Like Willy Wonka.

[chuckles] Awesome.

[David] When Romero first came to Miami back in the mid-to-late '80s, he couldn't afford a lot of material.

So, he would find newspapers on the street, and then use those to paint on.

So, Raul and Why Not?

Those are the two we love.

Right?

-That's the set, right?

-Yeah.

All right.

So, $900,000 for the pair?

-There you go.

-All right.

We'll bring them to your new home.

Set them up, Judy.

-Cool.

-Congratulations.

That's awesome.

Wow.

We want to have not hundreds, we wanna have a thousand stores in the next ten years.

[upbeat music playing] [Romero] It's been a dream today to happen because to have my art in here, in this first Britto concept store.

[crowd applauding] And it's a true dream.

And I cannot thank you enough to Lucas because he's a real trailblazer.

He made it happen.

And Miami.

Because Miami embraced my art like nowhere else.

And... And also, I want to thank everybody that came to here today.

Without you, your support, each one of you.

It's been so special to me.

[Romero] It's been, for me, one of those moments.

I wake up in the morning, and I know I'm gonna paint.

And I don't have to worry about the business side of it because the business side of it is the most difficult part for an artist.

[man 1] ...two, one, go!

-[man 2] Whoo!

-[crowd cheering] [scratching] [upbeat music playing] [indistinct chatter] My ambitions is to take the company to the revenue of $1 billion.

[lively music playing] I want to be more involved in the community.

Romero started that idea that an artist should share his work not only on a canvas to a museum or to a gallery, but actually, he can share that with a bigger audience.

And one of the events that we're doing this year is for the Kentucky Derby.

[dramatic music playing] [announcer] And they're off in the Kentucky Derby!

There goes Lucky Strike.

Following right behind him is Forequarters.

Midnight Mystic taking the lead, followed quickly by Golden Thunderbolts... Here comes Forequarters.

Forequarters has won it.

Forequarters has won.

Forequarters is the champion.

I never thought that I would have attention with so many people.

The sun is shining, and we are here along the track, and we are excited to see some of the beautiful artwork by Romero Britto.

[Vidal] They reached out and they were very emphatic on how much they wanted Romero to do not only the invitations but the whole merchandising.

I was blown away.

We just didn't know what to expect.

[upbeat music playing] Caitlin Free joining you here live from Churchill Downs.

The Kentucky Derby is up next.

This is what we've waited for.

This is the moment.

This is where it all takes place.

The field has significantly changed.

Big scratch of the favorite Forte.

We have 18 horses left in the gate.

[presenter] Welcome to the Longines Derby Oaks fashion showing.

[Vidal] Those moments are priceless.

[Romero] So many things happen at the same time that you have to step back.

Seeing beautiful hats today here.

[Vidal] We had the CEO of Churchill Downs purchase the actual the official original painting that Romero created.

Such a pleasure.

How are you?

Thank you so much for collecting my work.

[Carstanjen] I don't know if you recognize this, but-- Oh, my God.

Of course I recognize this.

It's gonna be in our home soon uh, for this special derby.

50th anniversary of Secretariat.

It's everybody's favorite part of this year's derby.

[lively chatter] Britto!

I can't explain.

I just like this guy.

[lively music playing] [Romero] A hundred forty-nine years is incredible, right?

And you know, the derby is all about fashion, style and colors.

As an artist, I'm sure you appreciate that.

Oh, oh, look at this.

Look.

[inaudible dialogue] First, the number six, for my son, Brendan.

Yeah.

-[laughs] -Oh, my God.

Okay.

Lucas is like, a mix, like, father figure.

A brother.

Best friend.

[announcer] And they're off!

There goes Lucky Strike.

This is a thrilling race here at Churchill Downs.

It's going to be Wild Heart to win the Kentucky Derby!

Bromance.

And I think it reflects what it is.

And if you see, like, George Clooney and Matt Damon... So... Oh, I'm probably, like, more like George Clooney.

[Vidal] The joy of being next to him and the joy to be around this brilliant artist.

[man] How many of you got drinks in your hand?

-[crowd cheering] -[man] Okay.

-Okay.

-[Vidal] I think he's a genius.

But above everything, I see him as my best friend.

And for that reason, when I talk to him, I'm talking from my heart.

[Romero] He means everything for me.

He's my best friend, my confidant.

I don't know if something happened to Lucas.

[sobbing] The other day, I dreamed that Lucas was killed by a crocodile.

Oh, no.

Everything is-- [laughing] No crocodile.

I mean, I don't feel embarrassed to tell.

One day, I was telling a friend of mine how great Lucas was.

And people say, "Are you not scared that he will take off?"

No, I'm telling the truth.

I mean, everybody is free to do whatever they want.

But Lucas always think the best for me.

Always.

But I'm very grateful to you, brother.

-I really do.

-No.

But thank you.

-I really do.

-You mean everything.

And I think you deserve everything.

[Vidal] Romero means everything to me.

His purpose became my purpose, you know?

And maybe that's what I was always looking for.

