Margarida Tengarrinha, emblematic name of the 25th of April Revolution, will be in Albufeira to talk about the theme “What dictatorship was this that the 25th of April revolution overthrew?”, on the 26th, at 14 pm, in the Historical Archives of this city.
The well-known fighter against fascism was invited by the Council of Albufeira to make known «the struggle that many Portuguese undertook against the Salazar regime», as part of the commemorations of the 45th anniversary of the 25th of April, in this municipality. At the same time, it is intended "to honor an anti-fascist woman and a freedom fighter."
Margarida Tengarrinha, born in Portimão in 1928, studied at the Escola Superior de Belas Artes in Lisbon, where she met who would be her companion and father of her two daughters, the painter José Dias Coelho, a prominent member of the Portuguese Communist Party.
«It was with him that she ended up exchanging a comfortable life as a daughter of the upper middle class of the Algarve for the difficult life of hiding and fighting the Dictatorship of Salazar. Between the 50s and 60s, a troubled time for those who opposed the regime, he had two daughters, Teresa and Guidinha», describes the City Council of Albufeira.
«Margarida, who was Teresa, forged identities with José Dias Coelho, who also had another name, Fausto, to support those who were fighting against the dictatorship. They set up a workshop, where they dedicated themselves to the forgery of identity cards and passports. During the 1950s, the houses of Margarida and José were one of the most important centers of resistance to the Estado Novo. Life with the painter José Dias Coelho, however, would end too soon. On December 19, 1961, at just 38 years of age, he would be murdered by the PIDE. Zeca Afonso made his death immortal in the song “Death left the street”», added the municipality.
After this tragic event, Margarida Tengarrinha went to Moscow to work with Álvaro Cunhal, who helped ensure the safety of her daughters.
After the 25th of April, she was a member of the Central Committee of the PCP and deputy of the PCP for the Algarve. In 2014, for her career in the cultural area and in the defense of women's rights, Margarida Tengarrinha was the first to be awarded the Maria Veleda Prize. She continues to be a Professor of History of Art at the Senior University of Portimão.
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