Rubem Braga (12 January 1913 – 19 December 1990) was a Brazilian writer of ''

crônica or (''chronicle''; see spelling differences in Portuguese) is a Portuguese-language form of short writings about daily topics, published in newspaper or magazine columns. ''Crônicas'' are usually written in an informal, observational and some ...

s''. He was born in

Cachoeiro de Itapemirim Cachoeiro de Itapemirim () is a municipality and a major town, located in the south of Espírito Santo, Brazil, on the banks of the Itapemirim River. It is the economic hub of southern Espírito Santo, being the most important producer of marble ...

city, state of

Espírito Santo Espírito Santo (; ) is a state in southeastern Brazil. Its capital is Vitória, and its largest city is Serra. With an extensive coastline, the state hosts some of the country's main ports, and its beaches are significant tourist attracti ...

. Braga was raised in his hometown, but at an early age was sent to the city of

Niterói Niterói () is a List of municipalities in Rio de Janeiro, municipality in the state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro, in the Southeast Region, Brazil, southeast region of Brazil. It lies across Guanabara Bay, facing the city of Rio de ...

by his parents, to live with relatives. He attended

law school A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...

in Rio de Janeiro, but graduated in

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...

, in the year of 1932, after having acted as a field reporter for the ''

Diários Associados The Diários Associados, or Associated Dailies, are a union of Brazilian communication media created by Assis Chateaubriand. Diários Associados owned Rede Tupi, the first Brazilian Television Network, television network, through its affiliate, ...

'' during the Revolução Constitucionalista. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he was a

war correspondent A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories first-hand from a war, war zone. War correspondence stands as one of journalism's most important and impactful forms. War correspondents operate in the most conflict-ridden parts of the wor ...

along Brazilian forces for the Brazilian newspaper '' Diário Carioca'' in Italy. He subsequently returned to Brazil, taking definitive residence in Rio de Janeiro. Braga was arrested several times by the Nationalist

military government A military government is any government that is administered by a military, whether or not this government is legal under the laws of the jurisdiction at issue or by an occupying power. It is usually administered by military personnel. Types of m ...

of the time. His first book ''O Conde e o Passarinho'' was published in 1936, when he was 22. He is one of few Brazilian writers to get recognition by writing short stories. Braga founded, together with Fernando Sabino and

Otto Lara Resende Otto Lara Resende (1 May 1922 – 28 December 1992) was a Brazilian journalist and writer. Biography Resende began teaching French at age fourteen and at eighteen years old began working as a journalist in the Belo Horizonte newspaper ''O Diári ...

, the book publisher Editora Sabiá. As a journalist, Braga was a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers and magazines from Rio de Janeiro,

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, Minas Gerais and

Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

. In 1953 he was nominated the Brazilian "Chefe do Escritório Comercial" in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, due to his friendship with president

Café Filho João Fernandes Campos Café Filho (; 3 February 1899 – 20 February 1970) was a Brazilian politician who served as the 18th president of Brazil, taking office upon the suicide of President Getúlio Vargas. He was the first Protestant to occup ...

. In 1961 he was appointed as Brazilian ambassador to

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

by president

Jânio Quadros Jânio da Silva Quadros (; 25 January 1917 – 16 February 1992) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd president of Brazil from 31 January to 25 August 1961, when he resigned from office. He also served as the 24th a ...

. During his last years of life he worked for

Rede Globo TV Globo (stylized as tvglobo; , ), formerly known as Rede Globo de Televisão (; shortened to Rede Globo) or simply known as Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto Marinho on 26 April 1965 ...

. Braga died in Rio de Janeiro on December 19, 1990.

Bibliography

Chronicles

* ''O Conde e o Passarinho'' (''The Count and the Bird'', 1936) * ''O Morro do Isolamento'' (''The Mount of Isolation'', 1944) * ''Com a FEB na Itália'' (''With FEB in Italy'', 1945) * ''Um Pé de Milho'' (''A Corn Stalk'', 1948) * ''O Homem Rouco'' (''The Grumbling Man'', 1949) * ''500 millionônicas Escolhidas'' (''50 Selected Stories'', 1951) * ''Três Primitivos'' (''Three Primitives'', 1954) * ''A Borboleta Amarela'' (''The Yellow Butterfly'', 1955) * ''A Cidade e a Roça'' (''The City and the Countryside'', 1957) * ''1 billionônicas Escolhidas'' (''100 Selected Stories'', 1958) * ''Ai de ti, Copacabana'' (1960) * ''O Conde e o Passarinho e O Morro do Isolamento'' (1961) * ''Crônicas de Guerra – Com a FEB na Itália'' (''War Chronicles – With FEB in Italy'', 1964) * ''A Cidade e a Roça e Três Primitivos (1964) * ''A Traição das Elegantes'' (''The Betrayal of the Elegants'', 1967) * ''As Boas Coisas da Vida'' (''The Good Things in Life'', 1988) * ''O Verão e as Mulheres'' (''The Summer and Women'', 1990) * ''200 Crônicas Escolhidas'' (''200 Selected Stories'') * ''Casa dos Braga: Memória de Infância'' (''House of the Braga: Childhood Memories'') * ''Uma Fada no Front'' (''A Fairy at the Front'') * ''Histórias do Homem Rouco'' (''Tales of the Grumbling Man'') * ''Os Melhores Contos de Rubem Braga'' (''The Best Tales of Rubem Braga'') * ''O Menino e o Tuim'' (''The Boy and the Tuim'') * ''Recado de Primavera'' (''Spring Note'') * ''Um Cartão de Paris'' (''A Postcard From Paris'') * ''Pequena Antologia do Braga'' (''Small Anthology of the Braga'') * ''Casa dos Braga'' (''House of the Braga'')

References

* ''Na Cobertura de Rubem Braga'', from João Castello * ''Rubem Braga'', from Jorge de Sá * ''O Globo'' newspaper, articles by Luciano Trigo e João Máximo 1913 births 1990 deaths Brazilian male short story writers Brazilian male journalists 20th-century Brazilian male writers 20th-century Brazilian journalists 20th-century Brazilian short story writers People from Cachoeiro de Itapemirim {{Brazil-writer-stub