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António Rebelo de Sousa

António Rebelo de Sousa

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António Homem Cardoso

Photographer

He entered the world of photography at age 14 and in the most unexpected way, thanks to a gift from American actor Eddie Constantine. Since then, he has never stopped recording what the world has put before him. He says he made his living in advertising and found his soul in the hundred books he published, in a career where he also holds the status of photographer of the royal family. He has been given some prizes, highly prestigious ones at that, but he has never entered a photography competition, just as he guarantees that he has never had a job, a club or a party – explaining this final option by being a staunch monarchist.

António Homem Cardoso
Can you tell us the story of your meeting Eddie Constantine and tell us how this proved decisive in your career? Did the actor ever known that he had this role in his life?
It was in the old bullring of Algés that this magical encounter between luck and destiny took place. I went on set with the innocence of a dog entering a church, and when I tried to peek through one of the cameras, the technicians, using two instruments, a scream and a jerk, pushed me out of shot. Outside, I looked at them with the poetic arrogance of the excluded and that’s when the actor shouted in my direction: «Marcelin, Marcelin», and I, I’m not sure how, clinging to the ground, waited for him like a toreador waiting for the bull. The clash resulted in an affectionate smile and the blessing to enter the ring. I was allowed to stay as mascot and helper, until The End came out in the form of a farewell. «And now, António?"» And this now, so many years ago, still seems as if frozen in time: the actor opened his hand luggage, from where he took my beloved and magical Voigtländer, and with the same smile from the first day said, with his hand outstretched: «c’est pour toi!» And so, that camera, on that day, was much more than a gift, it was the beginning of another film which, fortunately for me, is still being filmed. I never saw this dear benefactor again. One day we were in Paris at the same time but I was too small for such a big party.
«Both acting and writing have been absolutely random»
You also acted. Were they really random situations or was it a goal you already had?
Both acting and writing have been absolutely random. In the first case, impudence, made possible only through the compassion of my dear friends Augusto Cabrita, Fernando Lopes and Luiz Francisco Rebello. In the other, the urgent and always sudden need to give voice to my passions.

You have done a lot of street photography and landscape photography. What are the main differences you find between Portugal today and yesterday?
Between the small, poor and closed country of the 60s and this other one of today, of «many raving people», part of a continent of open borders, single currency and false wealth, the difference is immeasurable. We are returning, especially in the major cities, to the glorious cosmopolitanism of the 16th century.

Is the photographer of the Royal Family obliged to respect certain rules, whether in the photographic register, in etiquette or in other areas?
The rules of Royal Families are simple, ancient and generous. Common sense solves almost everything and the environment starts from that principle confirmed by Edward VII, that if you’re king, you don’t need to be arrogant.
T. Sérgio Gomes da Costa
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