Is a... Is a real purpose.

[joyful music playing] [Anthony] If you choose an art form, you have to be a lifer, man.

Like, I'm a lifer.

I gave my life to this.

I was born and raised in New York.

And I've done pop music, but I've given my life to salsa music.

And, you know, all the purists come out.

"Oh, you're not really a salcero."

I'm like, "Then what the hell am I?"

Oh, my God.

I'm so glad.

My brother.

God, it's been so long I see you.

-How are you?

-I'm good.

I'm good.

I never studied music in my life.

-Me too.

I never.

-I never-- I just found a way to express myself and made it my craft, made it my life.

And at every critic, I would say, "When's the last time you made a salsa album?

Have you ever recorded a salsa album or what?

I don't understand where the expertise comes from."

We felt that sting, but we've also persevered.

And that's where you carve out your identity.

My art form is slightly different.

It touches people the same way, but I can't touch music.

I've never seen music.

And it's been my lover for years, and I don't know what it looks like.

Right?

I've never touched it, but it touched me.

It inspires me.

And I used to say to people, my art is like music for people's eyes, you know what I mean?

It evokes.

Getting to Romero.

That's something that we have in common, for damn sure.

You're not gonna be unique if you're singing what everybody else is doing, or producing, or writing or painting.

There's a certain kind of person who just gives their art to expressing themselves in the name of it, meaning something to other people.

You can be in awe at a combination of color and just going, "I would've never thought of that."

It's expression in a very unique way.

Every time I saw some installation I would just smile and just go... [chuckles] We've been aware of each other since we both started, but I've always looked at it, right.

And we became great friends, and we're sitting here, having weathered a million things, celebrating all those people we wanted to say, "F*** you too."

Your value isn't what you bring to the table, not how good you can do something that was already invented.

Just do it your way and your time will come.

[Romero] So, when it came to the final chapter, I want to go back to one of my favorite, all-time favorite paintings that I created, which was A New Day.

All of us, no matter where you're from, we are always looking for another day and to be happy.

But happiness is something that is never in one place.

It's in many places.

And keep evolving, keep growing and so many things.

And that's why we are always looking for tomorrow.

[people applauding and whooping] [presenter] Ladies and gentlemen... welcome to the 21st anniversary... FedEx/St.

Jude Angels & Stars Gala.

[downtempo music playing] [presenter] We are so glad you're here.

Welcome to the 21st annual FedEx/St.

Jude Angels & Stars Gala.

Bienvenido a todos.

We are so honored to be here today with you celebrating a cause that we believe in so deeply.

St.

Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Some artists, they express themselves, you know, you can see in their work the pain of how they see the world that's so dark, and they put in their work and how they express.

I think, in my case, I always wanted to bring to me happiness.

[giggling] [Romero] OMG.

-OMG.

-Hold on, hold on.

[laughter] -Put the cable inside there.

-Where?

-Right there?

-It's right here.

Okay.

Next, we get the honor to recognize our 2023 honoree of the FedEx Angels & Stars Lifetime Achievement Award.

-Hi.

You good there?

-Yeah.

You think this might fit in here?

How are you doing in there?

[gasps then speaking Spanish] [babbles] [Romero] There was a moment to me that I feel like, "My God, the world is falling apart, and I'm here in this place doing all this beautiful art.

I felt like I was doing something that was not important.

[giggles] [in Spanish] Look at the bear, baby!

[in Spanish] This one is really pretty, look.

[in English] The more I thought about we all have a role in a community, in the society, that each one of us brings something.

Good evening to all of you.

I'm so grateful you're all here.

[Romero] Like a musician create a piece of a music that can inspire you to do something great, a painting also can do it to people.

You know, the late Lebanese poet Khalil Gibran once said, "You give but little when you give of your possessions, but it's when you give of yourself that you truly give."

Thirty-five years ago, Romero came to this country with nothing in his pocket, but a huge dream in his heart.

And even then, he opened his heart, and he gave all of it to St.

Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Romero, you, for decades, have given light and joy and color to the sickest kids and their families.

-This is Alison.

-[Romero] Hi, Alison.

[in Spanish] Hi, how are you?

Ah!

[chuckling] [in Spanish] Well, thank you so much.

[in Spanish] It's my pleasure.

Nice to meet you.

[Berkowitz] He may be the most charitable person I've ever met.

He doesn't say no.

If there's a worthwhile organization and they need help, they want a piece of art donated, Romero steps up.

He's everywhere.

Well, your shoes are my favorite.

Mi favorito.

[Sirgany] And now, because of your grit, your determination, your art and your heart, you have gone from nothing in your pocket to your dreams coming true.

The highest licensed artist, the global sensation you are.

And you know what?

His heart is the same.

You have not changed one bit.

He is not putting on a show.

He is who he is.

And he will be that way with my 16 students in my class.

He will be that way as he's meeting with Arnold Schwarzenegger.

He will not be different.

And I think there's a generosity to his spirit.

Number one, he's an incredible artist.

Number two, he's a great human being.

