Fernanda Farias de Albuquerque

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Fernanda Farias de Albuquerque (1963 – 13 May 2000), was a Brazilian trans woman (travesti) and author. She is best known for her autobiography Princesa (Princess), which is a name she sometimes used as a pseudonym.

Biography[edit]

Fernanda Farias de Albuquerque was born in the Brazilian countryside in the Alagoa Grande municipality of Paraíba, in 1963.[1] She grew up without her father in a family in poverty. She was sexually abused as a child and, shortly thereafter, ran away from her maternal home. After receiving little formal education,[2] she briefly worked as a kitchen assistant in São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro before entering into the sex trade in these cities under the pseudonym Princesa (Princess).[1] In 1988, she moved to Europe, hoping for a better life than she had in Brazil.[2] She continued her sex work the streets of Milan before heading over to Rome; it was at this time she experienced heroin addiction.[1] In 1990, she was arrested for the attempted murder of another sex worker.[2] She is arrested and interned in Rebibbia prison, where she learns that she is HIV positive.[3] In prison, she met Giovanni Tamponi, a Sardinian shepherd sentenced to life imprisonment. The two exchanged notebooks, written in a mixture of Portuguese, Sardinian and Italian.[4][5]

At Tamponi's suggestion, she begins to write her story to the director and journalist Maurizio Jannelli [it], who was also detained in the same prison, and promoter of some literary projects among the prisoners. She wrote her autobiographical novel Princesa,[6][7] with Jannelli translating de Albuquerque's Sardinian-street Italian text into standard Italian.[8] The book discusses the violence which was inflicted on transvestite and transgender streetwalkers, both from the police and vigilantes (the latter including murders of her colleagues). She also discusses her drug and alcohol addiction.[2]

In 1994, the book was published by Sensibili alle foglie, a publishing co-operative of Renato Curcio, a former member of the Red Brigades militant group.[6][7] The presentation of her books at the Turin GLBT Film Festival [it] and the presence of Curcio at the festival was opposed by the relatives of those killed by the Red Brigades – one of whom shouted "assassino!" (murderer/assassin) to Curcio's face – which led to de Albuquerque not attending the festival.[3] The book was re-published by Club degli Editori [it] and Marco Tropea Editore [it] and subsequently translated into Portuguese, Spanish, German and Greek. The novel also inspired the song of the same name by Fabrizio De André (Prinçesa) in his final album Anime salve (1996) written with Ivano Fossati.[9]

For a short time, de Albuquerque was hired as a secretary in the Sensitivi alle foglie publishing co-operative, but left her job "to go back to the sidewalk because that is my fun, my freedom, my victory".[10] She also spent a very short period as a guest of the Comunità di San Benedetto al Porto at the Port of Genoa, directed by the streetwise priest Don Andrea Gallo.[6]

In 1997, she was the subject of the documentary film Le Strade di Princesa – ritratto di una trans molto speciale ("The Streets of Princesa – a portrait of a very special trans woman") by Stefano Consiglio.[11] The documentary was selected at the Venice Film Festival and subsequently broadcast on Rai 2 and Telepiù [it].[12][13]

After being expelled and repatriated to Brazil, where she died by suicide in May 2000.[14][2]

In 2001, the film Princesa was released at the cinema, directed by Henrique Goldman [wikidata] and based on the autobiographical book by de Albuquerque.[15][16] She is played by Ingrid de Souza, an amateur trans actress.[17] Unlike in real life, in the film de Albuquerque is able to overcome her hardships and does not die by suicide. The film did not achieve initial success, but won an award for the best foreign film in the Outfest festival in Los Angeles.[2]

Publications[edit]

  • Fernanda Farías de Albuquerque and Maurizio Jannelli, Princesa - Fernanda Farías de Albuquerque, Editrice Sensibili alle Foglie, 1994. ISBN 88-86323-31-X
    • Fernanda Farías de Albuquerque and Maurizio Jannelli, Princesa, Ekdoseis Delphini, Atene, 1994, ISBN 960-309-160-X
    • Fernanda Farías de Albuquerque and Maurizio Jannelli, A Princesa - Depoimentos de um travesti brasileiro a um líder das Brigadas Vermelhas, Editora Nova Fronteira, Rio de Janeiro, 1995. ISBN 85-209-0650-8
    • Fernanda Farías de Albuquerque and Maurizio Jannelli, Princesa - Ein Stricherleben, Rotbuch Verlag, Amburgo, 1996. ISBN 3-88022-372-6
    • Fernanda Farías de Albuquerque and Maurizio Jannelli, Princesa - Fernanda Farías de Albuquerque, Editorial Anagrama, Barcelona, 1996. ISBN 978-84-339-2359-2
    • Fernanda Farías de Albuquerque and Maurizio Jannelli, Princesa, Héliotropismes, Marseille, 2021, ISBN 979-10-97210-09-0

