New Book Examines Artistic Resistance to Military Dictatorship Censorship

Reporter Miguel de Almeida has released a 182 page book titled "Chame o Ladrão - Como os Artistas Driblaram a Censura do Governo Militar," which details the strategies artists used to bypass censorship during Brazil's military dictatorship. The text describes a complex dynamic between creators and censors, highlighting how Chico Buarque used the pseudonym Julinho da Adelaide to avoid the systematic cutting of his work. Other examples include the rescue of Bruno Barreto's "Dona Flor e seus Dois Maridos" with the assistance of Amália Lucy Geisel, the daughter of the president, and the struggle of novelist Ignácio de Loyola Brandão to publish his novel "Zero." After being rejected by 13 publishers in 1973, Brandão published the work through the Italian publisher Feltrinelli before a Brazilian edition was released in 1975 and subsequently banned.

The book also explores the contradictions of the censorship apparatus. It notes instances of incompetence, such as a censor confusing actress Glauce Rocha with filmmaker Glauber Rocha, and reports that some censors were influenced by alcohol or personal relationships. However, the author emphasizes that the period was not humorous, as artists like Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso were imprisoned and many cultural projects were destroyed. The narrative further reveals that Romero Lago, who led the Service of Public Diversions Censorship, was actually Hermelindo Ramirez Godoy, a man who had assumed a new identity after fleeing prison following a double murder. Godoy claimed his brother was the true mastermind behind the crime and stated that he joined the public service to lead an honorable life.