He did a Painting degree course at António Arroio Art School, in Lisbon. He started cartoonist in March 1974 at “República” newspaper and has been a permanent contributor to the main Portuguese weekly “Expresso” since late 1974.
Amongst many awards received, the following stand out:
Grand Prix of the XX International Salon of Cartoons (Montreal, Canada, 1983).
1st Prize for Editorial Cartoon of the XXIII International Salon of Cartoons (Montreal, Canada, 1986).
Gazeta de Cartoon Prize (Lisbon, Portugal , 1992).
Grand Prix of Honour at the XV Festival du Dessin Humoristique (Anglet, France, 1993).
Award of Excellence – Best Newspaper Design, SND – Stockholm, Sweden (1995).
Premio Internazionale Satira Politica (ex-æquo, Forte Dei Marmi , Italy, 2002).
Grand Prix Stuart Carvalhais (Lisbon, Portugal, 2005).
Prix Presse Internationale (Saint-Just-le-Martel, France, 2010).
Gazeta de Mérito Prize (Lisbon, Portugal, 2018).
Selected in the following anthologies:
“The 1970s: Best Political Cartoon of Decade”, McGrawHill, PaperBacks, New York; “The Finest International Political Cartoon of our Time”, Wittyworld Books, USA, 1992; “The Finest International
Political Cartoon of our Time II”, Wittyworld Books, USA, 1993; “Cartoonometer”, Wittyworld Books, USA, 1994.
Author of the artistic decoration of the Underground Station – Lisbon Airport “Figuras de Lisboa” made up of 50 caricatures of relevant personalities of the political, cultural, and artistic life of the city, made in enchased stone.
He is Cartoon Xira commissioner and World Press Cartoon director.
Q&A
-Have you experienced any form of censorship? What happened?
I have had a privileged relationship with the same newspaper (Expresso) since 1974 and I have no prior control over my work. I do not forget that there was the case of the censorship of the New York Times that led to the end of the publication of cartoons in this newspaper and, a case with a cartoon of Pope John Paul II with a condom in his nose, which led to the discussion in Parliament but without more consequences.
-Do you think there are limits to what art can say, or is it OK to say anything?
Freedom of expression can be conditioned by the surrounding cultures, religion, the political regime. the editorial status of each publication and the cartoonist’s culture. Despite these limitations, the cartoonist must overcome these obstacles in the elaboration of his work.
-How did it affect you as a cartoonist/person?
The work of an editorial cartoonist made me a graphic artist and a journalist who always committed to the world around me.
