Maria Emília Vasconcelos

Daughter of the former assistant to Infante D. Afonso, artillery captain José Vicente da Silva Sena, from Elvas, and of D. Augusta de Belfort Cerqueira, from Rio de Janeiro, Maria Emília Vasconcelos was born in Lisbon on December 31, 1912, and took up residence in Viana do Castelo from 1973 onwards, the homeland of her husband Francisco Luís de Vasconcelos Costa e Melo. A poet and memoirist, her name is also linked to the dissemination of ethnography, with particular relevance to issues related to regional attire. She began her literary activity at a young age, winning several prizes in contests and floral games in the fields of short stories, lyric poetry, sonnets, and even theater. Her interest in regional attire led her to dedicate herself to the study and promotion of Viana attire, collaborating in numerous exhibitions, parades, and other activities related to this theme, of which the «Festa do Traje» at the Pilgrimage of Our Lady of Agonia, in Viana do Castelo, stands out. With her work scattered across several local newspapers, notably A Aurora do Lima, O Vianense and Santa Luzia, among many others, she also has various works in publications such as Roteiro de Viana and Arquivo de Ponte de Lima. Her most extensive collaboration, however, appears in Cadernos Vianenses, a cultural magazine published by the City Council of Viana do Castelo, where she published: «Postais de Viana» (volume II, 1979); «O Trajo Regional e a Moda» (volume III, 1979); «Um Garotito de Viana» (volume III, 1979); «Gigantones, Cabeçudos e Zabumbas» (volume IV, 1980); «Quem Era João Thomaz da Costa?» (volume V, 1981); «Nota Sobre o Advento do Automóvel em Viana» (volume VI, 1982); «Uma Obra de Misericórdia..» (volume VII, 1983); «Mestres, Alunos e Aulas em Viana» (volume VIII, 1984); «Negrumes em Viana» (volume IX, 1985); «O Espectáculo em Viana» (volume X, 1989); «Miguelismo no Alto Minho» (volume XII, 1989); «Os Barbosa e Silva, de Viana, e Camilo» (volume XV, 1992); «Passeio na Velha Beira Rio» (volumes XVIII, XIX, 1995 and volume XX, 1996). In separate booklets, she also published the works: «As Casas de Santo António», 1982; «Adeus, Não: Até à Volta os "Brasileiros" do Minho», 1987. She belongs to the Association of Journalists and Men of Letters of Alto Minho and the Center for Regional Studies of Viana do Castelo. In 1996, the City Council of Viana do Castelo awarded her the medal of «citizen of merit».