Tábua Mourns Eduardo Gageiro, Who Photographed Portugal's Pride and Shame
- @ Cynthia Adina Kirkwood
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 53 minutes ago
The portrait of dictator António de Oliveira Salazar was taken down from the headquarters of PIDE, the secret police, on April 25, 1974, the day that authoritarian rule was taken down after 48 years. (Photos by @ Eduardo Gageiro)
Tábua Municipality, in Coimbra District, mourns the death of one of Portugal's greatest photojournalists, Eduardo Gageiro, who had family ties to the Parish of Mouronho.
Aware of the importance of his work, the Beiras municipalityl awarded the photographer its highest distinction, the Medal of the Municipality of Tábua, on April 10, 2010.
President of the Republic Jorge Sampaio also honored him in 2004 with the rank of Commander in the Order of the Infante D. Henriques, reported Notícias de Coimbra (June 4).
Belgium honored him as Knight of the Order of Leopold II, according to his website's biography. Eduardo Gageiro's work won him a legion of national and international honors.
Also from the Beiras region were Eduardo Gageiro's grandparents, who were from Meruge, Serra da Estrela and Avô, Municipality of Oliveira do Hospital, he told Expresso (May 5, 2023).
Oliveira do Hospital's Casa da Cultura César Oliveira showcased the exhibition, Eduardo Gageiro -- Memorabilia, Photographs from the Collection of Luís Negrão and Family, between December 7, 2024, and February 2. Along with iconic images of April 25, 1974, there were portraits of 20th-century Portugal, including Amália, Sophia de Mello Breyner Anderson, Álvaro Cunhal, Eusébio, General Spínola, Mário Soares and Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho.
It was Gageiro's second exhibit in Oliveira do Hospital, according to the Municipality, which neighbors Tábua.
The chronicler of the April 25th Revolution died at the age of 90 at the Hospital dos Capuchos in Lisbon, "in peace surrounded by his family, with affection and comfort", his grandson, Afonso Gageiro told Lusa news agency.
Until the end, Eduardo Gageiro maintained enormous willpower and mental agility, overcoming the prolonged illness that claimed his life, said his grandson.
Known by his peers as Mestre, or Master, he organized his final exhibition, Through the Lens of Freedom, which opened on April 25 and closes on September 13 at the Municipal Gallery of Torres Vedras.
Eduardo Gageiro is known for his photographic record of the Carnation Revolution but also for the images he captured during Portugal's Ditadura Nacional (1926) and the Estado Unido (1933), which revealed the precarious conditions of the lives of most Portuguese.
Therefore, he was arrested several times by PIDE (International and State Defense Police), the regime's secret police, reported Expresso.
During the student demonstrations in the 1960s, he had gotten into the habit of taking a short series of photographs and changing the roll of film immediately, without reaching its limit. "If they caught me, they would take the blank roll."
Nonetheless, PIDE knocked on his door in Sacavém during the night of June 26, 1965. He left home without knowing his destination. He only returned in early August. The PIDE file states that he was arrested for investigation into crimes against state security and "held in Caixas Prison Depot" in Porto.
"During that period, which seems longer to him than it actually was, he spent the entire time in his cell without wanting to look beyond the bars: 'After leaving there, and for a long time, I couldn't face a white wall," the photographer told Expresso.
During interrogations, he always denied responsibility. He had not been the one to send out the photographs which gave a poor image of Portugal. For example, Calvário (Calvary); The Woman of Nazaré had been the cover of O Século Ilustrado in July 1963 after winning several awards, including the Troféu de Ouro at the Hong Kong International Salon.
"The PIDEs advised me to photograph landscapes."
"I got there and told the soldier that I was a friend of the commander. He took me to the commander and I introduced myself. To my surprise, Salgueiro Maia said he knew me from reading O Século. He told me to stay by his side at all times, and that's how I watched everything. I was never afraid. I faced it with an inner rage. I thought: if they want to kill me, kill me," Gageiro told Expresso (May 5, 2023).
Álvaro Cunhal (center) was in Lisbon on May 1, 1974, Portugal's first International Workers' Day after the Carnation Revolution. (Mário Soares, the first secretary-general of the Socialist Party from its founding in 1973 to 1986, stands on Cunhal´s far right. Soares, later, would serve as prime minister and president.) Cunhal had been tortured and imprisoned in 1937, 1940 and 1949-1960 for a total of 15 years, eight of which were in isolation. He and his comrades accomplished a famous escape from the Fortress of Peniche prison, Leiria District, in 1960. After the Carnation Revolution, he served as minister without a portfolio in the four provisional governments and, later, as a representative in the Assembly of the Republic in 1976, 1980, 1983 and 1985. Born in Sé Nova parish, Coimbra District, he died at age 91 in 2005. His funeral in Lisbon was attended by more than 250,000, reported Expresso (June 15, 2005).
Calvário (Calvary): The Woman of Nazaré in 1962
Eduardo Gageiro was born on February 16, 1935, in Sacavém, a city in the Municipality of Loures, Lisbon District. From ages 12 to 22, the self-taught photographer was an office worker at the Fábrica de Loiça de Sacavém, a famous ceramics crockery factory. He spent his daily life with painters, sculptors and factory workers, who influenced his decision to pursue photojournalism, according to his website's biography.
At the age of 12, in 1947, he published his first photograph in Diário de Notícias, which made it to the front page. In 1957, he began working as a photojournalist at Diário Illustrado.
Besides O Século Ilustrado, he also worked as a photographer for Eva, Almanaque, Match Magazine, Associated Press (Portugal) and was editor of the magazine Sábado.
In addition, he worked for Companhia Nacional de Bailado, the Assembly of the Republic and, among others, the German Deutsche Gramophone and the Japanese Yamaha.
In his 70-year career, he also worked as a freelancer.
Amália, Rainha da Fado (Queen of Fado)
The photojournalist at work (Photo by Jose Sena Goulão/Lusa)
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