Passport
- Description
- Brazilian passport issued to Adriana Belo Maluendas. The cover is dark green with gold-colored text and has the coat of arms of Brazil on the front. The passport is stamped "Cancelado" several times inside and lists an expiration date of 2004. The passport includes a photograph of Maluendas
- Historical Notes
- Brazilian-born Adriana Maluendas arrived in New York City for the first time on September 8, 2001. She had booked a 10-day stay at the New York Marriott World Trade Center hotel. There, Maluendas would study for exams held at the New York Institute of Finance in the nearby South Tower.
On September 11, Maluendas woke early and telephoned her family in Brazil. She was about to leave for her 9:00 a.m. exam when she heard a loud noise. Feeling the room shake, Maluendas grabbed her purse and evacuated the building. Outside the hotel, she heard hijacked Flight 175 hit the South Tower and later witnessed the building’s collapse. As Maluendas fled the area, the North Tower fell. Dazed and in an unfamiliar city, she started to walk with no destination in mind.
Maluendas soon found a list in her purse of alternate hotels prepared by her travel agent and headed to a hotel on the list. Upon presenting her passport, Maluendas was shocked to learn that her family had already called the hotel, hoping to locate her. Maluendas got in touch with her family and confirmed that she had survived.
Curator's Comment
The destruction of the World Trade Center ultimately displaced more than just the employees who worked there or the residents who lived in its vicinity. For many of the international visitors or business guests on the property, the disaster forced them to navigate an unfamiliar and panicked city. Adriana Maluendas’ passport exemplifies the nature of foreign national survivor accounts from September 11, 2001, serving as a pivotal tool for being identified as safe by her family thousands of miles away in South America. As an eyewitness object to the collapsing North Tower and Maluendas’ escape uptown, the Brazilian passport reflects the diversity of circumstances and aspirations that drew people from across the world to New York City and the World Trade Center.
- Accession Number: C.2018.153.1
- Dimensions: 4.875 in X 3.5 in X 0.25 in
- Dimensions (Metric): 12.3825 cm X 8.89 cm X 0.635 cm
- Source: Adriana Maluendas
- Credit Line: Gift of Adriana Maluendas
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