Luis da Camera Cascudo


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Luis da Camera Cascudo


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Luis da Camera Cascudo


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CENTENÁRIO DO NASCIMENTO LE LUÍS DA CÂMARA CASCUDO

Filho único de Francisco Justino de Oliveira Cascudo e An a Maria da Câmara Cascudo, ele comerciante e coronel da Guarda Nacional, ela dos afazeres domésticos, nasceu Luís da Câmara Cascudo em Natal, a 30 de dezembro de 1898, onde viveu 88 anos até seu coração parar na tarde do dia 30 de julho de 1986.

Na água do primeiro banho a mãe despejou um cálice de Vinho do Porto para o filho ter saúde e o pai a temperou com um Patacão do Império para merecer fortuna. O Padre João Maria, um santo da cidade, batizou-lhe no Bom Jesus das Dores, e a poetisa Auta de Souza, amiga da sua mãe, embalou seu choro forte de menino-homem.

Teve uma infância guardada entre cuidados exagerados, com ama de companhia, professora particular e proibido do encanto das ruas. No verão, vivia os dias na beira do mar, entre barcos e pescadores, e o inverno passava no sertão ouvindo vaqueiros e cantadores. Entre espumas e espinhos sedimentou sua cultura descobridora do homem brasileiro.

Desejou ser um nobre médico de província e chegou a cursar os primeiros anos na Bahia e no Rio de Janeiro. Mas terminou cumprindo o destino de ser Bacharel em Direito e foi estudar na velha Facul­dade de Direito do Recife, onde ainda ouviu o eco dos discursos de Joaquim Nabuco eTobias Monteiro e dos versos de Castro Alves.

Sonhou ser jornalista e foi. Seu pai nessa época ainda era homem rico e instalou o jornal “A Imprensa para o filho. Nas suas páginas o estudante que lia até a madrugada passou a exercitar o gosto de escrever, mantendo uma coluna que chamou de Bric­a-Brao e onde exercitava o olho observando a paisagem humana e cultural da cidade e sua gente.

Seu primeiro livro, Alma Patrícia, sai em 1921. E a reunião de pequenos estudos sobre poetas e prosadores na Natal de seu tempo. Depois vem Joio, encerrando a fase de crítica. Num breve exercício de ficção sob influência de Viriato Correia, escreve Histórias que o Tempo Leva recriando narrativas literárias sobre as ruínas de velhos fatos históricos.

O professor de História resiste nas biografias de figuras como Lopez do Paraguai, o Conde d’Eu e o Marquês de Olinda, mas não demora a entrar em sintonia com os modernistas doRecife e de São Paulo, o que lhe abre os olhos e os ouvidos para o homem comum nas suas crenças e costumes, seus cantos e suas danças, suas músicas e suas técnicas, sua vida e sua morte.

Em 1939 lança Vaqueiros e Cantadores e seu nome se coloca, a partir de então, como uma legenda no estudo do saber do povo. Funda a Sociedade Brasileira de Folclore. Propõe uma teoria para a Cultura Popular. Ergue com erudição um conceito brasileiro para a Literatura Oral. Viaja para beber nas fontes africanas o vinho arcaico de nossas raízes.

Autor de clássicos da cultura brasileira como o Dicionário do Folclore, Civilização e Cultura, História da Alimenta-cão no Brasil, ensaísta da Jangada e da Rede de Dormir; antropó­logo das Superstições; etnólogo dos Costumes; sociólogo do Açúcar; tradutor de Montaigne e Koster; historiador dos gestos - a obra de Cascudo é continente e ilha.

Com mais de uma centena de títulos entre livros, traduções, opúsculos e artigos publicados no Brasil e em vários países, viveu a vida vendo e ouvindo, lendo e escrevendo, sem nunca pensar em deixar sua terra. Por isso não aceitou o fardão da Academia Brasileira de Letras nem o convite de Juscelino para reitor da Universidade de Brasília.

Viveu e morreu na sua aldeia. Genial e humilde. Pobre e feliz.

 

VICENTE SEREJO Pesquisador

 


CENTENARY OF THE BIRTH OF LUÍS DA CÂMARA CASCUDO

 

The only sun of Francisco Justino de Oliveira Cascudo and Ana Maria da Câmara Cascudo, who were a tradesman and a housewife, was born on December 30th, 1898, in Natal, where he lived for 88 years until he passed away on July 30th, 1986.

