Days Gomes, member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters, is author of a vast work, including:
- theatrical texts
- Tales
- soap operas
- TV miniseries
Extremely critical and challenging, many of his works were censored by the Brazilian Military Dictatorship, as his content confronted and ridiculed authoritarianism, while also daring in relation to the representation of the social customs of the time.
Read too: Ariano Suassuna – one of the literary exponents of northeastern culture
Dias Gomes Biography
Alfredo de Freitas Dias Gomes, known as Dias Gomes, was a novelist, short story writer and playwright. Son of engineer Plínio Alves Dias Gomes and Alice Ribeiro de Freitas Gomes, was born in Salvador, Bahia, on October 19, 1922. He attended primary school at Colégio Nossa Senhora das Vitória, owned by the Marist Brothers, and started secondary school at Ginásio Ipiranga. In 1935, moved with his family to Rio de Janeiro, where he continued his secondary education at Ginásio Vera Cruz and later at the Secondary Education Institute.
very early, wrote his first short story when he was 10 years old of age and his first play when he was 15 years old. This piece, entitled the comedy of moralists, won the literary competition promoted by the National Theater Service and the National Student Union (UNE). He took the preparatory course for the Engineering course in 1940 and, the following year, for the Law course. In 1943, joined the Rio State Faculty of Law, abandoning her when she was in her third year of college.
in 1942 debuted in professional theater with the comedy Crowbar, staged in Rio de Janeiro and later in São Paulo by Procópio Ferreira, with whom he traveled throughout the country. Later, he signed an exclusive contract for the assembly of several pieces with Procópio Ferreira.
In 1944, worked at Pan-American Radio, in São Paulo, making adaptations of plays, novels and short stories for the "Grande Pan-American Theater". At the same time, in addition to theatre, he began writing novels. In 1948, he returned to Rio de Janeiro, where he began working on important radio stations such as Rádio Tupi and Rádio Tamoio (1950), Rádio Clube do Brasil (1951) and Rádio Nacional (1956).
He married, in 1950, Janete Emmer (Janete Clair), author of soap operas, with whom he had five children. In late 1953, he traveled to Soviet Union with a delegation of writers, for the 1st of May celebrations. Upon returning to Brazil, in retaliation, he was fired from Rádio Clube, and his name was included in a sort of "black list".
In 1959, wrote the play the promise payer, work that gave Dias Gomes national and international projection. The piece, translated into more than a dozen languages, was staged practically all over the world. Adapted by the author himself for the cinema, the promise payer, directed by Anselmo Duarte, received, in 1962, the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
In 1964, due to the effectiveness of Institutional Act No. 1, Dias Gomes was fired from Rádio Nacional. After that, he participated in several demonstrations against censorship and in defense of freedom of expression. Several of his pieces were censored during the military regime, such as the pieces:
- the hero's cradle
- The revolution of the blessed
- the promise payer
- The invasion
- Santeiro Rock
- let's unleash the demons or love in minefield
He was part of the editorial board of the Brazilian Civilization Magazine, in 1965. In 1969, was hired, for the production of soap operas, miniseries and series, by TV Globo, where he also produced the so-called telepieces.
In 1980, due to the institution of Amnesty, he was reinstated to the staff of Rádio Nacional, and pieces of his authorship, such as Santeiro Rock, have been released for presentation. On November 16, his wife died.
In 1984, Dias Gomes married Maria Bernadette, with whom he had two daughters. In 1985, he created and directed, until 1987, the Janete Clair Creation House, on TV Globo. The soap opera Santeiro Rock was aired by TV Globo, after 10 years of censorship.
Throughout his career, Dias Gomes has won numerous awards for his performance on radio and for his work for theatre, film and television. He died on May 18, 1999, in Sao Paulo.
Dias Gomes' literary characteristics
- Satirical, comical, humorous tone;
- Criticism of populist, demagogic and authoritarian politics;
- Criticism of the moralistic and hypocritical customs of Brazilian society;
- Generally interior atmosphere.
