Major Characters of Portuguese History and Culture

Major Characters of Portuguese History and Culture Brito Camacho (1862 – 1934) Journalist by calling and politician by conviction, Manuel de Brito Camacho, minister for public works of the provisional government of the 1st Republic, was born in Monte de Mesas, on 12 February 1862, and went to high school in Beja, before enrolling in a Medicine course, at the Escola Médico-Cirúrgica, in Lisbon. In 1885 he began attending the Republican Party congresses and in 1906 he founded the A Lucta periodical, the first propaganda tool of the Republic. His sharp and incisive pen, which places public wellbeing above the private and does not shy away from party interests, creates some enemies, on the left and the right of the political spectrum. His tenacity, his rigour and an immaculate political patriotism, however, make him a tutelary figure of the Republican Union Party, which he establishes in 1911. Between the years of 1921 and 1923 he takes on the role of High Commissioner of the Republic, in Mozambique. In this capacity he is responsible for important reforms in the education and health systems of the former colony. Once he retired from political life, Brito Camacho celebrates his homeland in part of the literary work which fills the last years of his life. He died in Lisbon, on 19 September 1934. Marcos Portugal (1762 – 1830) The most prolific and international of Portuguese composers, Marcos Portugal, was born in Lisbon, in 1762. At the service of Queen D. Maria I and King D. João VI, he creates sacred works for the royal chapels’ festivities. However, it is for writing comic operas – opera “buffa” – that his name gains international recognition. Marcos Portugal moves to Italy, in 1792, where he premiers more than 20 operas, some of which guaranteed his success in key European cities. Upon his return to Portugal in 1800, he becomes master of the Seminário da Patriarcal and maestro of the Real Teatro de S. Carlos, where he composes some “serious” operas performed, for the most part, by Angelica Catalani. Following the court’s departure for Brazil, Marcos Portugal moves to Rio de Janeiro, in 1811, taking on the responsibilities of master of His Royal Highnesses. In 1820 he was awarded the Comenda da Ordem de Cristo. When the Portuguese court returns, he does not follow but remains at the service of his pupil, the Emperor D. Pedro I of Brazil. He died in 1830, in Rio de Janeiro. He is the author of Brazil’s Independence Anthem. António Vilar (1912 – 1995) The man who lent his face to some of the most emblematic characters of the Portuguese literary and cultural pantheon – from the ruthless D. Pedro to the worldly Camões – was born on 13 October 1912, in Lisbon. Before making a name for himself in front of the cameras, he was a radio singer, reporter for O Século, bank clerk and assistant director. Despite small cinema roles, his real debut came with the film Feitiço do Império, in a performance that did not go unnoticed. Two years later, António Vilar played his first leading role, as Carlos Bonito, in the unmissable O Pátio das Cantigas. From strength to strength, Vilar consolidates his career with an increasingly enthusiastic reception from the critics. The roles of Pedro, the Cruel, in Inês de Castro, and of Camões, in the homonymous film by Leitão de Barros that premiered in 1946, opened up a world of opportunities. In the following years, António Vilar worked in Argentina, Italy, Brazil, the United States of America, France and Spain, where he settled down at the end of the 1940s and where he starred in around 40 films. Plentifully blessed, the actor dedicates his last years to the dream of producing a film about Ferdinand Magellan, funded with his own money. Even though the dream of bringing the explorer’s achievements to the big screen did not come true, we are left with a replica of a ship that was donated, upon his death, to the collection of the National Commission of the Portuguese Discoveries. Tecnical Data Emissão / issue 2012 / 02 / 13 Selos / stamps €0,32 - 235 000 €0,68 - 185 000 €0,80 - 135 000 Design - Folk Design / Sofia Martins Créditos / Credits Selo €0,32 - Marcos António Portugal, pintado por Debret e aberto por Pradier. Gravura da Autoria de Charles-Simon Pradier (1783-1847) baseada na pintura de Jean -Baptiste Debret (1768-1848). A obra de Debret deverá datar de c.1820-182; Te Deum laudamus Com toda a orquestra, música de Marcos Portugal, promenor do manuscrito original, Rio de Janeiro 1817. Fotos área de música da Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal. Selo €0,68 - Pormenor da primeira página do jornal A Lucta, de 5 de Outubro de 1910 (2.ª edição, arquivo Hemeroteca Municipal de Lisboa; Brito Camacho, foto col. particular; Selo €0,80 - António Vilar, em provável produção espanhola contracenando com Carmen Dolores, em A Vizinha do Lado, de António Lopes Ribeiro, 1945, fotos col. Cinemateca Portuguesa-Museu do Cinema. Agradecimentos / Acknowledgments Adriana Gesteiro, António Jorge Marques, Carmen Dolores, herdeiros de Manuela de Brito Camacho. Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal, Cinemateca Portuguesa - Museu do Cinema, Hemeroteca Municipal de Lisboa. Papel / paper FSE 110 g/m2 Formato / size selos / stamps: 30,6 x 40 mm Picotagem / perforation Cruz de Cristo / Cross of Christ 13 x 13 Impressão / printing - offset Impressor / printer - Joh. 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