Her name was Maria José. She was 19 years old and she was hunchbacked and ugly. One day, she fell madly in love with António and liked to stay by the window and watch her love pass. Wrote him a letter.
The story is not from a movie: it is by Fernando Pessoa. Maria José is the only “heteronymous” known to the poet and even goes to the “Festa dos Anos de Álvaro de Campos”, another of the Pessoan heteronyms, on the 25th and 26th of November, in Tavira.
In this case, the organizer of the party, as a tribute to Álvaro de Campos, is Tela Leão, president of the association “Partilha Alternativa”. The decision to include Maria José in the program of this initiative was «taken at the last minute».
«I have been “immersed” in Pessoa all the time. I discovered the existence of this “heteronym” in research and, as soon as I saw it, I opened my eyes wide. After all, Fernando Pessoa was also a woman», she tells, between laughs, to the Sul Informação.
It is certain that the existence of this Maria José is unknown to most people, since the main heteronyms for Pessoa are Álvaro de Campos, Alberto Caeiro and Ricardo Reis.
“I asked people and found out that a lot of people don't know about its existence,” says Tela. As with the cultural programmer, “many people open their eyes when I talk about it”, she says.
So, nothing better than taking an initiative that is already personal in itself and adding even one more seasoning. What will be done on the 25th and 26th, at 21 pm, «has not been fully decided yet», but it should be a «performance staged with actress Susana Nunes».
The idea is for this actress “to be at a window, in the historic center of Tavira” to interpret the love letter written by Maria José, which is “of such a beautiful delicacy”.
Fernando Pessoa, or rather Maria José, writes in that letter: «you don't know who I am, that is, you know, but you don't really know. You've seen me at the window when you go into the workshop and I look at you because I'm waiting for you to arrive, and I know what time you're coming. You must have always thought unimportantly about the hump on the first floor of the yellow house, but I only think about you».
This performance, in which the letter will be interpreted, will be a «first rehearsal for an idea to be better developed next year», reveals Tela Leão.
But not only Maria José will this “Feast of the Years of Álvaro de Campos”, heteronym born in Tavira on October 15, 1890.
The program includes “Wine and Poetry Nights”, at the Álvaro de Campos restaurant, on the 7th of October, at 20 pm, an exhibition of recently found documents from the Pessoa family, on the 00nd of October, at 2 am, at the Clube de Tavira, or a jazz concert by “Fernando Pessoa Project”, on October 10th, at 00 pm, also at Clube de Tavira.
To this, there are exhibitions and even initiatives with schools. All events provided for in the program, with the exception of exhibitions and initiatives with schools, have a paid entrance fee, which varies between 5 and 10 euros.
As for the idea for the initiative, it is not new. When Tela Leão, born in Brazil, arrived in Tavira, Casa Álvaro de Campos was already holding “academic meetings at the time of this date”, which the president of the association Partilha Alternativa attended.
In 2015, bringing together Casa Álvaro de Campos with the Armação de Artistas theater association, a group that was also already marking the date with theatrical initiatives, a first "small program" emerged.
A year later, the anniversary of Pessoa's heteronym was once again celebrated, already with the support of 365 Algarve, something that repeats this year. Not to mention that Tela Leão is a self-confessed fan of Álvaro de Campos, as he has already revealed to our newspaper.
For the cultural programmer, the whole «program is great». “Each initiative is special. We have Fernando Pessoa seen and revised, from a group – the Pérolas do Gilão – singing Pessoa with Portuguese folklore themes, to improvisations or jazz. Each one is precious in itself», he says.
With regard to expectations for the events… «let's see how it goes». “I don't know how it will work. The bet is strong on local musicians, but we will also have one or two guests from abroad», he concludes.
To consult the complete program, which is supported by the dissemination of Casa Fernando Pessoa, in Lisbon, click here
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