Antônio Frederico de Castro Alves (14 March 1847 – 6 July 1871) was a Brazilian poet and playwright, famous for his abolitionist and republican poems. One of the most famous poets of the "

Condorism Condorism (in pt, Condorismo or ) was a Brazilian literary movement that lasted from the mid-1860s until the early 1880s. It is a subdivision of Brazilian literature#Romanticism, Brazilian Romanticism, being thus called "the third phase of Brazi ...

", he won the

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

of "O Poeta dos Escravos" ("''The Poet of the Slaves''"). He is the patron of the 7th chair of the Brazilian Academy of Letters.

Life

Castro Alves was born in the town of

Curralinho Curralinho is a Brazilian municipality located in the state of Pará. Its population as of 2020 is estimated to be 34,994 people. The area of the municipality is 3.617,240 km². The city belongs to the mesoregion Marajó and to the microregi ...

(renamed "Castro Alves" in his honor in 1900), in the Brazilian state of Bahia, to Antônio José Alves, a doctor, and Clélia Brasília da Silva Castro, one of the daughters of José Antônio da Silva Castro (a.k.a. "Periquitão", Portuguese for "Big Parakeet"), a prominent fighter in the 1821–23 Siege of Salvador. In 1853, he was sent to study in the Colégio Sebrão, run by

Abílio César Borges Abilio may refer to: * Abilio James Acosta (born 1971), American journalist * Abílio Brandão (fl. 1948), Portuguese sports shooter * Abílio Cabral (born 1960), Angolan boxer * Abílio Cossa (1922–2003), Mozambican journalist and writer * Abíl ...

, the Baron of

Macaúbas Macaúbas is a municipality in the state of Bahia in the North-East region of Brazil. Its population in 2020 was 50,161 inhabitants. The municipality covers an area of 3039 km². It lies in the call Physiographic Zone of the Serra Geral, the ...

. There, he met and befriended

Ruy Barbosa Ruy Barbosa de Oliveira (5 November 1849 – 1 March 1923), also known as Rui Barbosa, was a Brazilian polymath, diplomat, writer, jurist, and politician. Born in Salvador, Bahia, and a distinguished and staunch defender of civil liberties and ...

. In 1862, he moved to Recife to study at the

Faculdade de Direito do Recife The Recife Law School, now called Law School, Federal University of Pernambuco (formerly in Portuguese ''Faculdade de Direito do Recife'' and now ''Faculdade de Direito da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco''), is a law school in the city of Rec ...

, but he was rejected twice. He was not able to join the college until 1864, there meeting

Tobias Barreto Tobias Barreto de Meneses (June 7, 1839 – June 26, 1889) was a Brazilian poet, philosopher, jurist and literary critic. He is famous for creating the " Condorism" and revolutionizing Brazilian Romanticism and poetry. He is patron of the 38th cha ...

and

José Bonifácio the Younger José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva (November 8, 1827 – October 26, 1886) was a French-born Brazilian poet, teacher and senator. He is known as "the Younger" ( pt, O Moço) to distinguish him from his grand-uncle, José Bonifácio de Andrada e ...

(step-grandson of the statesman

José Bonifácio José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

). They heavily influenced Alves' writing style, and he, in turn, influenced them both. His father died in 1866 and shortly after, he met the Portuguese actress

Eugênia Câmara Eugênia Infante da Câmara (1837–1874) was a Portuguese actress, poet, author and director of plays, active in both Portugal and Brazil. As well as for her own artistic achievements, she is remembered for her affair with, and influence upon, th ...

, and started dating her. In 1867, Alves returned to Bahia with Câmara and wrote his drama ''Gonzaga, ou A Revolução de Minas'', based on the life of the

Luso-Brazilian Portuguese Brazilians ( pt, luso-brasileiros) are Brazilians, Brazilians whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Portugal. Most of the Portuguese people, Portuguese who arrived throughout the centuries in Brazil sought economic opportunit ...

