The Last Internationale Guitarist Edgey Pires To Be Honored At 2014 PORTUGUESE-BRAZILIAN AWARDS

CEREMONY SET FOR DECEMBER 10 AT UNITED NATIONS HEAD OFFICE IN NEW YORK

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Dec 08, 2014, 03:04 ET

NEW YORK, Dec. 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- In recognition of his artistic contributions and political activism, Guitarist Edgey Pires of The Last Internationale will be honored at the 2014 PORTUGUESE-BRAZILIAN AWARDS. The artist receives this esteemed honor amongst a total of 20 Portuguese and Brazilian actors, cultural influencers, journalists, and other trailblazers. The gala ceremony takes place at the United Nations head office in New York City on December 10, 2014.

Edgey graduated from college with a degree in Political Science and went on to write two books, Fighting for Freedom: Because A Better World is Possible (Planting Seeds Press) and Negative Dialectics: How to Accurately Interpret the World (unpublished). This marks a significant milestone for both Edgey and the critically acclaimed New York band.

"The UN is where Che Guevara delivered an incendiary speech against US imperialism. It is where Hugo Chaves, decades later, gave a similar speech in which he condemned 'the devil', George W. Bush, who had spoken from the same podium the day before. It is where KRS ONE went to get Hip Hop officially recognized as an international culture. It is where the Security Council vote on which poor, innocent people in remote parts of the world will get bombs dropped on their heads. It is outside of this building that I have held many banners and shouted for human rights and seen many of my fellow Comrades get tear-gassed, pepper-sprayed, beat and dragged off by police," said Edgey. "So when I found out that I was being given the Luso-Brazilian Award at the UN for my artistic achievements and social activism, I was as much shocked as I was honored to be included on the right side of this contentious history. Since the event falls on Human Rights Day, I will also be standing outside (once again) demanding that we get some human rights right here at home. I urge everyone from around the world to head out into the streets and fight for a different world."

During the evening, the PORTUGUESE-BRAZILIAN AWARDS bestows a statue and a diploma upon all honorees. The event aims to bolster and encourage Portuguese and Brazilian communities in the U.S. through recognizing the culture's luminaries and their respective contributions.

This news concludes a monumental year for The Last Internationale. They recently unveiled their star-studded music video for "Wanted Man" and performed a powerful "Call For Action" show regarding Prop 47 in South Los Angeles. They are now gearing up to launch a campaign around the rising Student Debt Crisis. The band is passionate about this issue and is planning a more formal announcement early next year.

The Last Internationale first emerged in 2013 with their independent EP, New York, I Do Mind Dying. Legendary Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello made an introduction between Delila Paz and Edgey Pires and his longtime bandmate Brad Wilk. The drummer ended up joining the group, and they unleashed We Will Reign this past summer. They've performed on The Late Show with David Letterman and recently supported Robert Plant on tour.