J
José de Alencar
writer
- Birth name:
- José Martiniano de Alencar
- Born:
- 1829-05-01, Messejana, Ceará, Brazil
- Died:
- 1877-12-12, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Professions:
- writer
Biography
A mesquite-scented wind blew across the sertão on 1 May 1829, the day José de Alencar drew his first breath in Messejana, Ceará. That boy would grow into the novelist who gave Brazil its founding myths: the mulatto warrior of O Guarani, the luminous courtesan of Lucíola—both brought to the screen in 1916—and the tragic indigenous bride whose name, Iracema, echoed in the 1949 film adaptation. Between pages and politics, he found a life-long co-author in Georgina Augusta Cochrane, his wife and compass. Rio de Janeiro closed the final chapter for him on 12 December 1877, yet the country still turns to his words when it needs to remember who it is.
