Fernanda De Castro
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Maria Fernanda Teles de Castro de Quadros Ferro OSE (8 December 1900 – 19 December 1994) was a Portuguese writer, poet, and translator. She was founder and director of the National Association of Children's Parks and of the magazine ''Bem Viver''. She also wrote music for fado, marches and children's songs, as well as screenplays for film and ballet.


Early life

Fernanda de Castro was the daughter of João Filipe das Dores de Quadros who had family ties with the former Portuguese colony of
Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...
and Ana Isaura Codina Teles de Castro da Silva. She had four brothers and one sister. She was born close to midnight in the
Campo de Ourique Campo may refer to: Places ;Cameroon * Campo, Cameroon, in the South Province ;Equatorial Guinea * Río Campo, in the Litoral Province ;France * Campo, Corse-du-Sud, a commune on the island of Corsica ;Italy * Campo P.G., a World War II prison ...
area of the Portuguese capital of
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
, according to her mother on 8 December 1900 and according to her father and official documents on the 9th. Christened Maria Fernanda, she was nicknamed ''Mariazinha'' (Little Maria), a name she would later use for one of her children's books, ''Mariazinha em África''. In 1909 her father became captain of the port of
Portimão Portimão () is a city and a municipality in the district of Faro (district), Faro, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The population in 2022 was 63,079 in an area of 182.06 km2. It was formerly known as Vila Nova de Portimão. In ...
in the
Algarve The Algarve (, , ) is the southernmost NUTS statistical regions of Portugal, NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities (concelho, ''concelhos'' or ''município ...
, where she went to school. He would later transfer to
Figueira da Foz Figueira da Foz (), officially Figueira da Foz City (), often called simply Figueira for short, is a city and a municipality in the Coimbra District, in Portugal. Practically at the midpoint of the Iberian Peninsula's Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coa ...
. The family then returned to Lisbon before her father was appointed, in 1913, to become port captain at Bolama in
Portuguese Guinea Portuguese Guinea (), called the Overseas Province of Guinea from 1951 until 1972 and then State of Guinea from 1972 until 1974, was a Portuguese overseas province in West Africa from 1588 until 10 September 1974, when it gained independence as G ...
. Her mother died of yellow fever in Bolama. Castro married
António Ferro António Joaquim Tavares Ferro (17 August 1895, Lisbon - 11 November 1956, Lisbon) was a Portuguese writer, journalist and politician, associated with the Estado Novo. Biography In 1915, when he was barely 19, his friend, Mário de Sá Carnei ...
in 1922. As he was presenting a play in Brazil at the time and she was in
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
, they married by proxy, and she then went to Rio de Janeiro to join her husband. There she had her portrait painted by
Tarsila do Amaral Tarsila de Aguiar do Amaral (; 1 September 1886 – 17 January 1973) was a Brazilian painter, draftswoman, and translator. She is considered one of the leading Latin American modernist artists, and is regarded as the painter who best achieved Bra ...
and
Anita Malfatti Anita Catarina Malfatti (December 2, 1889 – November 6, 1964) is heralded as the first Brazilian artist to introduce European and American forms of Modernism to Brazil. Her solo exhibition in São Paulo, in 1917–1918, was controversial at t ...
, both leading Brazilian artists. The couple had two sons and Fernando Manuel de Quadros Ferro, who were both involved in literary activities. The daughter of António, Rita Ferro, also became a well-known writer, playwright, and scriptwriter.