Into the water of his first bath, his mother poured a glass of Port to bring him health and his father dropped an imperial silver coin to bring him fortune. Father João Maria, a towns saintly person, baptized him at the Bom Jesus das Dores church, and the poetess Auta de Souza, his mothers friend, rocked him in his strong boys cry.

He had an over protected childhood, with a wet nurse, a private teacher and away from the streets charm. He used to spend the summer by the sea, among boats and fishermen, while the winter was spent in the countryside listening to cowboys and folk singers. Between foam and thorns, he built up his capacity to unveil the traits of the Brazilian man.

He wanted to be a noble county doctor and even started medical school in Bahia and afterwards in Rio de Janeiro. But, he ended up being a Bachelor of Arts in Law and went to the old Recife Law School, where he could hear the echoes of speeches made by Joaquim Nabuco and Tobias Monteiro and the verses of Castro Alves.

He dreamt of being a journalist and so he was. His father, who was a rich man then, founded a newspaper, ‘A Imprensa”, for his son. In the pages of this periodical the student, who used to read until late at night, polished his gift for writing, by keeping a column called “Bric­a-Brac”, which he used to improve his observation of the human character and the cultural scene of his town and its people.

His first book, ‘Alma Patrícia”, was released in 1921. It is a compilation of short studies on poets and prosaists in the Natal of his time. “Joio” came afterwards, closing off his critical writing phase. In a brief exercise into fiction, under the influence of Viriato Correia, he wrote ‘Histórias que o Tempo Leva” recreating literary narratives on the ruin of old historical facts.

The history teacher lives on in the biographies of characters such as Lopez do Paraguai, Count dEu and the Marquis of Olinda, but it does not take long for him to be attuned with Recife and São Paulo modernists. This opens his eyes and ears for the common man in his beliefs and custom, in his songs and dances, in his music and techniques, in his life and death.

In 1939, he releases “Vaqueiros and Cantadores” and his name is placed, from then one, as a legend in the study of the people. He founds the Brazilian Society of Folklore. He proposes a theory for Popular Culture. He raises with erudition a Brazilian concept for Oral Literature. He travels to Africa where he drinks the archaic wine of our roots.

Author of classics of the Brazilian culture such as “Dicionário do Folclore” (“The Folklore Dictionary” “Civilização e Cultura” (‘Civilization and Culture”

“História da Alimentação no Brasil” (“History of Feeding Habits in Brazil’), essayist of the jangada and the hammock; anthropologist of superstitions; ethnologist of custom; sociologist of sugar culture; translator of Montaigne and Koster; historian of gestures -Cascudo’s work is continental and island.

With more than one hundred titles among books, translations, opuscules and essays published in Brazil and abroad, he watched and listened, read and wrote, without ever thinking of leaving his land. That is why he never accepted a seat in the Brazilian Academy of Letters, neither did he accept President Juscelino’s invitation to be the dean of the University of Brasília.

He lived and died in his village. Genial and humble. Poor and joyous.

 VICENTE SERELO Researcher

 


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Last updated: 12/22/11.


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 Copyright 2012 notice: Please note that most material on this site is copyrighted, if pieces and bits of this site is found in other locations without proper authorization there are happy lawyers that would be glad to contact you. If you would like to use some pictures, contents of this site, please contact author first
For problems or questions and advertising regarding this Web site contact email vivabrazil.
Last updated: 12/22/11.


Home | Brazilian Regions | This is Brazil | What is new | Search Help | Contact Information

 Copyright 2012 notice: Please note that most material on this site is copyrighted, if pieces and bits of this site is found in other locations without proper authorization there are happy lawyers that would be glad to contact you. If you would like to use some pictures, contents of this site, please contact author first
For problems or questions and advertising regarding this Web site contact email vivabrazil.
Last updated: 12/22/11.


Home | Brazilian Regions | This is Brazil | What is new | Search Help | Contact Information

 Copyright 2012 notice: Please note that most material on this site is copyrighted, if pieces and bits of this site is found in other locations without proper authorization there are happy lawyers that would be glad to contact you. If you would like to use some pictures, contents of this site, please contact author first
For problems or questions and advertising regarding this Web site contact email vivabrazil.
Last updated: 12/26/11.