Adolfo Ferreira Caminha (May 29, 1867 – January 1, 1897) was a Brazilian Naturalist novelist, famous for his polemical novel '' Bom-Crioulo'', which deals with

race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...

and

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

Life

Caminha was born in

Aracati Aracati () is a city or municipality in the state of Ceará, in the northeast region of Brazil. The city was officially founded on April 11, 1747. It is part of the microregion of Litoral de Aracati, which is one of the four microregions that mak ...

in 1867, to Raimundo Ferreira dos Santos and Maria Firmina Caminha. Orphaned when he was 10 years old, he went to live with his uncle in

Fortaleza Fortaleza (, locally , Portuguese for ''Fortress'') is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. It belongs to the Metropolitan mesoregion of Fortaleza and microregion of Fortaleza. It is Brazil's 5th largest city and the t ...

. In 1883, he moved to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, where another relative of his matriculated him in a naval school. In 1886, he published his first book: ''Voos Incertos'' (''Uncertain Flights''). In the same year, he made an instruction trip to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. In 1887 he was promoted to

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

and published the

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

books ''Judite'' and ''Lágrimas de um Crente'' (''Tears of a Believer''). In 1888 he returned to Fortaleza, but got involved on a scandal where he

eloped Elopement is a term that is used in reference to a marriage which is conducted in a sudden and secretive fashion, usually involving a hurried flight away from one's place of residence together with one's beloved with the intention of getting ma ...

with an ''

alférez In medieval Iberia, an ''alférez'' (, ) or ''alferes'' (, ) was a high-ranking official in the household of a king or magnate. The term is derived from the Arabic ('' al-fāris''), meaning "horseman" or "cavalier", and it was commonly Latinised ...

''s daughter. They had two daughters, and fled to

, where Caminha spent his life as a

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

. By 1891, Caminha was working on

journal A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

s such as the ''

Jornal do Commercio Jornal do Commercio was a newspaper published in Rio de Janeiro. It was founded in 1827 by French journalist Pierre Plancher. It was the oldest newspaper in circulation in South America South America is a continent entirely in the Weste ...

'', '' Gazeta de Notícias'' and ''O País'', using the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Félix Guanabarino. He also published the novel '' A Normalista''. In 1894, he published an account of his travel to the U.S.A., entitled ''No País dos Ianques'' (''In the Country of the

Yankee The term ''Yankee'' and its contracted form ''Yank'' have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Its various senses depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, residents of the Northern United St ...

s''). In 1895, he published his controversial novel '' Bom-Crioulo'' and ''Cartas Literárias''. In 1896, he founded a journal named ''Nova Revista'', and published the novel ''Tentação''. Poor and debilitated by

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

, he died at only 29 years old, leaving unfinished two novels.

Works

Poetry

* ''Voos Incertos'' (

1886 Events January–March * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5– 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson's novella ''Strange ...

)

Short stories

* ''Judite'' (

1887 Events January–March * January 11 – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the Académie Nationale de Médecine, by Dr. Joseph Grancher. * January 20 ** The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Har ...

) * ''Lágrimas de um Crente'' (

)

Novels

* '' A Normalista'' (

1891 Events January–March * January 1 ** Paying of old age pensions begins in Germany. ** A strike of 500 Hungarian steel workers occurs; 3,000 men are out of work as a consequence. **Germany takes formal possession of its new Africa ...

) * '' Bom-Crioulo'' (

1895 Events January–March * January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank, and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island. * January 12 – The National Trust for Places of Histor ...

) * ''Cartas Literárias'' (

) * ''Tentação'' (

1896 Events January–March * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that Wil ...

)

Other

* ''No País dos Ianques'' (

1894 Events January–March * January 4 – A military alliance is established between the French Third Republic and the Russian Empire. * January 7 – William Kennedy Dickson receives a patent for motion picture film in the United S ...

)

Unfinished works

* ''Ângelo'' * ''O Emigrado''

External links

Caminha's biography
* * 1867 births 1897 deaths 19th-century Brazilian poets 19th-century Brazilian novelists Brazilian male novelists Brazilian male short story writers Brazilian memoirists Brazilian journalists People from Ceará 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Portuguese-language writers 19th-century journalists Male journalists Brazilian male poets 19th-century Brazilian short story writers 19th-century Brazilian male writers 19th-century memoirists Tuberculosis deaths in Rio de Janeiro (state) {{Brazil-writer-stub