Career

Having completed her school studies between 1915 and 1918, majoring in mathematics, Castro began to attend literary salons in 1920, including those given by
Veva de Lima Genoveva de Lima Mayer Ulrich (1886 – 1963), who used Veva de Lima () as her pen name, was a Portuguese writer, socialite and eccentric, who was known for hosting literary salons in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon. Early life Lima was born in L ...
. She would spend her Sundays at the home of the writer and poet, Branca de Gonta Colaço. A year later, she gave up attending a Polytechnic School and published her first book, ''Ante-manhã'', containing verses written when she was between 15 and 18. Publication of this book, under the name of Maria Fernanda de Castro e Quadros, was a birthday present from family and friends. She was astonished to find that "my little book was not badly received". She then went on to win first prize in a competition to submit an original play. This was named ''Náufragos'' (Castaways) and was written in collaboration with her friend, Teresa Leitão de Barros. It had its first performance in 1924. On 7 April 1921 she contributed to the first edition of the ''
Diário de Lisboa The ''Diário de Lisboa'' was a daily evening newspaper published in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon between 1921 and 1990. History The newspaper was founded on 7 April 1921 by Joaquim Manso, who ran it until he died in 1956. He was succeeded b ...
'' newspaper, which also included work by her future husband. After this, she began to sign her name as Fernanda de Castro, publishing a second book of poetry called ''Danças de Roda'' (Circle Dances). In 1924, she published a book of poems called ''Cidade em Flor'' (City in flower), with a cover illustration by
Bernardo Marques Bernardo Loureiro Marques ( Silves, 1898 - Lisbon, 1962), was a Portuguese painter, illustrator, graphic artist and caricaturist. He was one of the most relevant Portuguese artists of his generation.José Augusto França includes Marques in the ...
. Accompanying her husband and invited by the Brazilian
modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
writer
Oswald de Andrade José Oswald de Souza Andrade (January 11, 1890 – October 22, 1954) was a Brazilian poet, novelist and cultural critic. He was born in, spent most of his life in, and died in São Paulo. Andrade was one of the founders of Brazilian modernism ...
and his wife, she then went to Paris, where the two couples were part of the social circle of people such as the artist
Francis Picabia Francis Picabia (: born Francis-Marie Martinez de Picabia; 22January 1879 – 30November 1953) was a French avant-garde painter, writer, filmmaker, magazine publisher, poet, and typography, typographist closely associated with Dada. When consid ...
, the fashion designer
Paul Poiret Paul Poiret (20 April 1879 – 30 April 1944) was a French fashion designer, a master couturier during the first two decades of the 20th century. He was the founder of his namesake haute couture house. Early life and career Poiret was bor ...
, and the composers
Arthur Honegger Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss-French composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. Honegger was a member of Les Six. For Halbreich, '' Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher'' is "more even ...
and
Eric Satie Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (born 17 May 18661 July 1925), better known as Erik Satie, was a French composer and pianist. The son of a French father and a British mother, he studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, Paris Conservatoire but was an undi ...
. In 1925, she published her second book of poems, entitled ''Varinha de Condão'' (Magic Wand), in collaboration with Teresa Leitão de Barros. She was also translating foreign plays for her husband's new theatre group, which was performing at Lisbon's ''
Teatro da Rua dos Condes The ''Teatro da Rua dos Condes'', or simply ''Condes'', was a theatre in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon. It was opened in 1738 and rebuilt in 1755 after an earthquake. Never considered comfortable, it was demolished and rebuilt in 1888 and event ...
''. In 1926 she published her first children's books including ''Mariazinha em África'', which became very popular. The first edition had a cover by Sarah Affonso. In 1927 she published ''As Novas Aventuras de Mariazinha'' (The new adventures of Mariazinha). Continuing to publish poetry, in 1928 she also brought out her first novel for adults, ''O Veneno do Sol'' (The poison of the sun), set in Africa. In the 1990s, it would be adapted into a
soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
. In 1930, her play ''Nova Escola de Maridos'' (New school for husbands) was staged at Lisbon's ''
Teatro da Trindade The ''Teatro da Trindade'' is a theatre in the Chiado neighbourhood of Lisbon, Portugal, built in the 19th century. It is one of the oldest theatres in Lisbon still in operation. Construction and opening In 1866, Francisco Pereira Palha de Fari ...
''. In 1931, together with her friend Inês Guerreiro, Castro embarked on social work, establishing the National Association of Children's Parks. These parks, aimed at poorer communities in Lisbon, were colourful places that offered teaching of painting, music and ballet (with Águeda Sena as one of the teachers), a permanent nurse and weekly visits from doctors, as well as food and schooling. She persuaded the banker,
Ricardo Espírito Santo Ricardo Ribeiro do Espírito Santo Silva (1900–1955) was a Portuguese banker, economist, patron of the arts, and international athlete. A good friend of the Portuguese dictator, António de Oliveira Salazar, he turned the Banco Espírito Santo ...
, to be the patron, the first park being inaugurated in 1932 and the second in 1934. Castro assisted her husband to collect exhibits for the Portugal Pavilion at the Paris International Exhibition, held in 1937. She also played an important role in various conferences held at the Pavilion, whose participants included the French novelist,
