Fernando Gabeira

Fernando Gabeira.

Fernando Paulo Nagle Gabeira (Portuguese pronunciation: [feʁˈnɐ̃du ɡaˈbejɾɐ]; born February 17, 1941 in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais) is a Brazilian politician, author and journalist. He has been a federal deputy for the State of Rio de Janeiro since 1995.

Because of his role in the kidnapping of the ambassador Charles Burke Elbrick, Gabeira cannot enter the United States and its territories.^[1]^[2] Gabeira has asked for a visa revision three times, and was denied each time.^[3]

Biography

Fernando Gabeira is best known for his book O que é isso, companheiro? (literally "What is this, comrade?"). Written in 1979, the book tells of the armed resistance to the military dictatorship in Brazil, and particularly describes the 1969 episode of the kidnapping of the American ambassador Charles Burke Elbrick, in which Gabeira took part as a member of MR8, a group trying to fight the military dictatorship installed in Brazil five years prior. The book was made into a movie in 1997, titled Four Days in September in English. The movie was nominated for many awards, including the Best Foreign Language Film by the Academy Awards.

In a May 2009 interview with Ragga magazine, Gabeira said "I was in error" in kidnapping the American ambassador in 1969 and that he would never participate in anti-American activity now. He was also one of the founding members of the Green Party of Brazil, but left the group in 2002 to join the Workers' Party. Recently he rejoined the Greens, due to his disappointment with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's government, and also because of the way the Worker's Party was dealing with its remaining far-left members.

During his exile in the 1970s, Gabeira lived in several countries including Chile, Sweden and Italy. In Stockholm, where he spent most of his exile, he studied anthropology at Stockholm University and worked as a journalist as well as a metro conductor ^[4]

Gabeira has repeatedly voiced his ideological support for the legalization of marijuana. He ran for the mayoral office of Rio de Janeiro in 2008, and was defeated by Eduardo Paes in the runoff round on October 26 (49.3% – 50.7%). He also lost a bid to become Governor of Rio de Janeiro in 2010.

The knitted swimsuit affair

Gabeira is a cousin of Leda Nagle, a well-known Brazilian TV hostess. He lived for a decade in exile from Brazil during the military dictatorship, and returned to his country in 1979. Just after his return, a photo of Gabeira wearing a very small knitted swimsuit on Ipanema beach turned into a national scandal. Many years later, Gabeira revealed that his scandalous bathing suit was indeed the bottom part of one of Leda Nagle's bikinis.^[5]

Family

Gabeira was married to Brazilian fashion designer,Yame Reis, with whom he had two daughters, Tami and Maya. The couple divorced in 1999. His daughter Maya has since become a top female big wave surfer. She said the trauma of her parents' divorce drove her to leave home at age 15 and go to Australia on a student program. She moved to Hawaii in 2004 at age 17 to surf world class waves. She quickly emerged as the world's top female big-wave surfer, winning global championships surfing challenging spots like Mavericks, Waimea, Todos Santos, and South Africa's shark-infested "Dungeons". She told Huck Magazine in 2007: "My dad and I are very similar. All the energy he's put into improving the country I have as well – only I've been channeling it into my surfing." She added: "My dad has a really strong character, is incredibly bright and I’ve learned a lot from him."

References

External links

Authority control	WorldCat Identities VIAF: 17342057 ISNI: 0000 0001 1600 6480 SUDOC: 050120212 BNF: cb12607319d (data)

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