José Manuel Pereira

Journalist and poet. With virtually no formal education, he revealed himself from an early age to be a highly intelligent autodidact, whose avid reading made him a profound connoisseur of classics and European literature. To appreciate the authenticity of these authors, he self-studied English, French, and German, becoming a fluent polyglot. Appreciated and respected, he quickly became a renowned journalist. And how far he could have gone were it not for his modesty and profound shyness, which kept him away from praise and the company of notables. The kindness, tenderness, and refinement that permeated his gifts as a fluent orator and an eminent prose writer made José Manuel Pereira a benchmark in Algarve journalism. When José Barão founded Jornal do Algarve, a publication still in print, in 1957, he invited José Manuel Pereira to collaborate, who would assume its direction in 1966, upon the founder's death. In 1983, he was called again to «revive» that publication and hold the same position, which he would leave in 1986. It was neither in his nature nor his good-natured character to assume strong leadership roles, so he resumed the position of a simple columnist for the «Brisas do Guadiana» section, which he maintained until his death. A well-traveled, cultured, and literate man, a correspondent for various daily newspapers, he also dedicated himself to scouting and its message of fraternity. He also dedicated himself to local associations, serving on the boards of Glória F. C., the Humanitarian Association of Vila-Realense Firefighters, and the Cine Clube, which he helped found. With the humility everyone recognized in him, he accepted, almost at the end of his life, that the Municipal Council publish his only book, in which he revealed himself to be a poet of great sentiment and refined stylistic flair.