Baltasar Lopes da Silva
Encyclopedia
Baltasar Lopes da Silva (Caleijão, São Nicolau, 23 April 1907 - São Vicente
, 28 May 1989) was a writer, poet and linguist from Cape Verde
, who wrote in both Portuguese
and Cape Verdean Creole. With Manuel Lopes
and Jorge Barbosa
, he was the founder of Claridade
. In 1947 he published Chiquinho
, considered the greatest Cape Verdean novel. He sometimes wrote under the pseudonym
Osvaldo Alcântara.
. Due to his conflicting views and attitudes toward Portuguese politics of the time, he returned to Cape Verde, where he continued to teach and practice law. His last days were spent in Lisbon, where he was transferred for treatment of a cerebrovascular disease and died shortly afterwards on May 28, 1989.
In 1947, Lopes published his first book, the novel Chiquinho. Chiquinho describes in detail the customs, people, landscapes, and social problems of Cape Verde in early twentieth century. It is a coming-of-age novel about the people of Cape Verde and the step that many Cape Verdeans had to take to achieve a better life: emigration. The novel is organized into three parts:
São Vicente, Cape Verde
São Vicente , also Son Visent or Son Sent in Cape Verdean Creole, is one of the Barlavento islands of Cape Verde. It is located between the islands of Santo Antão and Santa Luzia, with the Canal de São Vicente separating it from Santo Antão.- Geography :The island is roughly rectangular in shape...
, 28 May 1989) was a writer, poet and linguist from Cape Verde
Cape Verde
The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...
, who wrote in both Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
and Cape Verdean Creole. With Manuel Lopes
Manuel Lopes
Manuel António de Sousa Lopes was a Cape Verdean novelist, poet and essayist and a founder of modern Cape Verdean literature. With Baltasar Lopes da Silva and Jorge Barbosa he was a creator of the paper named Claridade...
and Jorge Barbosa
Jorge Barbosa
Jorge Vera-Cruz Barbosa was a Cape Verdean poet and writer. He collaborated in various reviews and Portuguese and Cape Verdean journals. The publication of his poetry anthology Arquipélago in 1935 marked the beginning of Capeverdean poetry...
, he was the founder of Claridade
Claridade
Claridade was a literary review inaugurated in 1936 in the city of Mindelo on the island of São Vicente, Cape Verde. It was part of a movement of cultural, social, and political emancipations of the Capeverdean society...
. In 1947 he published Chiquinho
Chiquinho (novel)
Chiquinho is a Capeverdean novel written by Baltasar Lopes da Silva in 1947. The probability of the literary work is the most common in Cape Verde, it marked the beginning of the typical literature in Cape Verde along with local themes in Creole culture, Along with Claridade, Baltazar Lopes...
, considered the greatest Cape Verdean novel. He sometimes wrote under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Osvaldo Alcântara.
Biography
Baltasar Lopes da Silva was born in the village of Calejão on the island of São Nicolau in Cape Verde on April 23, 1907. He completed his secondary education in Mindelo, on the island of São Vicente, and then traveled to Portugal to attend the University of Lisbon. During his time in Lisbon, Lopes studied with important figures of Portuguese culture, such as Vitorino Nemésio and Câmara Reis, earned excellent grades, and graduated with degrees in Law and Romance Philology. After college, he returned to Cape Verde, where he began teaching at the Liceu Gil Eanes in São Vicente. After a few years, he was appointed Dean of the school. He left Cape Verde for a brief period to teach in Leiria, PortugalPortugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. Due to his conflicting views and attitudes toward Portuguese politics of the time, he returned to Cape Verde, where he continued to teach and practice law. His last days were spent in Lisbon, where he was transferred for treatment of a cerebrovascular disease and died shortly afterwards on May 28, 1989.
Career
In 1936, Baltasar Lopes, with the collaboration of other writers, such as Manuel Lopes, Manuel Ferreira, António Aurélio Gonçalves, Francisco José Tenreiro, Jorge Barbosa, and Daniel Filipe, founded the Cape Verdean journal Claridade. Claridade published essays, poems, and short stories. Its contributors wrote about the problems of their society, such as drought, famine, and emigration, bringing clarity to the study of Cape Verdean reality, especially with regard to the most disadvantaged social groups.In 1947, Lopes published his first book, the novel Chiquinho. Chiquinho describes in detail the customs, people, landscapes, and social problems of Cape Verde in early twentieth century. It is a coming-of-age novel about the people of Cape Verde and the step that many Cape Verdeans had to take to achieve a better life: emigration. The novel is organized into three parts:
- 1. "Childhood" (Infância), in which the protagonistProtagonistA protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
Chiquinho lives with his family and community in the village of Caleijão on the island of São Nicolau and learns his first letters. - 2. "São Vicente," in which Chiquinho continues his education in high school on the island of São Vicente, where he meets new friends and his first love Nuninha. Chiquinho and his classmates found the Grémio, an association and a journal that is very similar to Claridade, in the sense that it attempts to change the social environment of the archipelago.
- 3. "The Waters" (As Águas), the third and final part of the novel, in which Chiquinho returns to his island and becomes a teacher. This part is focused on the calamity of drought, a major problem in Cape Verde, which results in famine and many deaths. At the end of the novel, Chiquinho emigrates to the United States with the hope of a better life.
Works
- Chiquinho (1947)
- Cabo Verde visto por Gilberto Freyre (1956)
- O dialecto crioulo de Cabo VerdeO dialecto crioulo de Cabo VerdeO dialecto crioulo de Cabo Verde is a Capeverdean book published in 1957 by Baltasar Lopes da Silva....
, a description of the Cape Verdean creole languageCreole languageA creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable natural language developed from the mixing of parent languages; creoles differ from pidgins in that they have been nativized by children as their primary language, making them have features of natural languages that are normally missing from...
(1957). - Antologia da Ficção Cabo-Verdiana Contemporânea (1961)
- Cântico da Manhã Futura (1986), volume of poetry published under the name Osvaldo Alcântara
- Os Trabalhos e os Dias (short stories, 1987)