See too: João Cabral de Melo Neto – known as a poet-engineer
Works by Dias Gomes
Affairs
- two shadows only (1945)
- one love and seven sins (1946)
- the lady of the night (1947)
- when is tomorrow (1948)
- Sucupira love her or leave her (1982)
- odoric in the head (1983)
- downfall (1994)
- Decadence (1995)
Tales
- “The task or Where are you, Castro Alves?” In: man's bedside book, year I, v. III (Brazilian Civilization, 1967)
- The tortuous and long night of Emiliano Posada (unprecedented)
theater
- the comedy of moralists (1939)
- spit (1938)
- Ludovico (1940)
- Tomorrow will be another day (1941)
- Crowbar (1942)
- João Cambão (1942)
- the man who wasn't yours (1942)
- missy (1943)
- Zeca Devil (1943)
- I accuse the sky (1943)
- a poor genius (1943)
- Curfew (magazine), in partnership with José Wanderlei (1943)
- doctor nobody (1943)
- Dead end (1944)
- existentialism (1944)
- the dance of the hours (unpublished), adaptation of the novel when is tomorrow (1949)
- the good thief (1951)
- The five fugitives from the Last Judgment (1954)
- the promise payer (1959)
- The invasion (1960)
- The revolution of the blessed (1961)
- the beloved (1962)
- the hero's cradle (1963)
- the holy inquiry (1966)
- the tunnel (1968)
- Vargas (Dr. Getúlio, his life and his glory), in partnership with Ferreira Gullar (1968)
- love in minefield (Let's Unleash the Demons) (1969)
- the first fruits (1977)
- phallus (unpublished) (1978)
- the king of branches (1978)
- world champions (1979)
- eye to eye (unpublished) (1986)
- my kingdom for a horse (1988).
Television
Telenovelas on TV Globo:
- the bridge of sighs, under the pseudonym of Stela Calderón (1969)
- red summer (1969/1970)
- on earth as in heaven (1970/1971)
- Flag 2 (1971/1972)
- the beloved (1973)
- the spike (1974)
- Saramandaia (1976)
- warning sign (1978/1979)
- Santeiro Rock (1985/1986)
- Mandala (1987/1988)
- Araponga, with Ferreira Gullar and Lauro César Muniz (1990/1991)
Miniseries
- shot in the heart, co-authored with Ferreira Gullar (unpublished) (1982)
- the promise payer (1988)
- Copacabana brides (1993)
- Decadence (1994)
- The end of the world (1996)
Series
- the beloved (1979/1984)
- Express Brazil (1987)
Specials (telepieces)
- the beloved, in adaptation by Benjamin Cattan, TV Tupi, TV de Vanguarda (1964)
- a scream in the dark (The crime of silence), TV Globo, Special Case (1971)
- the holy inquiry, in adaptation by Antonio Mercado, TV Globo, Aplauso (1979)
- the holy ox, TV Globo (1988)
- Emiliano's long night (unpublished), TV Globo.
Movie theater
- the promise payer, directed by Anselmo Duarte, Leonardo Vilar, Glória Menezes, Dionisio Azevedo, Geraldo Del Rey, Norma Benguell, Othon Bastos and Antonio Pitanga (1962)
- the marginal (screenplay), directed by Carlos Manga, with Tarcísio Meira and Darlene Glória (1974)
- the king of river (adaptation of the king of branches), directed by Bruno Barreto, with Nuno Leal Maia, Milton Gonçalves and Nelson Xavier (1985)
- love in minefield, directed by Pastor Vera, Cuba (1988)
Also access: Lima Barreto – pre-modernist author who also made social denunciation
the beloved
Published in 1962, the play the beloved é a satire on Brazilian politics and customs. Set in the interior of Bahia, its plot revolves around Odorico Paraguaçu, the ambitious mayor of Sucupira, whose greatest administrative feat was the building a cemetery.
However, this work becomes innocuous, since no death has occurred in the place for a while, which starts to distress the populist public agent, since need to inaugurate the cemetery through someone's burial. He then decides to order a dead man from another location.
From there, the plot succeeds with tones of humor, irony, social and political criticism of the political-electoral demagoguery, a very common feature in authoritarian regimes, such as the one implemented by the Brazilian Military Dictatorship. See an excerpt of this work in which the mayor talks with his secretary about the frustration for not having deaths in Sucupira.
DOROTÉA – Isn't there anyone sick in town?
ODORICO – In a state of giving hope, it seems like nobody. In any case, I sent the gravedigger to check it out.
DOROTÉA – Almost every year there is always a vacationer who drowns.
ODORICO – This year the sea is like a lagoon. I've never seen such bad luck.
Brazilian Academy of Letters
Dias Gomes was elected immortal of the Brazilian Academy of Letters in April 11, 1991. It was the sixth occupant of Chair 21, succeeding the writer Adonijah Filho. It was received, in his possession, by the distinguished academic Jorge Amado, on July 16, 1991.
By Leandro Guimarães
Literature teacher
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/biografia/alfredo-freitas-dias.htm