Celebrating the legacy of António Joaquim Ribeiro, better known as António Variações, this event aims to reflect on the social, cultural, and political transformations in Portugal from the 1940s to the 1980s.

Objective: The colloquium traverses Portugal's history through the lenses of migrations and emigrations, child labor, hunger, religiosity, and the dichotomy between rural and urban living conditions; addressing issues of gender and identity; the Colonial War, and the emergence of post-April 1974 revolution counterculture, marking the end of the dictatorship and the vibrant emergence of Democracy after the fall of the Regime. From the mid-70s to the early 80s, it is the experience of living in Freedom. Starting with the press freed from prior censorship by the regime. New sounds emerge. Color invades the streets, dressing bodies that were previously shrouded in dark colors. Customs record new ways of expressing and living sexuality. The right to divorce is granted. Women's rights are enshrined: to vote, for example. To travel without the husband's or father's authorization. In theater and cinema, all freedoms are granted. Full nudity makes its appearance on stage. Cinema halls register box office hits with films such as the highly controversial masterpiece by Japanese director Nagasi Oshima, "In the Realm of the Senses" (1976), alongside the pornographic "Deep Throat" (1972) directed and written by Gerard Damiano, which became a cult film. In Lisbon, drag shows with their epicenter in Bairro Alto also become a cult to which all classes adhere. And a whole new way of experiencing spectacle. In all these stages, scenarios, and movements, we closely follow the life paths of António Joaquim Ribeiro/Variações, who illustrates many of these transformations, without neglecting the powerful legacy of his word-poems and music.

Topics of Interest:

  • Rural life in Portugal until the 1970s. Internal migrations: from the countryside to the city, from Portugal to abroad
  • Gender and sexuality issues: persecutions, imprisonment, and the possible and rare affirmations of homosexuality. [The childhood of António Joaquim Ribeiro in Minho; his move to Lisbon at age 11].
  • Impacts of the Colonial War on Portuguese and African societies.
  • Childhood and adolescence experiences from the 1940s to the 1970s.
  • The emergence of counterculture in the 1970s and 1980s: music, fashion, and alternative social spaces. Homosexuality unmasked. The enshrinement of the right to divorce. Women's Rights. The liberalization of customs.
  • Freedom of the Press and its reflections on customs and mentalities.
  • 1980s. AIDS/HIV, the "Punishment of God."
  • The life and legacy of António Variações: his sound, the depth of his poems/lyrics, and the cultural and social environment of the "Dear 80s."
  • Deadline for submission of abstracts/full papers: October 10, 2024
  • Colloquium dates: December 5-6, 2024

Format:

  • Abstracts should be between 300 and 500 words.
  • Full papers should be up to 5000 words.

Submission Platform: