Clodovil Hernandes (; 17 June 1937 – 17 March 2009) was a Brazilian

fashion designer Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashio ...

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a " television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garne ...

, and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

. Hernandes made his fame as a fashion stylist during the 60s and 70s, after which he was invited to work on television. His dedication and fame on television lasted for over 40 years and various television stations. In his political career, Hernandes was known for statements deemed inappropriate, often directed at other famous personalities. Among other controversies, he was accused of

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagoni ...

and

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

. Hernandes was the first openly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

congressman in Brazil.

Biography

Hernandes was born on Thursday, 17 June 1937, in Elisiário, and raised by a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

immigrant couple (Diego Hernández and Isabel Sánchez); he apparently never knew his biological parents. He had great affection for his adoptive mother, a Spanish immigrant from

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The ...

. One of his projects in the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon Res ...

was to create the ''Dia da Mãe Adotiva'' (Adoptive Mother's Day) that would be celebrated on the third Sunday of May. Hernandes was educated in a

Catholic school Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syste ...

; besides his native

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

, he could speak

(his parents' language) and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Fashion stylist

Hernandes began his career as a stylist at age 16. In the 1960s he gained fame as a designer of

haute couture ''Haute couture'' (; ; French for 'high sewing', 'high dressmaking') is the creation of exclusive custom-fitted high-end fashion design that is constructed by hand from start-to-finish. Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, Paris became th ...

Television

In the 1980s Hernandes became a TV personality with appearances on

Rede Globo TV Globo (, "Globe TV", or simply Globo), formerly known as Rede Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto Marinho on 26 April 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Grupo Globo. The TV stati ...

's " TV Mulher", one of the first Brazilian shows dedicated to the contemporary woman. His career as a TV presenter had its ups and downs throughout the 1990s. Although he had a strong female following, his explicit right-wing position and unstable relations with co-workers led to frequent job losses. After his breakthrough on ''TV Mulher'', Clodovil was fired from the female-oriented programme hosted by Marília Gabriela and sexologist/current

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaW ...

Brazilian Secretary of

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, Marta Suplicy. In 1982, when Walter Clark, Globo's former director general, was invited to become a director on the Rede Bandeirantes network, Clodovil hosted his programme. In the 1993 TV season, Clodovil hosted a show in

Rede Manchete Rede Manchete (; lit.: Headline Network; also known as TV Manchete or only Manchete) was a Brazilian television network that was founded in Rio de Janeiro on 5 June 1983 by the Ukrainian-Brazilian journalist and businessman Adolpho Bloch. The ...

, however the network, based in

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 ...

, suffered a severe financial crisis and

strike action Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became common during the ...

as well as a suspension of part of its scheduled national broadcast. Adolpho Bloch regained control of the network by legal determination and Clodovil left the channel in the first days of May due to past differences with his ex-boss. In 2006 in São Paulo, Clodovil was depicted in a musical. He defended the preservation of Mata Atlântica in the

Ubatuba Ubatuba is a Brazilian municipality, located on the southeast coast, in the state of São Paulo. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Vale do Paraíba e Litoral Norte. The population is 92,819 (2021 est.) in an area of 723.88 km², of whi ...

region and minority rights in the lower house. His future project was ''Casa Clô'', a foundation attended by women not helped by official social assistance programmes. Clodovil trained as an actor and as a singer. He designed the evening gowns for

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and

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Sandra Mara Ferreira and Sandra Guimarães de Oliveira. His controversial declarations on

Rede TV! RedeTV! () is a Brazilian television network owned by Amilcare Dallevo and Marcelo de Carvalho. It is the newest television network, among the five major networks in Brazil, being a relaunch of Rede Manchete in 1999. RedeTV! has modern producti ...

, caused legal consequences for Clodovil's artistic career. He was the presenter of ''Clodovil Por Excelência'' ''(Clodovil By Excellence)'' on the TVJB network, which was established in March 2007.

Views

In an interview with Rádio Tupi on Friday, 27 October 2006, Clodovil stated that Jews manipulated

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europ ...

and forged the

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. In the same interview, he referred to black people as "complex creoles." To defend his opinions, he told the radio that there is an "extinguished power, that is in the underground of things". According to Clodovil, "People are led to believe. When there was that incident with the Twin Towers there were no Americans and no Jews." The president of the Israeli Federation of Rio, Osias Wurman, declared himself outraged with the declarations, mainly because they came from a person coming from a minority that also undergoes prejudice. Wurman filed a court action against Clodovil, accusing him of being a racist, as well as sending copies of the audio interview to the State Department of Human Rights, state deputies and nongovernmental organizations linked to the black movement.

Congressman

In the 2006 elections, Clodovil Hernandes was elected federal

congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

for the

state of São Paulo State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

, being the third most voted congressman in his state, with 493,951 votes or 2.43% of the valid vote. He was a candidate for the

Christian Labour Party Act ( pt, Agir), formerly named National Reconstruction Party ( pt, Partido da Reconstrução Nacional; PRN) and Christian Labour Party ( pt, Partido Trabalhista Cristão; PTC), is a political party in Brazil. The party was founded in 1985 as ...

. His political phrase was: "Brasília will never be the same".
Clodovil favored legislation that banned toys resembling tobacco products, restricted violent images in television newscasts during family hours and reduced the number of congresspersons in the Brazilian parliament.

Death

Clodovil Hernandes died in

Brasília Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...

at 6:50 PM (21:50 GMT) on Tuesday, 17 March 2009, after a

stroke A stroke is a disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorr ...

Television career

*''TV Mulher'' (Rede Globo, 1980 season) *'' Clô para os Íntimos'' (Rede Manchete, 1987-1988 seasons) *''Noite de Gala'' ( CNT, 1993–1995) *''Clô Soft'' (

Rede Bandeirantes Rede Bandeirantes (, ''Bandeirantes Network''), or simply known as Band (), is a Brazilian free-to-air television network. It began broadcasting on May 13, 1967 on VHF channel 13 in São Paulo. Its founder was businessman João Saad with t ...

, 1996–1997) *''A Casa é Sua'' (

, 2004–2005) *''Clodovil Por Excelência ( Rede JB, soon on April season)

Political phrases

2006 campaign

*''"Brasília will never be the same"''. *''"I will not promise anything. I will report ny kind of corruptionthat comes directly to me"''.

Theatral career

*''Elas por Elas'' (2006)

Notes

References

External links

Clodovil Hernandez's site
on Brazilian portal UOL {{DEFAULTSORT:Hernandes, Clodovil Brazilian fashion designers Brazilian television presenters Gay politicians Gay entertainers LGBT Christians LGBT fashion designers Brazilian LGBT politicians 1937 births 2009 deaths Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Brazil) from São Paulo Christian Labour Party politicians Liberal Party (Brazil, 2006) politicians Brazilian LGBT broadcasters Fashion stylists 9/11 conspiracy theorists Holocaust deniers Brazilian people of Spanish descent LGBT legislators LGBT conservatism Brazilian LGBT entertainers 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people Television controversies in Brazil