Rosa Lobato de Faria (Rosa Maria de Bettencourt Rodrigues Lobato de Faria; 20 April 1932 – 2 February 2010) was a Portuguese actress and writer whose career encompassed a variety of media including acting, scriptwriting, literature (novels and poetry) and songwriting. She was a respected figure in Portuguese cultural circles.[1] She was married twice. Her first marriage, which produced three children, ended in divorce.
Lobato de Faria was born and Lisbon, and came to acting relatively late, with her first major credit in a 1982 TV series Vila Faia, which ran for 100 episodes. Between then and her last role in Aqui Não Há Quem Viva (2006–2008), she appeared in leading roles in many other television series including Humor de Perdição (1987), Nem o Pai Morre Nem a Gente Almoça (1990), Crónica do Tempo (1992), A Minha Sogra É uma Bruxa (2002), Só Gosto De Ti (2004) and Ninguém Como Tu (2005). She played in a variety of genres from straight drama to crime/thriller serials and comedy. Although her career was mainly television-based, she also appeared in a handful of films such as Paisagem Sem Barcos (1983) and O Vestido Cor de Fogo (1986).
Between 1988 and 1995 Lobato de Faria was a prolific scriptwriter for TV serials and telenovelas, being involved with twelve different programmes. She ceased her activity in this area when she turned to literature as her main form of creative expression.[2]
Lobato de Faria published her first novel Os Pássaros de Seda in 1995. This was followed by eleven further titles, including O Prenúncio das Águas, which won Portugal's Prémio Máxima de Literatura award in 2000. Lobato de Faria published three children's stories, and also wrote poetry, with her work in that field collected in a 1997 volume Poemas Escolhidos e Dispersos.[3]
Lobato de Faria was the lyricist for four Portuguese Eurovision Song Contest entries: "Amor d'água fresca" (1992), "Chamar a música" (1994), "Baunilha e chocolate" (1995) and "Antes do adeus" (1997).[4]
Lobato de Faria died in hospital in Lisbon, aged 77, on 2 February 2010, from complications of anaemia.
Tributes paid to Lobato de Faria by notables such as Portuguese President Aníbal Cavaco Silva, Culture Minister Gabriela Canavilhas, and colleagues from the fields of television and literature recognised her contribution to Portuguese culture. Canavilhas said Lobato de Faria left a "legacy which is testament to her creativity and great sensibility and which will stand as an inspiration for future generations" while Luís Andrade, a former programme director for national broadcasting channel RTP, described her as "a great writer and a great actress. Portugal...is much the poorer for her unexpected death."[5]
Her novel As esquinas do tempo was written after a stay in a real Rural Tourism house in the Gondomar area, called Casa de São Miguel-Turismo Rural. The 4 sisters who own the house and its decoration and estate transported the author to a time 100 years in the past which inspired the theme of the novel. Rosa Lobato Faria explained this in almost every presentation of the book, although, by choice of the owners of the space, she never referred to it directly. The Tourism in question still exists today and is preserved as Rosa Lobato Faria found it at the time. In the book of honor of the Casa de São Miguel you can see the dedication that the author left to the owners of the Rural Tourism, as well as dedications from other friends of the author and various public figures (e.g. Mário Zambujal, Dr. José Hermano Saraiva, D. Ximenes Bello, D. Manuel Clemente, etc.). For those who want to visit that immaculately conversational place from the times of yesteryear, you can visit online at www.casasmiguel.com and www.facebook.com/casasmiguelgondomar or stay overnight and live the same experience as the author and better understand the work and take the opportunity to visit the entire house and private museum and follow the path of the author.
Adapted from her novel "A Trança de Inês", the film Pedro e Inês by director António Ferreira was released in 2018.