Torquato Neto's Vampire: Brazilian Counterculture and the Legacy of Dictatorship
In a comprehensive essay for ZUM, writer and curator Leo Felipe examines the figure of the vampire as a metaphor for Brazil's military dictatorship (1964-1985) and its enduring legacy. The text traces the countercultural movements of Tropicália, desbunde, and marginália, focusing on poet Torquato Neto, who committed suicide in 1972 at age 28. Felipe analyzes Hélio Oiticica's iconic work 'Seja marginal, seja herói' (1968), which features a photograph of bandit Alcir Figueira da Silva, and discusses Ivan Cardoso's Super-8 film 'Nosferato no Brasil' (1971), starring Torquato as a hippie vampire. The essay connects the vampire trope to political repression, torture, and the 1979 Amnesty Law that shielded torturers from prosecution. It also references the 2023 Supreme Court trial of Jair Bolsonaro and military allies for an attempted coup, linking past and present authoritarian threats. Felipe argues that the vampire symbolizes the fascist power that drains the population's vitality, and that Brazil's failure to confront its dictatorial past allows this monster to persist.
Key facts
- Torquato Neto died by suicide on November 10, 1972, in Rio de Janeiro, one day after his 28th birthday.
- Hélio Oiticica created the work 'Seja marginal, seja herói' in 1968 featuring Alcir Figueira da Silva.
- Ivan Cardoso's film 'Nosferato no Brasil' (1971) stars Torquato Neto as a vampire.
- The AI-5 decree in December 1968 institutionalized terror, closing Congress and authorizing censorship and torture.
- The 1979 Amnesty Law prevented prosecution of military torturers.
- Only one military officer, Colonel Carlos Alberto Brilhante Ustra, was convicted for torture during the dictatorship, in 2008.
- The essay references the 2023 STF trial convicting Bolsonaro and allies for attempted coup.
- The magazine Navilouca (1974), conceived by Torquato and Waly Salomão, was a key avant-garde publication.
Entities
Artists
- Torquato Neto
- Hélio Oiticica
- Ivan Cardoso
- Caetano Veloso
- Gilberto Gil
- Waly Salomão
- Gal Costa
- Jards Macalé
- Lygia Pape
- Lygia Clark
- José Mojica Marins
- Chico Anysio
- Jorge Mautner
- Antonio Manuel
- Jairo Ferreira
- Rogério Duarte
- Décio Pignatari
- Haroldo de Campos
- Augusto de Campos
- Óscar Ramos
- Luciano Figueiredo
- Ana Maria Duarte
- Scarlett Moon
- Marcia Clarkson
- Helena Ignez
- Leila Diniz
- Ana Cristina Cesar
- Baby Consuelo
- Rita Lee
- Glauber Rocha
- José Celso Martinez Corrêa
- José Agrippino de Paula
- Oswald de Andrade
- Affonso Ávila
- Carlos Marighella
- Alcir Figueira da Silva
- Manoel Moreira (Cara de Cavalo)
- Milton Le Cocq
- João Goulart
- Michel Temer
- Jair Bolsonaro
- Dilma Rousseff
- João Figueiredo
- Sílvio Santos
- Jardel Filho
- Pablo Larraín
- Antonio Risério
- Celso Favaretto
- Frederico Coelho
- Cláudio Novaes Pinto Coelho
- Marisa Alvarez Lima
- Leo Felipe
Institutions
- ZUM
- Revista ZUM
- CIA
- Ação Libertadora Nacional (ALN)
- Partido Comunista Brasileiro (PCB)
- Partido Comunista do Brasil (PCdoB)
- Forças Armadas Brasileiras
- Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF)
- Polygram
- Som Livre
- Phillips
- RGE
- O Cruzeiro
- A Última Hora
- Correio da Manhã
- Paraíso do Tuiuti
- Teatro Oficina
- Teatro Tereza Raquel
- Whitechapel Gallery
- Itaú Cultural
- Caja Negra
- n-1 edições
- Quadradocirculo
- nunc
- Capela Sixteena
Locations
- Brazil
- Rio de Janeiro
- São Paulo
- Salvador
- Teresina
- Londres (London)
- Paris
- Budapeste (Budapest)
- Ipanema
- Porto da Barra
- Arembepe
- Dunas do Barato
- Morro da Mangueira
- Chelsea
- Electric Cinema
- Round House
- Araguaia
- Amazônia
- Guanabara
- Chile
Sources
- ZUM IMS —