When you combine two elements, that's a beautiful thing to have.

[Sirgany] So, on behalf of the entire St.

Jude Hospital and our family there, it is my profound privilege and all of my love to welcome Romero Britto with the St.

Jude Lifetime Achievement Award.

Bravo.

[guests applauding] I get messy, I make mistakes, but deep down inside, I have what it takes.

I am an artist.

That's right.

Romero Britto.

Yes.

He's one of my favorites.

I am a fan.

-What do you think, Sela?

-You see his artwork on something.

It makes me so much better because it distracts you of what's sad and brings in the happy.

Exactly.

That would... I don't wanna get choked up.

That would mean the absolute world.

And that would not only validate what I do every day and what gets me out of bed, but that would validate why all of my children are learning about him.

We have a very special guest that's going to be joining us today.

Yep.

We're going to have a very special guest.

And who do you think it is?

[students] Romero Britto!

[Ms.

Gina] I don't know.

Let's see.

[ringing] [knocking on door] -[student 1] What's that noise?

-[student 2] Open the door.

Open it!

[gasps] Oh, my God.

-[students exclaiming excitedly] -Oh, my God!

[students chattering excitedly] I know.

Thank you so much.

What a surprise!

-[students exclaiming] -[Romero] Oh, my God.

Can you imagine... I was actually about to cry there, coming over here.

-Thank you.

-[Ms.

Gina] Thank you.

Oh, my God.

My friends, I just want-- I am so happy to share this moment with all of us here together.

But I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you.

[Romero] Aw.

Thank you for spreading your love.

Thank you for spreading your joy.

Despite all the hard moments in life.

And I know I've had a few.

Thank you for being an inspiration to all of us, to my students at this level.

This is a moment we will never, ever forget for the rest of our lives.

And I just-- I'm honored and I'm grateful.

Thank you for being here.

-Me too.

-Can I give you another hug?

Yeah, let's give another hug.

[grunts] [students chattering and applauding] Huh?

[Ms.

Gina] My students love him.

There's nothing simple about this.

To be able to come from a place of pain but put joy on a canvas is pretty higher level.

If anyone has a burning question that they wanna ask Mr.

Britto.

It's not really a question, but when you came in, I knew it was you -because of your T-shirt.

-Really?

Well, a lot of people recognize me because of my hair.

[student] I love your shirt.

[Ms.

Gina] To say, "Okay, I'm not going to put rage in my work.

I'm not going to put anger or sadness.

That's not what I wanna do.

I want to spread joy because I lacked that at a certain point of my life.

So, maybe I can be a little bit of a life raft for someone else.

[students chattering] [Ms.

Gina gasps] -[student 1] No.

-Yeah.

[student 1] No!

[students chattering] -Yeah.

-[student 2] OMG.

And I can't believe that this is ours.

-Thank you so much.

-It's our pleasure.

[Romero] So, you guys can each write your name.

So grateful for you to be here.

Aw, thank you.

[in Italian] [Gloria] Each of us is unique, so the only one that can really tell anyone what your art should be like is you.

It's not about how much money or trophies or accolades.

It's about the joy and the happiness.

[Schwarzenegger] This is a very important lesson for a lot of people out there.

That if they have a great idea and a great vision, which is the most important thing in life.

If you don't have a vision, you don't know which direction to go.

You eventually bumble all over the place.

If you're a lifer, if this is what you wanna do, do what you do.

Find your lane.

[Emilio] As long as you're authentic and you're real, I think people capture that.

People know when you are doing something that is real.

[DJ Khaled] It takes hard work, dedication, and a lot of avoiding frustration.

[Ronaldinho in Portuguese] [DJ Khaled] If you entertain the hate, all you're doing is slowing yourself down.

[announcer] They're off in the Kentucky Derby!

[Stewart] You have to really find like-minded people to work with.

Get people who really like your idea and will work with you to make that idea happen.

[Vidal] We have Romero's work selling in more than 200 galleries all over the world.

[Boulud] It's never gonna be perfect.

It's never gonna be always easy.

[Romero] Don't wait to share your art.

Don't wait for the grand moment to create something spectacular.

[DJ Khaled] When you put out great energy, you'll get great energy back.

You have to dream.

Be hardworking and never give up.

And then something spectacular can happen.

[Brendan] It's very important to do the things that you love, the things that make you be alive.

The thing that makes you excited to wake up the next day.

[all] We love you!

Thank you!

Thank you!

That just made my day!

[Ms.

Gina] To be able to have the reach of your art helping in peace negotiations, and then on the other side of that... What just happened?

[overlapping excited chatter] Bringing joy to first graders.

I mean, come on.

Who does that?

I hope that when somebody stand in front of one of my paintings, they're going to remind us that we are human and we need to have that beautiful thing inside of our hearts that feel like, "Oh, my God, I'm alive.

I'm a human being.

And I'm in this world.

This is a great opportunity to be here.

And it's a very temporary thing.

[kids laughing] [paintbrush scraping] [tranquil music playing]