Her Excellency Nair da Fonseca |
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Nair de Tefé being painted by Guirand de Scevola
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First Lady of Brazil | |
In office 8 December 1913 – 15 November 1914 |
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President | Hermes da Fonseca |
Preceded by | Orsina Francioni da Fonseca |
Succeeded by | Maria Carneiro |
Personal details | |
Born |
Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Empire of Brazil |
10 June 1886
Died | 10 June 1981 Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
(aged 95)
Spouse(s) | Hermes Rodrigues da Fonseca |
Occupation | Cartoonist, painter, singer |
Nair de Tefé von Hoonholtz da Fonseca, also known as Nair de Tefé, (June 10, 1886 – June 10, 1981) was Brazil's first female cartoonist, as well as a painter, singer and pianist.
Born in Petrópolis, Nair de Tefé was the daughter of diplomat and admiral Antônio Luís von Hoonholtz, baron of Tefé and granddaughter of Prussian military and aristocrat Friedrich Wilhelm von Hoonholtz, that moved to the Empire of Brazil. As a girl, she studied in Paris and Nice. In 1909, she published her first work in Fon-Fon magazine, under the pseudonym of Rian ("Nair" backwards). Her caricatures were also published in, among others, the magazines O Binóculo, A Careta, O Malho, as well as the newspapers Gazeta de Notícias and Gazeta de Petrópolis. She had an agile hand which transmitted people's characters quite well.
She stopped working as a cartoonist in 1913 when she married Brazilian president Hermes Rodrigues da Fonseca.
Nair de Tefé was a woman ahead of her time. As First Lady she hosted soirées in Catete Palace which became famous for introducing the guitar in society salons. In 1914, Nair de Tefé organized a recital to launch Corta Jaca, a maxixe composed by Chiquinha Gonzaga. The following day, controversy and criticism developed because the presidential palace had promoted and disseminated music that had its roots in what the social elite believed were lascivious and vulgar dances. Bringing popular music to the presidential palace was considered at the time to be a breach of protocol, causing controversy in the highest ranks of Brazilian society and politics. Ruy Barbosa had strong criticism about the wife of the president.