Sertão: Guimarães Rosa and his legacy 

'vaqueiro' - Walter Firmo

From 17 - 20 November the Embassy of Brazil will be hosting a series of events celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the birth of João Guimarães Rosa

Guimarães Rosa (27th June 1908 – 19th November 1967) is regarded as one of the greatest Brazilian writers. The eldest of six children, he was born in the small, remote town of Cordisburgo in Minas Gerais, but later moved to Belo Horizonte, the state capital, where he studied medicine at university and then worked as a doctor before changing careers to become a diplomat.

He had demonstrated a precocious talent for foreign languages by teaching himself French at the age of seven using only a grammar book and a dictionary. He later learned to speak German, English, Spanish, Italian, Esperanto and a little Russian, and became a proficient reader in various other languages. His keen interest in the structure of language (particularly the Brazilian indigenous language Tupi), combined with his sharp observations of local linguistic variations, enabled him to experiment with Portuguese in a unique way. His novel Grande Sertão Veredas and his many short stories are imbued with the voices and colours of the semi-arid scrubland and wilderness of inland Brazil, with its cattle-raising communities and multitude of local characters. Guimarães Rosa was unanimously elected to the Brazilian Academy of Letters in 1963.

The programme includes a seminar entitled “Guimarães Rosa and his Legacy: A Centenary Symposium", the Launch of the latest edition of "The Jaguar", a collection of short stories compiled and translated by Professor David H. Treece; a black and white photographic exhibition on the 'Brazilian backlands' (sertão) by the Brazilian photographer Walter Firmo; UK premiere of the Brazilian feature film Mutum (dir: Sandra Kogut), based on Guimarães Rosa's Manuelzão e Miguilim; a lecture by the writer Vilma Guimarães Rosa "João Guimarães Rosa, my father"; live performance of folk music from the Brazilian sertão by the singer and guitarist Xangai; a presentation by Professor Walnice Nogueira Galvão - "Cinqüenta Anos de Estudos Rosianos" and "Rosa's Roses": a dramatised reading of "Soroco, his Mother, his Daughter"

The exhibition ‘Sertão’ will continue until the 3rd of December. It is the result of Firmo’s journey in the footsteps of Guimarães Rosa along the trails between the towns of Andrequicé and Sete Lagoas in northern Minas Gerais, beautifully capturing the rural landscape, memorable characters and traditional customs of the local communities.

For more information and booking, please contact : beth@brazil.org.uk




http://www.brazil.org.uk/gallery32