Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Major Characters of Portuguese History and Culture



JOÃO HENRIQUE PEREIRA VILLARET was born in Lisbon, on 10 May 1913, soon revealing an artistic vocation. From a young age, he tested his talent at a small amateur theatre group based on the ground floor of the building where he was born. João Villaret completed a Degree in Drama at the Conservatório Nacional (Portuguese Conservatory) at the age of 18, having made his first theatrical appearance in 1931, at the Teatro Nacional Almeida Garrett (Almeida Garrett Theatre).
With a 30-year-long, dazzling career, João Villaret was considered the most prominent actor of his generation, having achieved true stardom in Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique and Argentina.
João Villaret was a versatile actor, having performed in classical plays, comic plays and music hall shows, as well as in the cinema, radio and television. A theatre actor above all, João Villaret also distinguished himself as a poetry reader, having earned the respect and admiration of poets and public alike. He died in Lisbon, on 21 January 1961, at the age of 47.

ILSE LOSA was born on 20 March 1913, in Northern Germany. Persecuted by the Nazis for being the daughter of Jewish couple, Ilse Losa escaped to Portugal in 1934, where her brother would introduce her to a group of people who attended the Belas Artes (School of Fine Arts). It would be through this group that Ilse Losa would meet her future husband, architect Arménio Losa, and continue to make friends within an intellectual circle that opposed the political regime of the time.
Having decided to write in Portuguese, Ilse Losa had lessons with Professor Óscar Lopes. After publishing her first novel, O mundo em que vivi (“The world in which I have lived”), in 1943, Ilse Losa continued to write novels, tales, children’s books and articles for newspapers.
In the 80’s, Afrontamento republished Ilse Losa’s works for adult readers and Asa hired her to manage a collection of books for young adults, which included some of her own works, as well as works by invited authors and illustrators. From this period onwards, Ilse Losa would dedicate herself mostly to children’s books.
Ilse Losa’s writing evolved considerably over a period that spanned more than 30 years of her life, due to her continued study of the Portuguese language and to her reading of works by Portuguese writers, leading this author to embrace the lengthy project of rewriting all her works.
Ilse Losa received several decorations and awards, such as the Great Gulbenkian Award for her children’s books and ,in 1998, the Great Chronicle Award of the Associação Portuguesa de Escritores (APE) for the book À Flor do Tempo.

JOÃO dos Santos was born in Lisbon on 15 September 1913. He was a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst and was the founder of modern Child Mental Health and Child Psychiatry in Portugal. He received degrees in Physical Education and Medicine. Worked with Vítor Fontes at the Costa Ferreira Institute and Barahona Fernandes at the Júlio de Matos Hospital with responsibility for Child Mental Health.
Barred from public office for his political views, became a researcher in the French Scientific  esearch Centre and worked with Henri Wallon, Serge Lebovici, the pioneer of Child Psychoanalysis in France, and others.
Returned to Portugal in 1950 and created children’s organizations such as Eduardo Claparède College, Helen Keller Centre and the Portuguese Association for the Disabled. Helped set up the first Children Mental Health Services in Portugal and was a founder of the Portuguese Psychoanalytical Society. Was a Professor at the Faculty of Psychology and Education Science and the National School for Public Health.

EDGAR ANTONIO DE MESQUITA CARDOSO was born in Porto, on 11 May 1913. After finishing a Degree in Civil Engineering, in 1937, with final classification of 95%, following an apprenticeship at the Junta Autónoma de Estradas (JAE) (Portuguese Road Council), Edgar Cardoso started working at this institution as a third-class engineer, in 1938.
Edgar Cardoso applied for a Professorship at the Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) (Higher Technical Education Institute) in December 1951, having become Professor of Bridges and Special Structures on 22 December of that year.
Edgar Cardoso proposed the experimental method using small-size models as the most effective way of studying the behaviour of their real-life equivalents, having designed more than 500 structures, considered as veritable works of art, throughout his professional life, including bridges, ports, airports and large buildings, all across the world.
Edgar Cardoso received an Honorary Degree by the University of Rio de Janeiro, was a member of the Academia de Ciências de Lisboa (Lisbon Academy of Sciences) and received the highest national and international awards. The chief advocate of a new paradigm in the field of structural engineering, Edgar Cardoso brought recognition to his country and to the scientific community to which he  belonged.

RAÚL RÊGO – Journalist, republican, democrat and winner of the Gold Quill Award for Freedom (1976).
Raúl d’Assunção Pimenta Rêgo (Morais, 15 April 1913 – Lisbon, 1 February 2002). Raul Rêgo finished a Degree in Theology (1936) but was never ordained and soon severed ties with the church.
Having started his career as a teacher – a profession he was forced to abandon due to Government pressure –, Raúl Rêgo later pursued a career as a journalist, having worked for the Seara Nova, Reuters, Jornal do Comércio and Diário de Lisboa newspapers and eventually becoming the Director of República (1971) and A Luta (1975).
An opponent of the Fascist Regime, Raúl Rêgo was arrested on three different occasions. A founder of the Socialist Party, he became a Minister and a Parliament Member after the April 25th Revolution.
Raúl Rêgo joined the Freemasons (1971, G.O.L.), having risen to the positions of Sovereign Grand Commander and Grand Master.
A humanist, Raúl Rêgo held Erasmus as an example and was passionate about books, which he collected and studied, being considered one of the great Portuguese bibliophiles.
Raúl Rêgo placed human dignity above his own interests, firstly by condemning the acts of the Inquisition (which he compared to the political police), and later by defending the right to freedom of conscience before the Portuguese Parliament.

Technical Details
Date of Issue: 16 April 2013
Values: stamps of 0,36€, 0,60€, 0,70€, 0,80€ and 1,00€.
Acknowledgments:
Designer: Folk Design
Photos:
Printer: INCM
Process: Offset
Size: 40 x 30,6 mm
Perforation: Cross of Christ 13 x 13
Paper: FSC 110 g./m2
Watermark:
Sheet: with 50 stamps

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