Born Today April 14: Aluísio Azevedo

1857-1913

Aluísio Azevedo (born Aluísio Tancredo Gonçalves de Azevedo) is primarily known today as a "Brazilian novelist."  He was, in life, far more--even including diplomatic work. He was born on this day in Sao Luis in the Brazilian state of Maranhao. If his last name rings a bell, that might be because he is the younger brother of Artur Azevedo, the Brazilian playwright who is much more well known. Aluísio, in addition to being a writer of poetry, prose and plays, was also a gifted caricaturist.  Drawing and painting were his first love, and he began both as a child. As a young adult, moved for a time to Rio, the adopted home of his older brother to study and graduate from art school, but returned to Sao Luis upon the death of his father to care for his remaining family--this is when he took up writing.  His first published work was put out in 1880, a novel in the romantic genre. He then set about working toward the founding of an anti-clerical journal and wrote many articles on the abolition of slavery for it. His most famous work, and the source used first in motion pictures, was published in 1881. The novel O Mulato dealt with racism in various forms, including minor themes on native issues and the plight of caboclo individuals in the local state--but mostly it was a polemic on local racism against mixed race and African descended peoples.  The publishing of the this work gave him enough income to free up his return to Rio. There he lived solely as a writer until 1895, when he was called upon for diplomatic duties. During his time as a diplomat, he served in a very wide variety of countries ranging from Spain to Japan; his life ending up as a Brazilian minister in Argentina where he died on the 21st of January in Buenos Aires at the relatively young age of 55. I can find no information on his burial.  The first film made from his work came just five years later in his native Brazil.  O Cruzeiro do Sul  (1917) was based on his greatest work O Mulato and was directed by Italian ex-pat Vittorio Capellaro; it was the only silent film made of his work.  It would be 23 years before his work was used again for a film and that came in the form of a short:  O Madeireiro; with the first feature length sound film coming in 1945 with O Cortiço.  His material made it's television debut in 1952 with the Brazilian series Casa de Pensao; while the most recent use of his work came in 2011 with The Lumberman, a Brazilian television short film. To my knowledge, no use of his work outside of Brazil has been made to this date.

IMDb

Wikipedia

Born Today May 1: José de Alencar

1829-1877

José de Alencar, born José Martiano de Alencar in Fontaleza in Empiric Brazil on this day, was a man of many professions, but principle among them was novelist in the romantic tradition. During his lifetime "novelist" was not a career of course; for that, Alencar was a lawyer. This choice of career took him into work as politician (he was also a public orator on social issues).  In his writing career (which included dramatic works), he used several pen names, with Erasmo being both the most well known and often used.  He began writing as a form of public criticism, this led to published work in the form of his first romantic novel in 1856.  It was just one year later that he would publish his most well known work, O Guarani after the people and language of the same name, the beginning of both his so-called works of "indianism" and his "Indianist Trilogy." It's first adaptation would be into an opera. Though Alencar wrote about native peoples of Brazil as the foundation of the nation, his politics were decidedly unprogressive; for example, he solidly opposed the abolition of slavery in the nation--he even campaigned on this as a platform.  In government, Alencar would eventually rise to Minister of Justice.  He was also chosen as patron of the newly formed Brazilian Academy of Letters in 1897--20 years after his death.  Alencar was married to the Brazilian daughter of a British aristocrat; they had 6 children--several of whom would go on to have either political or writing careers (or both) of their own. Eventually all three of his "indian novels" would first be made into films during the silent era.  The first film adaptation of his work came in 1908, and was, predictably, Os Guaranis, adapted and filmed by early Brazilian filmmaker Benjamin Oliveira. The novel would go on to be adapted into a film four more times in the before 1930.  His other two "Indian" novels Iracema and Ubirajara were also eventually made into films, the first in 1917 and the second in 1919.  In all, 10 films were produced from his novels in what we've come to think of as the silent period, spanning the years 1909 through 1926.  The Brazilian produced Iracema directed by Jorge S. Konchin in 1931 was also a silent film. Onde a Terra Acaba, released in 1933, was the first film with sound produced from his writing.  His work first appeared on the small screen (television) in the Brazilian drama series Teledrama in 1957, and it was on television that his work most recently appeared in 2005 (Essas Mulheres).  Alencar died in the city that he spent his adult life living and working in--Rio de Janeiro--on the 12th of December, 1877--dying at the young age of 48 succumbing to tuberculosis.  He is buried Rio's Cemitério de Sao Joao Batista. 

Press still from Iracema (1931)

Wikipedia

IMDb