The bones of Eça de Queiroz, one of the most scathing Portuguese writers of the 19th century, were transferred from a cemetery in Beirão to the National Pantheon in Lisbon, with the urn covered by the Portuguese flag and state honors.
Only the most important figures in Portuguese history, such as the fado singer Amália Rodrigues, the footballer Eusébio, the Infante Don Enrique and the poets Fernando Pessoa and Luís de Camões, are buried and receive state honors in the National Pantheon.
On a day of intense rain and with no people outside the basilica, the ceremony was attended by the President of the Republic, the President of the Portuguese Parliament and the Prime Minister, as well as some of the most important figures in Portuguese public life.
In addition, Eça de Queiroz’s family was also present, specifically his great-great-grandson Afonso Reis Cabral, president of the Eça de Queiroz Foundation and one of the promoters of the transfer. The process was controversial and involved a legal dispute between family members, some of whom opposed the transfer of the remains. At the end of the ceremony the national anthem was sung.
Eça de Queiroz died on August 16, 1900 and was buried in Lisbon. In September 1989, his remains were moved from the Alto de São João cemetery, in the capital, to a family tomb in the Santa Cruz do Douro cemetery, in Baião.
In 2021, Parliament approved a resolution in response to a challenge launched by the Eça de Queirós Foundation, which defines and regulates the honors of the National Pantheon intended to “honor and perpetuate the memory of Portuguese citizens who have distinguished themselves for services provided to the country.” , in the exercise of high public office, high military service, in the expansion of Portuguese culture, in literary, scientific and artistic creation or in the defense of the values of civilization, in favor of the dignity of the human person and the cause of freedom.
Born in Póvoa de Varzim, in the district of Oporto, in 1845, he was the author of short stories and novels, among which ‘Os Maias’ stands out, considered by several generations of critics and literary researchers to be the best Portuguese realist novel of the 19th century.
His vast work includes titles such as ‘O primo Basílio’, ‘A cidade e as serras’, ‘O crime do padre Amaro’, ‘A relíquia’, ‘A illustre casa de Ramires’, ‘A tragédia da Rua das Flores’, ‘As farpas’ and ‘Maias’.
The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, considered today that few Portuguese writers are as alive as Eça de Queiroz and argued that the transfer of his remains to the National Pantheon is an act of evident justice.
«The greatest tribute to Eça will be, without a doubt, republishing it, studying it and, above all, reading it. But there are acts of justice, obvious acts like this transfer, although we do not know the writer’s wishes in this regard,” declared the Head of State during the ceremony granting the honors of the National Pantheon to Eça de Queiroz.
According to the President of the Republic, among them are “the troubadours, Gil Vicente, Sá de Miranda, Camões, Vieira, Garrett, Camilo, Eça, Antero, Cesário, Pessanha, Pessoa, some others”, as well as “some closer contemporaries in time, but they will be subjected to the test of the centuries.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa reinforced the message that this ceremony is “a fair recognition”, but that we must “care above all for Eça’s work, as the foundation, the publishers, starting with the National Press, the critics and academics are doing.” , and the family.
#Eça #Queiroz #scathing #Portuguese #writer #transferred #National #Pantheon
