Playwright, actor and journalist Alexandre Ribondi dies

Artist Alexandre Ribondi, playwright, director, actor, journalist and founding partner of Espaço Multicultural Casa dos Quatro, dedicated to LGBTQIA+ militancy, died this Saturday (10th) in Brasilia, at the age of 70. In May, Ribondi was the victim of a Cerebral Vascular Accident (CVA) and, since then, he has been hospitalized at Hospital de Base, Hospital das Clínicas de Ceilândia and at the Regional Hospital of Asa Norte where, at 2:06 pm this Saturday, he died. Born in Espírito Santo, Ribondi developed his career in the 1970s, in the Federal District, writing and acting in theater plays with LGBTQIA+ themes such as Filó Brasiliense (1975), Os Rapazes da Banda (1981), Crépe Suzette, o Beijo da Grapette (1980 ), Abigail is Older than Procópio (1986), In the Summer of 62 (1985), The Last Life of a Cat (2002), Groins (2005), Happiness (2015) and Mimosa (2018). He was also a contributor to the newspaper Lampião, an LGBTQIA+ publication with national circulation, and a founding member of the Grupo de Luta Homosexual Beijo Livre. He wrote the novels, with the same theme, In the Company of Men and In the Life of Birds. He participated in the Latin American anthology of short stories Now the Volcano, published by Gay Sunshine Press, USA. He was also a member of Retratação (2021), a collective of communicators and artists, offering creative and authorial products, such as production, performances, consulting, coverage, photography and videography. In a note, the founding partners of Casa dos Quatro described the trajectory of its most illustrious member. “For those who, born on December 12, 1952 in Mimoso do Sul (ES), never found rest, his passing is certainly the moment for that. In Brasília since 1968, days after the enactment of AI-5, Ribondi made his debut in the theater directed by Laís Aderne at the age of 15. He suffered the repression of the Dictatorship in his skin, when he was arrested, tortured and went into exile in France. He became a cultural journalist in the city’s newspapers, such as Correio Braziliense and Jornal de Brasília. In the lead years, he founded the first LGBTQIAPN+ organization in the capital, the Homosexual Group Beijo Livre. Between comings and goings to and from Portugal, he lived through two long marriages. He became a playwright, author, director, actor. He was in full swing : he conducted two workshops at our Casa dos Quatro, for training actors, and one at Sol Nascente (DF), on acting for young LGBTQIAPN+”, says the text signed by Elisa Mattos, Josias Silva, Luísa de Marillac, Morillo Carvalho, Rafael Salmona and Rui Miranda. Also in an official note, the secretary of culture and creative economy of the Federal District, Bartolomeu Rodrigues, regretted the artist’s departure. “Brasília’s cultural scene has lost one of its greatest protagonists. Author, actor, producer, entrepreneur, Ribondi was everything and, at the same time, a questioner of his time, giving space to the debate and shedding light in the darkness. Exactly one month ago, he received the Seu Teodoro Medal from the Secretariat of Culture, offered to personalities engaged in the appreciation and dissemination of the arts in the Federal District. He was happy, full of life, we hugged and laughed together. It was a farewell, but his legacy remains. And the fight too”, wrote the secretary. Alexandre Ribondi’s wake will take place at the Campo da Esperança cemetery, this Sunday (11), in the morning, at a time to be confirmed. The artist is survived by his brother Ludovico and his nephew Alex, in addition to countless friends, admirers and disciples.

Agência Brasil