Colette Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (; 28 January 1873 – 3 August 1954), known as Colette or Colette Willy, was a French author and woman of letters. She was also a Mime artist, mime, actress, and journalist. Colette is best known in the English-speaki ...
. In 1939 there were Portuguese pavilions at exhibitions in New York City and San Francisco, and Castro also worked with her husband on these. In 1940, she wrote the script for the ballet ''A Lenda das Amendoeiras'' (The Legend of the Almond Trees), which was performed at the ''Teatro da Trindade''. In the same year she collaborated with her husband, a supporter and propagandist of the '' Estado Novo'' dictatorship, in the presentation of the
Portuguese World Exhibition The Portuguese World Exhibition () was held in Lisbon in 1940 to mark 800 years since the foundation of the country and 300 years since the restoration of independence from Spain. The fair ran from 23 June to 2 December 1940, held on the Praça d ...
in Lisbon. She then translated ''El Padre Setubal'' (Father Setubal) by
Maurice Maeterlinck Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck (29 August 1862 – 6 May 1949), also known as Count/Comte Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who was Flemish but wrote in French. He was awarded the 1911 Nobel Prize in ...
, presented at the
D. Maria II National Theatre The Queen Maria II National Theatre () is a theatre in Lisbon, Portugal. The historic theatre is one of the most prestigious Portuguese venues and is located in the Rossio square, in the centre of the city. History The theatre was built on t ...
by
Amélia Rey Colaço Amélia Lafourcade Schmidt Rey Colaço de Robles Monteiro (2 March 1898–8 July 1990) was one of the leading Portuguese actors of the first half of the 20th century. She was also an important impresario. Early years Amélia Rey Colaço was born ...
and Robles Monteiro. During World War II, Castro published a cookbook, under the pseudonym of Teresa Diniz that recognised the shortages caused by the war as it was entitled One Hundred Recipes Without Meat. In 1944, she translated the Journal of
Katherine Mansfield Kathleen Mansfield Murry (née Beauchamp; 14 October 1888 – 9 January 1923) was a New Zealand writer and critic who was an important figure in the Literary modernism, modernist movement. Her works are celebrated across the world and have been ...
and in 1945 she published the novel, ''Maria da Lua'', for which she became the first woman to win the Ricardo Malheiros Prize, from the Academy of Sciences of Lisbon. In 1946 she translated ''
Letters to a Young Poet ''Letters to a Young Poet'' (original title, in German: ''Briefe an einen jungen Dichter'') is a collection of ten letters written by the Bohemian-Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926) to Franz Xaver Kappus (1883–1966), a 19-year- ...
'' by the Austrian writer
Rainer Maria Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was an Austrian poet and novelist. Acclaimed as an Idiosyncrasy, idiosyncratic and expressive poet, he is widely recognized as ...
. Others she translated included
Luigi Pirandello Luigi Pirandello (; ; 28 June 1867 – 10 December 1936) was an Italians, Italian dramatist, novelist, poet, and short story writer whose greatest contributions were his plays. He was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his bold and ...
and
Eugène Ionesco Eugène Ionesco (; ; born Eugen Ionescu, ; 26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wrote mostly in French, and was one of the foremost figures of the French avant-garde theatre#Avant-garde, French avant-garde th ...
. In 1950, her husband was appointed as Portuguese ambassador to Switzerland and Castro accompanied him there, but travelled frequently back to Portugal. In 1953 she launched the magazine ''Bem Viver'' (Live Well) and edited it for two years. Her husband was then transferred to Rome. Despite playing the role of the diplomat's wife, she still found time to write new poems and novels. In November 1956, Castro's husband died in Lisbon after surgery. This left her fairly poor but, even so, she turned down an offer from the Government to receive a salary for running the National Association of Children's Parks. In 1961, her son, Fernando, was seriously injured in a car crash that killed his two daughters. Continuing to write poetry and other literature, in 1964, she published a book for children introducing
botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...
, called ''É A Vida Maravilhosa das Plantas'' (It's The Wonderful Life of Plants). In the same year she moved to Faro in the
Algarve The Algarve (, , ) is the southernmost NUTS statistical regions of Portugal, NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities (concelho, ''concelhos'' or ''município ...
, where she opened a restaurant and also organised the first Algarve Festival. In 1966 she wrote a major poem, ''África Raiz'', inspired by her time in Africa and subsequent visits. In 1969 she was awarded the National Poetry Prize. The following year she purchased an old house in the hill town of Marvão and restored it. This left her little time to support her children's parks and she transferred the charity to the
Santa Casa da Misericórdia Santa Casa da Misericórdia is a charitable institution whose mission is to treat and support the sick, the disabled, and orphans. Founded in Lisbon in 1498 by Queen Leonor of Portugal, the institution grew into a network of charitable organizat ...
, a religious charity. By 1985 Castro had become bedridden and almost blind. She dictated her memoirs to two friends, Teresa Zeverino and Edith Arvelos. The first volume, ''Ao Fim da Memória'' (1906-1939), was published in 1986. The second volume, covering 1939–1987, was published a year later. Her final novel, ''Everything is Principle'', was published posthumously in 2006. She died in Lisbon on 19 December 1994.


