Milton Viola "Millôr" Fernandes

Milton Viola Fernandes (Rio de Janeiro RJ 1923). Satirical cartoonist, caricaturist, illustrator, writer, poet, playwright, translator. First drawing published in O Jornal, in 1934. At the age of 13, he was hired by the magazine, O Cruzeiro, where he carried out a variety of journalistic tasks: writing captions, pagination and working as office boy. In an attempt to improve his skills, he attended the Liceu de Artes e Ofícios [School of Arts and Crafts] of Rio de Janeiro from 1938 to 1943.

In 1939, after winning a story competition promoted by the magazine, A Cigarra [The Cicada], he was invited by Frederico Chateaubriand to write for the same magazine. He then created the Poste-Escrito [Written Post] section, writing under the pseudonym, Emmanuel Vão Gôgo, which he also used to write a column in the Diário da Noite, subsequently directing A Cigarra for three years. He also directed O Guri [The Kid], a magazine in comic strip format, and O Detetive [The Detective], of crime stories. In 1945, he produced Pif-Paf, the humour section of the magazine, O Cruzeiro, with articles by himself, also written under the pseudonym of Emmanuel Vão Gôgo that were initially illustrated by Péricles (1924 – 1961), and subsequently by himself.

In 1964, having already left O Cruzeiro, Millôr Fernandes edited the magazine Pif-Paf, which only ran for eight issues. From 1964 to 1974, he wrote a weekly column from Portugal for the newspaper, Diário Popular. From 1969 to 1975, he took part in the Rio de Janeiro-based weekly, O Pasquim, together with Jaguar (1932-), Tarso de Castro, Sérgio Cabral (1937), Henfil (1944 – 1988), Paulo Francis (1930 – 1997), Ziraldo (1932-), among others. In addition to his output in the printed media, Millôr has presented TV programmes on TV Itacolomi of Belo Horizonte, and on TV Tupi, of Rio de Janeiro. He writes poems, articles, adaptations and translations for the theatre and screenplays for the cinema, having also published dozens of books.

via Fernandes, Millôr (1923).

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1. THE FAVELA CHAIR
Despite its name – the “shantytown chair” – the Campana brothers‘ Favela Chair became a defining piece of Brazilian design with a price tag to match when it was launched in 2003. Reputedly made out of the same wood used to construct shacks in the ramshackle city districts, this design classic sells for just under $4,000.

2. THE HAVAIANA FLIP FLOP
Invented in 1962 the Havaiana, a rubber flip-flop, spent nearly 40 years as an unremarkable but commonplace component of the Brazilian wardrobe. Suddenly at the end of the 1990s the Havaiana took off as an international fashion accessory worn by top models across the globe such as Naomi Campbell. Havaiana’s international sales are said to be doubling each year. In Rio the lowly Havaiana costs around R$10 (£2). In Europe they have been known to fetch around £100.

3. OSCAR NIEMEYER’S CONGRESS BUILDING
Erected at the end of the 1950s, Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer’s Congresso Nacional, the Congress Building in Brazil’s capital Brasília, remains his most celebrated work, often compared to two white flying saucers. Mixing the sweeping convex and concave lines for which he became famous, the building is one of the most recognisable symbols of Brazilian architecture.

4. THE DENTAL FLOSS BIKINI
Known in South America as fio dental or “dental floss”, the Brazilian bikini is also begrudgingly held up as a design classic, widely embraced on the country’s beaches. The dental floss bikini was not always a unanimity, however. In 1961 president Janio Quadros outlawed the tiny fashion item from Rio’s beaches. He lasted just seven months in power.

5. THE TUTTI FRUTTI HAT
Carmen Miranda, Brazil’s most famous singing export, is to this day one of the defining fashion icons to emerge from Brazil. Born in Portugal, “the lady in the tutti-frutti hat”, as she became known, moved to the US in 1939 where her colourful, fruit-laden costumes became a seminal creation, referenced to this day by Brazilian designers.

via Inside Brazil: Brazilian design classics | From the Guardian | The Guardian.

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• Brazilian Design at the New York’s MoMA Store
• 9th Brazilian Graphic Design Biennial in China

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