Zélia Gattai Amado de Faria (July 2, 1916 – May 17, 2008) was a Brazilian

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs. Duties and types of photograp ...

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...

ist,

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

and author of

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...

, as well as a member of the

Brazilian Academy of Letters The Academia Brasileira de Letras (ABL; English: ''Brazilian Academy of Letters'') is a Brazilian literary non-profit society established at the end of the 19th century. The first president, Machado de Assis, declared its foundation on Tuesday, ...

. Gattai wrote 14 literary works, including children's books, and her own personal memoirs have been widely published.

Biography

Zélia Gattai was born in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

city in the neighborhood of Paraíso, state of

, on July 2, 1916, to a family of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

. Gattai's father, Ernesto Gattai, was an

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

and came from the region of

Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...

, following the social anarchist experiment called Colônia Cecília that sought to create an anarchist community in the Brazilian jungle. Her father was arrested in 1938 due to political oppression under the Vargas Estado Novo regime. Gattai lived in Paraíso,

for her entire adolescence. In the 1930s, Zélia Gattai entered the intellectual and social circles of the

modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

s of São Paulo and

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, becoming a friend of personalities such as

Oswald de Andrade José Oswald de Souza Andrade (January 11, 1890 – October 22, 1954) was a Brazilian poet, novelist and cultural critic. He was born in, spent most of his life in, and died in São Paulo. Andrade was one of the founders of Brazilian modernism ...

, Lasar Segall, Tarsila do Amaral, Mário de Andrade, Rubem Braga, ''Zora Seljan'', ''Paulo Mendes de Almeida'',

Carlos Lacerda Carlos Frederico Werneck de Lacerda (30 April 1914 – 21 May 1977) was a Brazilian journalist and politician. Biography Born in Rio de Janeiro, Lacerda was the son of a family of politicians from Vassouras, Rio de Janeiro state. He was the s ...

, Aldo Bonadei,

Vinícius de Moraes Marcus Vinícius da Cruz e Mello Moraes (19 October 1913 – 9 July 1980), better known as Vinícius de Moraes () and nicknamed "O Poetinha" ("The Little Poet"), was a Brazilian poet, diplomat, lyricist, essayist, musician, singer, and playwrig ...

and others. At the age of 20, Zélia Gattai married Communist militant Aldo Veiga and had her first child, Luís Carlos Veiga, with him. Their marriage ended after eight years and Gattai ended up falling in love with writer and communist

Jorge Amado Jorge Amado ( 10 August 1912 – 6 August 2001) was a Brazilian writer of the modernist school. He remains the best-known of modern Brazilian writers, with his work having been translated into some 49 languages and popularized in film, includi ...

. The new couple decided to live together in 1945 and had their first child together, João Jorge Amado, in 1946.

Europe

Due to political condemnation by the Vargas regime, Gattai and her family were forced to leave Brazil and decided to relocate to Europe. The family spent the first part of the five-year exile in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

where Gattai used the opportunity to get a degree in French Civilization, Phonetics, and Language at the university of Sorbonne in 1949. They later relocated to

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

where they lived from 1950 to 1952. It is in

that their third child, Paloma Jorge Amado, was born and Gattai discovered her passion for photography.

Return to Brazil

The family returned to Brazil in 1952 and moved into Gattai's parents house in

for the next eleven years. In 1963, the family moved to Salvador in the state of

Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

and would remain there for the remainder of Gattai's life. While living in Salvador, Gattai began to focus on her literary career. Zélia Gattai died in Salvador on May 17, 2008, at the age of 91.

Literary career

Gattai began her literary career in 1979 with an

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

about her early life and the reality of Italian immigrants in Brazil, titled ''Anarquistas, Graças a Deus'' ("Anarchists, Thanks to God"). This memoir quickly became a bestseller and it was dramatized as a

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

directed by Walter Avancini and created by the Globo Television Network in 1984 which allowed it to capture a large audience. Throughout her career, Gattai explored many genres including memoirs, children's literature, and romance novels. Many of her publications also included

photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

taken by Gattai that allowed her to create photo-biographies to further her story. In total, Gattai wrote 14 works including three successful

children's books A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''chi ...

, ten

s and one

romance novel A romance or romantic novel is a genre fiction novel that primarily focuses on the relationship and Romance (love), romantic love between two people, typically with an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending. Authors who have contributed ...

