Pepa Martins de Abreu (stage name, Pepita de Abreu) (1890 –1962) was a Portuguese actress, journalist, translator and writer.

Early life

Pepa Martins de Abreu Melo Vieira was born in the Portuguese capital of

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

on 6 July 1890. She was the daughter of Emília de Abreu, also an actress. She became known in the artistic world as "Pepita de Abreu", making her debut at the

Teatro da Rua dos Condes The ''Teatro da Rua dos Condes'', or simply ''Condes'', was a theatre in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon. It was opened in 1738 and rebuilt in 1755 after an earthquake. Never considered comfortable, it was demolished and rebuilt in 1888 and event ...

in Lisbon in 1905 and then performing at the '' Teatro Príncipe Real'' in

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

in 1907. She performed in several theatres in Lisbon and Porto and toured other locations, including the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

Archipelago and

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

. In 1909, she performed in the last variety show written by

António de Sousa Bastos António de Sousa Bastos (1844 –1911) was a Portuguese writer, playwright, theatre entrepreneur and journalist. Author of the ''Diccionario do theatro portuguez'' (Dictionary of Portuguese Theatre), he was the husband of the actress Palmira Bast ...

(1844-1911) and performed at the '' Teatro Avenida'' in Lisbon.

Career

Abreu went to Brazil in 1919 with the company of

Maria Matos Maria de Conceição de Matos Ferreira da Silva (29 September 1886 – 19 September 1952) was a Portuguese actress and theatre personality. Career Matos studied piano, singing and dramatic art at the Royal Conservatory of Lisbon, and for her fin ...

and stayed there until 1946. In Rio de Janeiro she went into journalism and became a writer for 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 ...

'' and also wrote for journals such as ''Boa Noite'', ''Boa Tarde'' and ''Manto de Arlequim''. As a translator, she translated several comedies from French. In Brazil she married Melo Vieira, a colonel. Having returned to Portugal in 1946, Abreu returned to the theatre in 1954 at the ''

Teatro Variedades The Teatro Variedades was a famous Colosseum in the city of Madrid, Spain, in the 19th century. Erected in 1847, the theater was located at 40 Magdalena Street. It was known once as one of the most entertaining theatres for the not-so-demanding g ...

'' in Lisbon, as part of the Vasco Santana Company. Together with César Viana, she founded in 1956 the ''Círculo de Divulgação Teatral'' (Theatrical Dissemination Circle), which aimed to present original Portuguese plays, which she directed and also acted in.

Death

Abreu died on 17 July 1962 in Lisbon.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abreu, Pepa Martins de Portuguese stage actresses Portuguese journalists 1890 births 1962 deaths