{"id":8323,"date":"2019-10-31T17:13:06","date_gmt":"2019-10-31T17:13:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/portuguese\/?p=8323"},"modified":"2019-10-29T17:26:57","modified_gmt":"2019-10-29T17:26:57","slug":"who-will-sign-chico-buarques-literary-prize","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/portuguese\/who-will-sign-chico-buarques-literary-prize\/","title":{"rendered":"Who will sign Chico Buarque’s literary prize?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brazil is just one of many countries that has Portuguese as its lingua materna<\/em> (native language). In addition to Portugal, several other African and even Asian countries speak variations of the language, which, due to its regional and continental diversity, comprises a wide range of <\/span>sotaques<\/span><\/i> (accents), <\/span>palavras<\/span><\/i> (words) and <\/span>express\u00f5es<\/span><\/i> (idioms). To unite these different Portuguese-speaking nations, a lot of actions are being taken, one of which is the <\/span>Pr\u00eamio Cam\u00f5es<\/strong> (<\/span>Cam\u00f5es Prize).<\/span><\/p>\n

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O cantor Chico Buarque (photo by Ling Wang Marina on Flirckr)<\/p><\/div>\n

Established in 1988 by the <\/span>governos<\/span><\/i> (governments) of Portugal and Brazil, the award is given to authors considered to have contributed to the literary and cultural enrichment of the Portuguese language. This year, the great bossa nova <\/span>escritor e compositor<\/span><\/i> (writer and composer) Chico Buarque de Hollanda was chosen as the <\/span>vencedor <\/span><\/i>(winner). But before you assume that the award was a major source of alegria e orgulho<\/em> (joy and pride) for our president Jair Bolsonaro, think twice. In this text, we will look into who Chico Buarque is and the conflict that arose between him and the Brazilian president.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chico Buarque dedicates his life to the arts. He is not only a composer and performer, but also a playwright, writer and actor. His musical career is vast and one of the most important in Brazil, with over eighty records that continue to influence an entire generation of artists. An outspoken critic not only of the <\/span>ditadura militar <\/span><\/i>(military dictatorship) that took over the country between the 60’s and 80’s but also of the Jair Bolsonaro administration, he considers himself as <\/span>de esquerda<\/span><\/i> (a leftist), being even openly in favor of former President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, imprisoned for over a year by the current Minister of Justice of Bolsonaro. So it is no wonder that this would be one of the main causes of the political quarrel between the president and Chico Buarque.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a prize awarded to the Cam\u00f5es winners, Brazil and Portugal offer the value of one hundred thousand euros, plus a symbolic diploma that must be <\/span>assinado<\/span><\/i> (signed) by the presidents of both countries. Upon hearing this, Jair Bolsonaro said he would sign, but only in 2026, alluding to his alleged reelei\u00e7\u00e3o<\/em> (reelection). Chico Buarque didn’t <\/span>deixou barato<\/span><\/i> (let it lie), and posted on his social networks that not having Bolsonaro\u2019s signature is like getting “a second Cam\u00f5es prize”. Fans of the singer still reacted comically to Bolsonaro’s speech and made an online petition called “I will sign the Cam\u00f5es Award for Chico Buarque de Hollanda”, which already registered over twenty-six thousand assinaturas<\/em> (signatures).<\/span><\/p>\n

What also comes to mind is another another Brazilian Cam\u00f5es Award winner, the poet Ferreira Gullar. A keen critic of former President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva during his <\/span>mandato <\/span><\/i>(tenure?), Gullar had his diploma signed by the then ruler of Brazil anyway, in very different approach from what Jair Bolsonaro has adopted today. What do you think about this whole situation? Maybe we hear an iconic song by Chico Buarque to inspire you!<\/span><\/p>\n

What also comes to mind is another another Brazilian Cam\u00f5es Award winner, the poet Ferreira Gullar. A keen critic of former President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva during his <\/span>mandato <\/span><\/i>(term of office), Gullar had his diploma signed by the then ruler of Brazil anyway, in very different approach from what Jair Bolsonaro has chosen to adopt. What do you think about this whole situation? Maybe we can <\/span>ouvir<\/span><\/i> (listen to) an iconic song by Chico Buarque to inspire you!<\/span><\/p>\n