Quick Facts
AriesBiography
Luís Infante de la Cerda Sttau Monteiro (April 3, 1926 – July 23, 1993) was a Portuguese writer, novelist and playwright, a man to whom "the only sacred thing was to be free as the wind".
Life
Monteiro was born and died in Lisbon, Portugal. When he was ten years old, he went to London, accompanying his father, Armindo Monteiro, who was serving as the Portuguese ambassador to the United Kingdom. He returned to Portugal in 1943, after his father was removed from his position by António Salazar.
He graduated from the University of Lisbon with a degree in law and worked as a lawyer for a short time. Subsequently, he returned to London, where he worked as a journalist. He came into contact with contemporary English literature and decided to become a writer. He also developed an interest in Formula 2 racing, a hobby that he would pursue for the rest of his life.
When he went back to Portugal, he wrote for the magazine Almanaque (under the Name "Manuel Pedrosa") and A Mosca, a supplement of the Diário de Lisboa. In 1960, he published his first novel Um Homem não Chora (A Man Doesn't Cry). In 1961, he received the Grand Prize from the Sociedade Portuguesa de Autores for his play Felizmente Há Luar! (Fortunately, There is Moonlight!), although it could not be performed due to the censorship laws.
He was arrested in 1962, on suspicion of participating in the Revolta de Beja, but was released. As a result, he once again went to England and lived there until 1967. Upon his return, he was immediately arrested again, by PIDE (the internal security agency), on the grounds that he had written theatrical pieces satirizing Salazar and the Colonial War.
Following the Carnation Revolution (in 1975), some of his plays were presented for the first time by the D. Maria II National Theatre. He continued to contribute to periodicals, notably Expresso. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of sixty-seven.
In 1994, he was posthumously awarded the Military Order of Saint James of the Sword.