Gilberto de Mello Freyre KBE was a Brazilian sociologist, anthropologist, historian, writer, painter, journalist and congressman, born in Recife, Pernambuco, Northeast Brazil. He is commonly associated with other major Brazilian cultural interpreters of the first half of the 20th century, such as Sérgio Buarque de Holanda and Caio Prado Júnior. His best-known work is a sociological treatise named Casa-Grande & Senzala.