Casa de América will host the seminar “Brazil and Spain: A Bridge Between Two Worlds: Gilberto Freyre and Miguel de Cervantes” on May 19, commemorating the 125th anniversary of the Brazilian writer’s birth.
The influence of Iberian thought and literature, especially Spanish, is evident in the work of Gilberto Freyre, shaping his method and writing style. Freyre confessed on many occasions to immersing himself more and more in the literature of his Spanish mentors and felt that his way of being a writer and analyst of humankind belonged to the Iberian tradition. The decisive influence of this matrix came through his reading of authors such as Ganivet, Unamuno, Ortega y Gasset, Baltasar Gracián, Ramon Llull, and Luis Vives.
From Ortega y Gasset, Freyre absorbed “perspectivism” and “circumstantialism,” which oriented his method toward the analysis of local specificities and marginal, everyday themes (such as food, hygiene, clothing, housing, and interpersonal relationships), based on an insider’s view of Brazilian society. His admiration for Unamuno’s intuition and his disdain for “rigid scientific schemes” complemented this approach, guiding him toward a less formal and more personal type of analysis.
This appropriation of Iberian thought resulted in distinctive characteristics of Gilberto Freyre’s writing. He sought a vivid, poetic, and accessible narrative, rejecting the traditional academic format. His writing blends science with poetry and emotion, reconciling “realism and emotion.” Freyre does not offer a comprehensive explanation or a global view, but rather suggests and shows the way, focusing on social structures as lived processes with people and emotions. The notion of the balance of antagonisms, present in his analysis and related to his reading of authors influenced by Iberian thought such as Gracián/Llull, became a central heuristic tool for his interpretation of Brazilian reality.
The author of Casagrande & Senzala (1933), his most important book, translated worldwide, is recognized by many as the founder of Brazil in the cultural sphere, just as, according to Darcy Ribeiro, “Cervantes was for Spain, Camões for Portugal, Tolstoy for Russia, and Sartre for France” for their respective countries.
Program:
Event in Portuguese with simultaneous translation.
6:00 PM. Welcome:
– Moisés Morera, Programming Director of Casa de América.
– Felipe Henrique Brito de Miranda, Vice President of the Gilberto Freyre Foundation.
6:15 PM. Opening Conference | ‘125 Years of Gilberto Freyre’. This conference will address the historical and social circumstances that unite Brazil and Spain through the works of the writer Gilberto Freyre and his diverse Hispanic influences, which are reflected today in social relations throughout Latin America, parts of Africa, Asia, and Oceania.
Presented by:
– George Felix Cabral de Souza, Professor at the Federal University of Pernambuco (Department of History).
6:45 PM. Round Table | ‘Gilberto Freyre and Miguel de Cervantes: A Bridge Between Two Worlds’.
The researchers will address the literary influences that shaped the life and work of the writer Gilberto Freyre throughout the different stages of his career, as well as the development of his analyses and scientific theories, such as Tropicology, which are integrated in other territories beyond Brazil itself as a tool for transcultural studies, analysis, and integration.
Participants:
– Eduardo Cesar Maia Ferreira Filho, professor of the Social Communication course at the Federal University of Pernambuco.
– Marcelo Casseb Continentino, adjunct professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Pernambuco (FCAP-UPE).
– Margarida de Oliveira Cantarelli, PhD in Law from the Federal University of Pernambuco.
7:30 PM. Round table | ‘Recife – Cervantine City’.
The researchers will present their opinions on the diverse characteristics of Brazilian culture, strongly influenced by Iberian culture, impacting our way of thinking, working, living, eating, drinking, and celebrating. They will demonstrate the affinities of the city of Recife with the Hispanic culture of Cervantes, which made it the first Brazilian city to become part of the Network of Cervantine Cities.
Participants:
– Francisco Carneiro da Cunha, architect and urban planner. – Jairo Martins, electronics engineer from the Technological Institute of Aeronautics (ITA).
8:15 p.m. Closing remarks.
Date and time:
Tuesday, May 19, 2026.
6:00 p.m.
Miguel de Cervantes Room.
Free admission until capacity is reached.
