Otto Lara Resende (1922-1992)
This impish and rather undersized middle-aged gentleman had long been a favorite of mine as a columnist for a Rio daily. His columns were gems, elegantly written and a great pleasure to read. It was biting commentary on the politics of the day and not a little philosophical. I can’t remember whether or not he was a mineiro, but he certainly had that quality of mind.
I had never had the pleasure of meeting him until it came time for the inauguration of my friend Alberto Venancio Filho into the Brazilian Academy of Letters (an august institution that was another sign of French influence). French was the second language in Latin America when I first departed for lands beneath the equator (my German was fine but not much use in the Francophone tropics—unfortunately my spoken French was execrable—to use their bon mot).
These Academy inaugurations were strictly formal so I had to wear the proper garb, at some expense. After the ceremony, attended by many mutual friends, (Alberto’s elegant address was spoken with such rapidity that I caught nary a word), we retired to a grand mansion in the hills of Ipanema. At lunch I was seated at a table next to the witty Otto at the gala. It was great to be included in this expanse of literary glitterati. And that intelligent journalist appeared frequently in my learning about Brazil.
Further Readings
Resende, Otto Lara. O retrato na gaveta. S.l.: Livros do Brasil Edicao, 1962.
Resende, Otto Lara. O braço direito; romance. Rio de Janeiro: Editôra do Autor, 1963.
Resende, Otto Lara. Os sete pecadoscCapitais. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Civilização Brasileira, 1997.
Otto Lara Resende was born in São João del Rei, Minas Gerais. He pursued a career as a journalist and contributed to many publications, including Diário Carioca, Correio da Manhã, and Última Hora. Resende was also involved in fiction writing, penning O retrato na gaveta in 1962 and O braço direito in 1963. Later, in 1967, he established a short program on TV Globo called “O pequeno mundo de Otto Lara Resende.” In 1979, he was elected as a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters.