The directory «Plots»

Rodrigues Nelson Falcão
(1912—1986)

Nelson Falcão Rodrigues, was an important Brazilian dramatist, journalist and writer.

Born in Recife, the capital of the Brazilian state of Pernambuco, Nelson moved to Rio de Janeiro in 1916 when his father, Mário Rodrigues, purchased a house in "Zona Norte" (A region of Rio de Janeiro composed of "suburbs" more akin to American projects than the American notion of a suburb). Mário Rodrigues found work in the carioca newspaper Correio da Manhã.

Nelson's life was always tied to journalism and in 1925, at only thirteen years of age, he started to work in A Manhã, a newspaper owned by his father.

The following years were happy ones for the Rodrigues family, until the murder of Roberto Rodrigues, Nelson's brother. After Roberto's death, Mário fell into a depression, passing away a few months later.

As if the Rodrigues family had not already suffered enough, in the Revolução de 30 the Rodrigues newspaper was destroyed by the revolutionary army.

In 1932 Nelson got a job on the O Globo Newspaper, Brazil's most-read periodical, but his problems continued. In 1933 he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. His treatment was financed by Roberto Marinho, who also paid Nelson's salary during his time away at Campos do Jordão.

Nelson was also famous for his articles about soccer and specifically Fluminense - the traditional soccer team from Rio de Janeiro which he supported. Although he was a great fan of Fluminense he wrote memorable articles and chronicles about other teams and the Brazilian soccer team.

In his role as a novelist, Nelson focused mainly on the dark side of family and human relations. Infidelity, incest, envy and lust were the main themes of the famous "A vida como ela é" (Life as it really is) chronicles, that became a fantastic series in the 90's.

By the 40's he invented a character, Suzana Flag, to write novels. For a long time people believed the woman (the writer) was real.

Many of his plays and novels became movies and/or TV programs.

Beginning in 1940 Nelson divided his time between his job at O Globo and his personal work as dramatist. In 1941 his first play debuted, A Mulher Sem Pecado (The Woman Without Sin, in English). It was a fiasco, but his second play, Vestido de Noiva (Wedding Dress or Dress of a Bride) was a thundering success.

Brazil, 2004, Nelson Rodrigues