Cassandra Rios
Cassandra Rios (born Odete Rios, 1932 – 8 March 2002) was a Brazilian fiction, mystery, and specially lesbian erotica author.[1][2]
She wrote more than 40 novels,[3] and was the first Brazilian female writer who sold more than one million books. She was the most censored artist during the Brazilian military dictatorship, with her books being considered "pornographic".[4][5]
Life and career
[edit]Odete Rios was born in São Paulo, growing up in the Perdizes neighborhood. Her parents were Spanish outcasts from Spanish Civil War.[5] She published her first book, A volúpia do pecado, in 1948; the novel, a love story between two teenage girls, was rejected by all publishers. Rios borrowed money from her mother (under the condition she should not read the book) adopted the pen name Cassandra and self-published the book, which became a best-seller, and would be taken off the shelves in 1962, for its 'immoral content'.[5]
Rios wrote more than 40 books during her lifetime, most of them dealing with eroticism and homosexuality; she became the first Brazilian author to sell one million copies[6] and the first one to live exclusively off her books. After the Brazilian military coup, around 30 of her titles were taken off circulation by the official censorship, for "pornographic content".[5] Rios was often called to interrogation at DOPS, went bankrupt, and resorted to publishing by a male pseudonym, Oliver Rivers.[7]
After the end of the dictatorship, in 1985, Rios joined the Democratic Labor Party and ran for São Paulo state deputy in 1986, unsuccessfully. In 1990 she had a radio show at Rádio Bandeirantes.[5]
Death
[edit]Cassandra Rios died on 8 March 2002, in São Paulo, of an uterine cancer.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ Machado, Roberto Pinheiro (11 June 2018). Brazilian History: Culture, Society, Politics 1500-2010. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5275-1209-2.
- ^ Foster, David William (1 October 1991). Gay and Lesbian Themes in Latin American Writing. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-77647-0.
- ^ Livros e idéias: Ensaios sem fronteiras. Arte & Ciência. 2004. ISBN 9788574731315.
- ^ Luna, Fernando (July 2001). "A Perseguida". TPM (in Portuguese). pp. 4–13. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f Modelli, Laís (31 March 2019). "Quem foi Cassandra Rios, a escritora mais censurada da ditadura militar". BBC News Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 23 December 2023.
- ^ "Realidade (SP) - 1966 a 1976 - DocReader Web". memoria.bn.br. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
- ^ "Quem foi Cassandra Rios, a escritora mais censurada da ditadura militar". BBC News Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 23 December 2023.
External links
[edit]- (in Portuguese) TPM
- (in Portuguese) A Maldição de Cassandra (The Curse of Cassandra) at Memórias da Ditadura.
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