Editorial data

At the end of the 1920s, São Paulo once again hosted an avant-garde periodical with the Revista de Antropofagia. Featuring more controversial content than previous titles, the publication questioned the modernist movement and proposed different paths, a stance that entailed disagreements and splits. The magazine's title was inspired by the painting Abaporu, by Tarsila do Amaral, which illustrated the Manifesto Antropófago. This text was written by Oswald de Andrade and expressed the journal's intentions. The magazine went through two moments, with different characteristics.

The first phase saw monthly periodicity, from May 1928 to February 1929, totalling 10 issues, with Antônio de Alcântara Machado as director and Raul Bopp as manager. The address was Rua Benjamin Constant, 13, 3rd floor, room 7, PO Box 1269. There is no data on the print run and, with regard to price, a single issue cost $500, while an annual subscription offer from issue 4 onwards was 5$000. From a graphic point of view the magazine did not present any major innovations, and, in this first phase, was published in a 32 by 22.5 cm format with eight pages. In addition to Tarsila's Abaporu, other iconographic material appeared in the magazine, such as drawings by Rosário Fusco, Antonio Gomide and the Argentine Maria Clemencia, as well as reproductions of sheet music and autograph facsimiles of Krishnamurti and Max Jacob.

The second phase, jokingly named 2^nd dentition, appeared shortly afterwards, in March 1929. The changes were profound, starting with the title, which now included the subtitle “organ of the anthropophagy club”, further changed starting with the fifth issue to “organ of the Brazilian anthropophagy of letters”. Format-wise, it became a weekly page published in the Diário de São Paulo newspaper. A total of 16 pages were published, between March 17 and August 1, 1929, with the previously mentioned post office box remaining as the official address. Alcântara Machado left and Raul Bopp took turns as director with Jaime Adour da Câmara, while Geraldo Ferraz, known as “açougueiro” (butcher) for his layout duties, was appointed staff secretary. In fact, the boldness of the presentation became a highlight, by exploring the possibilities of the newspaper format. Oswald de Andrade and Oswaldo Costa were also part of the editorial board. At this stage, the magazine published drawings and reproduction of works by Tarsila do Amaral, Di Cavalcanti, Cícero Dias, and Patrícia Galvão, known as Pagu.

The magazine's content was in line with its anthropophagic purposes, which were characterized by their critical commitment and radicality of avant-garde ideals. The overall tone of the publication was parodic, turning laughter into a weapon, not even sparing those who, in the beginning, shared anthropophagic values, such as Mário de Andrade and Alcântara Machado. While the first phase was marked by a wide network of collaborators, coming from different states and modernist groups, contributions were rare in the second phase, in part due to the bold positions taken, which intensified the tensions and distances within the movement. Coincidentally, the number of pseudonyms in the anthropophagic periodical grew, reinforcing the derisive attitude. Modernist magazines were usually short-lived, but the choices made by the editors contributed to the publication’s demise, either through fissures caused within the movement itself or the criticism that the Diário de São Paulo received from its readers, who were dissatisfied with this type of content in the newspaper.

Luciana Francisco