Filmography[edit]

  • Carlo Conversi, Princesa : incontri irregolari, RAI Storie vere, 1994
  • Stefano Consiglio [it], Le Strade di Princesa – ritratto di una trans molto speciale, Lantia Cinema & Audiovisivi and Rai 2, 1997
  • Henrique Goldman, Princesa, Bac Films, 2001

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Garcia, Nuno Gomes (11 January 2022). "'Princesa', de Fernanda Farias de Albuquerque | Uma obra pioneira da Literatura Transgénero" ['Princess', by Fernanda Farias de Albuquerque | A Pioneering Work of Transgender Literature]. LusoJornal (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Conheça a história de Fernanda Farias de Albuquerque, travesti brasileira" [Discover the story of Fernanda Farias de Albuquerque, a Brazilian travesti]. Diário da manhã [Morning diary] (in Brazilian Portuguese). 28 December 2017. Archived from the original on 17 May 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  3. ^ a b Costantino Muscau (15 April 1994). "Ne' uomo ne' donna, preda dei maschi" [Neither man nor woman, prey of males]. Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Archived from the original on 14 October 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  4. ^ "Princesa e Jannelli - Princesa" (in Italian). Archived from the original on 12 August 2007. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  5. ^ Romeo, Caterina (17 January 2023). Interrupted Narratives and Intersectional Representations in Italian Postcolonial Literature. Springer Nature. p. 28. ISBN 978-3-031-10043-7.
  6. ^ a b c Gallo, Andrea (16 April 2013). Ancora in strada. Un prete da marciapiede [Still on the street: A sidewalk priest] (in Italian). Edizioni Mondadori. ISBN 978-88-520-3624-8.
  7. ^ a b Parati, Graziella (31 December 2013). Migration Italy: The Art of Talking Back in a Destination Culture. University of Toronto Press. p. 101. ISBN 978-1-4426-2008-7.
  8. ^ Parati, Graziella (1999). Mediterranean Crossroads: Migration Literature in Italy. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-8386-3813-2.
  9. ^ Sanna, Silvia (2009). Fabrizio De André: storie, memorie ed echi letterari [Fabrizio De André: stories, memories and literary echoes] (in Italian). Effepi Libri. p. 66. ISBN 978-88-6002-015-4.
  10. ^ Fumarola, Silvia (22 August 1997). "Princesa la bella: una vida da trans" [Princesa the beautiful: A trans life]. la Repubblica (in Italian).
  11. ^ "Il vero volto e la storia di Princesa, la protagonista della canzone di De André - il video" [The true face and story of Princesa, the protagonist of De André's song - the video]. GenovaQuotidiana (in Italian). 8 January 2020.
  12. ^ Giovanna, Grassi (22 August 1997). "Dietro le sbarre c' e' anche Princesa, " musa " transessuale" [Behind bars is also Princesa, the transgender muse]. Corriere della Sera. Archived from the original on 26 September 2011.
  13. ^ "DICONO/FANNO Scorte contro i terroristi Princesa resta in strada" [SAY/FANNO Escorts against terrorists Princesa remains on the street]. la Stampa. 31 August 1997. p. 26. Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  14. ^ King, Russell (1 January 2001). The Mediterranean Passage: Migration and New Cultural Encounters in Southern Europe. Liverpool University Press. p. 155. ISBN 978-0-85323-646-7.
  15. ^ ""Princesa" revela boa direção brasileira" ["Princesa" shows good Brazilian direction]. terra.com.br (in Portuguese). 2000. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  16. ^ "PRINCESA - Film - Cinema e Film". Il Sole 24 Ore (in Italian). 2001. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  17. ^ Scott, A. O. (7 December 2001). "FILM IN REVIEW; 'Princesa'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 30 January 2013.
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