Neoclassic poet

Tomás António Gonzaga Tomás António Gonzaga (11 August 1744c. 1810) was a Portuguese-born Brazilian poet. One of the most famous Neoclassic colonial Brazilian writers, he was also the ''ouvidor'' and the ombudsman of the city of Ouro Preto (formerly "Vila Rica" ...

and his participation in the failed 1789 Minas Conspiracy. In the following year, he and Câmara went to São Paulo, where he entered the Faculdade de Direito da Universidade de São Paulo and once more met Ruy Barbosa. There he also befriended

Pedro Luís Pereira de Sousa Pedro Luís Pereira de Sousa (December 13, 1839 – July 16, 1884) was a Brazilian poet, politician, orator and lawyer, adept of the " Condorist" movement. He is the patron of the 31st chair of the Brazilian Academy of Letters. Life Pedro Luís ...

and wrote a poem named "Deusa incruenta", based on Sousa's work "Terribilis Dea". His play ''Gonzaga'' was performed at the end of 1868. It was well received by critics and public alike, but Alves was sad because his romantic engagement with Eugênia Câmara had terminated. During a hunting trip in the same year, Alves received an accidental shotgun wound in his left foot, which had to be amputated due to the risk of

gangrene Gangrene is a type of tissue death caused by a lack of blood supply. Symptoms may include a change in skin color to red or black, numbness, swelling, pain, skin breakdown, and coolness. The feet and hands are most commonly affected. If the ga ...

. However, a

prosthesis In medicine, a prosthesis (plural: prostheses; from grc, πρόσθεσις, prósthesis, addition, application, attachment), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through trau ...

was made for him, and thus he was able to walk again (although with the use of an assistive cane). He spent 1870 in his home-state of Bahia, trying to recover from the tuberculosis he got while in São Paulo. Also in 1870, Alves published the poetry book ''

Espumas Flutuantes ''Espumas Flutuantes'' (''Floating Foam'') is an 1870 book of poems by Brazilian Romantic poet Castro Alves. It was the only work Alves published in his lifetime, because of his premature death from tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is ...

'' – the only work he published during his lifetime. All his other works were published posthumously. Alves' attempts to mitigate the tuberculosis were in vain; he died on 6 July 1871, in the city of

Salvador Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to: * Salvador (name) Arts, entertainment, and media Music *Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music ** ''Salvador'' ( ...

, at 24.

Works

* ''

'' (1870) * ''Gonzaga, ou A Revolução de Minas'' (1875) * ''A Cachoeira de Paulo Afonso'' (1876) * ''Vozes d'África'' (1880) * ''

O Navio Negreiro O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), plu ...

'' (1880) * ''Os Escravos'' (1883) Alves also translated into Portuguese many poems by

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

, and Lord Byron's " Darkness" and "Lines Inscribed Upon a Cup Formed from a Skull". They can be found on ''Espumas Flutuantes''.

Legacy

* The Castro Alves Masonic Lodge was founded in 1952 in São Paulo. * The Castro Alves Theater in Salvador was opened in 1967. The theater was designed by

José Bina Fonyat Filho José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

and Humberto Lemos Lopes, and is located in the city's Campo Grande district. * A B'nai B'rith lodge was named after the poet. The Castro Alves lodge was founded in 1961 and located in Salvador, Bahia, São Salvador, Bahia.B'nai B'rith (1963). ''Manual de la B'nai B'rith'' (p. 36). Santiago, Chile.

Representations in popular culture

Alves was portrayed by Paulo Maurício in the 1949 film ''Vendaval Maravilhoso'', loosely based on Jorge Amado's 1941 book ''The ABC of Castro Alves'', and by Bruno Garcia in Silvio Tendler's 1999 documentary ''Castro Alves: Retrato Falado do Poeta''.

References

External links

Castro Alves' biography at the official site of the Brazilian Academy of Letters
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Castro Alves, Antônio Frederico de 1847 births 1871 deaths 19th-century Brazilian dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Brazilian poets 19th-century Brazilian male writers 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Brazilian abolitionists Brazilian amputees Brazilian male dramatists and playwrights Brazilian people of Portuguese descent Brazilian male poets Patrons of the Brazilian Academy of Letters People from Salvador, Bahia Romantic poets Tuberculosis deaths in Bahia University of São Paulo alumni