Awards and honours

In 1920 she won the D.Maria II National Theatre Award, for the play ''Náufragos'' In 1940, Castro was made an Officer of Military Order of Saint James of the Sword. In 1942 she received an award from Romania for her translation work. In 1945 she was the first woman to win the Ricardo Malheiros Prize from the Lisbon Academy of Sciences. Castro won the National Poetry Prize in 1969. In 1990, she was awarded the Children's Literature Prize by the
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (), commonly referred to simply as the Gulbenkian Foundation, is a Portuguese institution dedicated to the promotion of the arts, philanthropy, science, and education. One of the wealthiest charitable founda ...
. After her death, the Lisbon City Council gave her name to a garden in the parish of Belém.


Works

*1919 – ''Ante-manhã''. Lisbon, Edition da Autora. *1921 - ''Danças de roda''. Lisbon: Tipografia Lusitânia. *1924 - ''Cidade em flor''. Lisbon, Edition da Autora. *1924 - ''Varinha de condão''. Lisbon, Edition das Autoras. *1925 - ''Mariazinha em África''. Empresa Literária Fluminense Limitada. *1928 - ''Jardim''. Lisbon, Edition da Autora. *1928 - ''O veneno do sol''. Lisbon, Edition da Autora. *1929 - ''As Aventuras de Mariazinha''. Lisbon: Oficina Gráfica, Lda. *1932 - ''O tesouro da Casa Amarela – Teatro Infantil''. Lisbon, Empresa Nacional de Publicidade. *1935 - ''Daquém e Dalém Alma''. Poems. Lisbon, Editorial Império. *1940 (approx.) - ''100 Receitas sem carne''. Under the pseudonym of Teresa Diniz. *1942 - ''Trinta e nove Poemas''. Lisbon, Editorial Império. *1943 - ''A pedra no lago''. Lisbon, Edições Ocidente. *1945 - ''Maria da Lua''. História de uma casa. Lisbon. *1948 - ''Sorte''. Lisbon, Ocidente. *1951 - ''Raiz funda''. Lisbon, Edições Bertrand. *1952 - ''Exílio''. Lisbon, Livraria Bertrand. *1955 - ''Asa no Espaço''. Lisbon, Edições Ática. *1962 - ''A Ilha da Grande Solidão''. Lisbon, Portugália Editora. *1963 - ''A Princesa dos Sete Castelos'', illustrated by Inês Guerreiro. Lisbon, Tipografia Peres *1964 - ''A Vida Maravilhosa das Plantas'', illustrated by Inês Guerreiro. Lisbon, Edition da Autora. *1966 - ''África Raiz'', illustrated by Eleutério Sanches. Lisbon, Parceria A. M. Pereira. *1969 - ''Bloco 65'', illustrated by Inês Guerreiro. Lisbon. *1969 - ''Fim-de-Semana na Gorongosa''. Lisbon, Edition da Autora. *1973 - ''Fontebela''. Lisbon, Edition da Autora. *1983 - ''A Ilha dos Papagaios''. Lisbon, Editorial Verbo. *1986 - ''Ao Fim da Memória I. Memórias 1906 – 1939'' (Autobiography), Lisbon, Editorial Verbo. *1987 - ''Ao Fim da Memória II – Memórias 1939 – 1987''. Lisbon, Editorial Verbo. *1989 - ''Urgente''. Lisbon, Guimarães Editores. *1990 - ''Cartas para além do tempo''. Lisbon, Europres. *2006 - ''Tudo é princípio''. Lisbon, Círculo de Leitores.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castro, Fernanda de 1900 births 1994 deaths Portuguese women poets Portuguese women novelists Portuguese women dramatists and playwrights Portuguese women children's writers 20th-century Portuguese women writers Portuguese educators