. On the death of Amado in 2001, Gattai was elected to the vacant 23rd seat in the

Publications

*''Anarquistas graças a Deus'' - 1979 (memoirs) *''Um chapéu para viagem'' - 1982 (memoirs) *''Senhora dona do baile'' - 1984 (memoirs) *''Reportagem incompleta'' - 1987 (photobiography) *''Jardim de inverno'' - 1988 (memoirs) *''Pipistrelo das mil cores'' - 1989 (children's fiction) *''O segredo da rua 18'' - 1991 (children's fiction) *''Chão de meninos'' - 1992 (memoirs) *''Crônica de uma namorada'' - 1995 (novel) *''A casa do Rio Vermelho'' - 1999 (memoirs) *''Cittá di Roma'' - 2000 (memoirs) *''Jonas e a sereia'' - 2000 (children's fiction) *''Códigos de família'' - 2001 (memoirs) *''Jorge Amado um baiano sensual e romântico'' - 2002 (memoirs) *''Vacina de Sapo e outras lembranças'' - 2005 (memoirs)

Awards and honours

Throughout her literary career, Gattai was recognized with many awards and honors. She was given the following awards: * Prêmio Dante Alighieri (Dante Alighieri Award) - 1980 * Prêmio Revelação Literária, concedido pela Associação de Imprensa (Literary Revelation Award, given by the Press Association) - 1980 * Diploma de Sócia Benemérita da Ordem Brasileira dos Poetas da Literatura de Cordel (Certificate of Meritorious Partner of the Brazilian Order of the Poets of Chapter Books) * Diploma de Madrinha dos Trovadores, concedido pela Ordem Brasileira dos Poetas da Literatura de Cordel (Certificate of Mother of Troubadours, given by the Brazilian Order of the Poets of Chapter Books) * Medalha do Mérito Castro Alves, da Secretaria da Educação e Cultura do Estado da Bahia (The Castro Alves Medal of Merit, given by the Secretary of Education and Culture of the state of Bahia) - 1987 * Diploma de Reconhecimento do Povo Carioca pelos relevantes serviços prestados à Cultura e ao Turismo, da Prefeitura da Cidade do Rio de Janeiro (Certificate of Recognition of the People of Rio de Janeiro for the services given to the Culture and Tourism of the City of Rio de Janeiro) * Prêmio Destaque do Ano (Highlight of the year Award) - 1988 * Diploma de Magnífica Amiga dos Trovadores Capixabas, Espírito Santo (Certificate of Magnificent Friend of the Trovadores Capixabas, Espiritu Santo) - 1991 * Comenda das Artes e das Letras dada pela ministra da França, Caterine Trautmann (Commendation of the Arts and the Letters given by the French minister, Caterine Trautmann) - 1998 * Comenda Maria Quitéria pela Câmara Municipal de Salvador (Commendation Maria Quitéria given by the Town Hall of Salvador) - 1999

Titles

In her lifetime, Gattai was also awarded the following titles: * Placa “As dez mulheres mais bem sucedidas do Brasil” pela Mac Keen (Named in "The ten most successful women in Brazil" by Mac Keen) - 1980 * Título de Sócia Benemérita do Clube Baiano da Trova (Title of Meritorious Partner by the Club of Baiano da Trova) - 1981 * Título de Cidadã Honorária da Cidade de Salvador, Bahia (Title of Honorary Citizen of the City of Salvador, Bahia) - 1984 * Título de Cidadã Honorária da Cidade de Mirabeau (Title of Honorary Citizen of the City of Mirabeau) - 1985 * Título no grau de Grande Oficial da Ordem do Infante Dom Henrique, concedido pelo governo português (Title in the rank of Great Officer of the Order of the Infante Dom Henrique, given by the Portuguese government) - 1986 * Eleita A Mulher do Ano pelo Conselho Nacional da Mulher (Elected Woman of the Year by the National Council of Women) - 1989

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gattai, Zelia 1916 births 2008 deaths Brazilian autobiographers Brazilian children's writers 20th-century Brazilian women writers 21st-century Brazilian women writers 21st-century Brazilian writers Brazilian people of Italian descent Members of the Brazilian Academy of Letters Writers from São Paulo University of Paris alumni Women autobiographers Brazilian women children's writers Brazilian expatriates in France