I was going to talk about Preta. Gil. I changed my mind when I saw Carol Portes’ interview for Juliana Dal Piva. Finally, I received the news that Heloísa Buarque de Hollanda was the newest immortal of the Brazilian Academy of Letters. In a crisis about whom to write, I realized that I was facing the same theme: giant women, whom I would like to thank for their existence – and steal a little courage.
I start with Preta, a revolutionary without a primer, who transformed all the places she went through. Whether posing naked on a record cover, sitting at the dinner table, or talking about her sexuality or talking about the disease she is dealing with, Preta Gil has acted in a political way since I can remember. This week, in the midst of the disrespectful way in which her separation has been treated by the press, she asked for peace.
Generous, the singer always offered her freedom so spontaneously that any fight felt like Carnival. Preta laughs and changes the world. It breathes and disrupts the status quo. She acts as if she were dancing, as if her movements were effortless. But have. Preta has been giving us, for years and for free, daily injections of light and self-esteem. It’s time to give back.
He once gave me a phone call. “You can go, Maria. You don’t have to stay with this story.” I was in a difficult relationship and I felt guilty for wanting to get out of it. Preta, seeing my suffering, and even though she wasn’t that close, didn’t hesitate to say two or three words to me. Right. I was single the next day. This is called feminism, although many people still have a hard time seeing the sweetness that resides in the term.
The interview that Carol Portes gave this week to Juliana Dal Piva here at UOL is also feminist. I don’t know if the content would be so strong if the reporter were a man, I don’t think so. Probably not. The article, about sexual and moral harassment, talks about violence of which, unfortunately, we have some knowledge. The vulnerability and truth of Carol’s lines kept me up at night and listening to Juliana brought me back. If anyone still had, or still has, doubts about the right side of the Marcius Melhem case, I strongly suggest that you watch the material.
And now Heloísa Buarque de Hollanda, the woman I want to be when I grow up, the voice that points arrows at me since “26 Poets Today”, when I met Ana Cristina Cesar. At the age of 83, Helô was elected to the chair left by the also immense Nélida Piñon, the first woman to chair the ABL.
Professor at UFRJ and a proud feminist – to the point where she now also goes by Helô Teixeira, her mother’s surname – Heloísa must carry, in addition to her work as a writer, the subversion that makes her one of the most fascinating intellectuals this country has ever had. I keep imagining this tea, with Helô talking about her enchantment with literary production from the periphery, and Gil, and Fernanda Montenegro, and Zuenir Ventura. Better than this table, just including Preta, Carol and Juliana.
#Preta #Helô #Carol #Juliana #giants