Writer jaime cortesão: Evocation and longing

Afonso Almeida Brandão"

THE importance of Jaime Cortesão in Portuguese Culture and Politics in the 20th Century ended up overshadowing the relevance of his two daughters, Judith and Saudade, as personalities in the Cultural Life of Portugal and Brazil. Jaime, by choosing self-exile, lived in many countries, eight of which were in Brazil. His daughters ended up having an important connection to the country. Saudade was married for 28 years to the poet and writer from Minas Gerais, Murilo Mendes, and accompanied him on an official mission to Italy, where they ended up settling. Saudade lived in Brazil for only the first eight years of her marriage, and rarely visited the country, although she lived an intense cultural life. Murilo died in Portugal, at his father-in-law's house. In 1993, Saudade — who died in 2010 in Lisbon — sold Murilo Mendes' archive to the University of Juiz de Fora, keeping some of his works of affection in his apartment to be handed over after his death. He also kept many portraits of the couple painted with a dedication. However, his nephews did not hand over the material, which led to a lawsuit. The collection is no small feat, as it contains originals signed by Magritte, the great Belgian Surrealist painter and friend of Murilo, as well as by Ismael Nery and Portinari, artists of value in the Brazilian art market. Nine works signed by Vieira da Silva and Arpad Szenes are already in Juiz de Fora. Judith became a Brazilian, developing intense intellectual activity in the country, as an environmentalist and educator. When Rio 92 was held, she put together a team to create a cultural agenda parallel to the event, bringing together experts from society, such as Teodoro Machado, among others. With these colleagues, she was notable in defending the Atlantic Forest, as a founder of the preservation movement. Judith left her personal archive, as rich as her sister's, to the University of Rio Grande do Sul, where she was a prominent professor and worked on the most important environmental projects of her time. Judith also married an important intellectual, the Portuguese philosopher and poet Agostinho da Silva. But she was also notable in her activities, writing almost 20 books and coordinating dozens of projects on Antarctica, which she visited in 1982 as part of the first official Brazilian presence. Judith, unlike her sister, lived in Brazil for many years, dying in Geneva, where one of her sons lived. In fact, she had four natural children and two adopted children. She had a degree in Medicine, like her father. Jaime Cortesão produced a great deal in Brazil, became one of the greatest Brazilian historians, published many books and was a professor at the Rio Branco Institute, which trained diplomats. A presence, like that of Tomás Ribeiro Colaço, active and respected. He is often cited as an opponent of Salazar due to his intellectual expression and the repercussions of his long exile. But it was more of a self-exile, because, when he wanted to, he returned and died, in 1960, in the middle of the regime, in Lisbon. A figure deserving of praise and longing, whom Portuguese culture has forgotten... Peace to his chosen soul!

2025/12/3