Saudades de Cantagalo: new data on the unknown Brazilian biography of Américo Castro

Abstract

This paper is a result of a research on the Brazilianity of Américo Castro, through local sources in Cantagalo (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), his native municipality, and the Brazilian newspaper archive. The research deals with different areas: the location of the birth house, the situation of the family, the activities of his visit in 1946, his impressions of Cantagalo, post-mortem recognitions, as well as “saudades” that he expressed by letter to his Brazilian friends. Without intending to question, in general terms, the interpretations of his disciples, it is possible to carry out new complementary biographical analyzes, emphasizing his early Brazilian childhood (lusophone) and his ability to understand ethnic plurality.