Francisco Fanhais
Biography
Francisco Fanhais was born in Vila Nova da Barquinha on May 17, 1941. He studied at the seminaries of Santarém, Almada, and Olivais and was ordained a priest in 1965.
Between 1968 and 1970, he was a high school teacher and assistant priest at the Barreiro parish. These were significant years in terms of political awareness. In December 1968, he met José Afonso. Affiliated with progressive Catholics, that year he sang “Cantata da Paz” for the first time. In 1969, he participated in the Zip-Zip program and released “Cantilenas” (Songs of the New City), and the following year, “Canções da Cidade Nova” (Candies of the New City).
For attending the wedding of former priest Felicidade Alves in 1970, he was barred from serving as a priest and teaching in public schools. He was also barred from singing in public. He left for France in April 1971, riding with José Afonso, participating in the recordings of Cantigas do Maio. He joined the League of Union and Revolutionary Action (LUAR) under the honorable oath “that there would be no bloodshed.”
He returned to Portugal after the April 25th Revolution in 1974. Throughout 1974 and 1975, he participated in sessions supporting numerous popular struggles, agrarian reform, cooperatives, and workers’ and residents’ committees, maintaining ties with LUAR. He participated in the albums República and Viva o Poder Popular and collaborated in the MFA’s cultural promotion campaigns, notably Operação Maio Nordeste.
He dedicated himself to teaching music and maintained intense civic and artistic activity, especially with the José Afonso Association.
Date of Collection: 15.01.2020
Keywords: Catholics, PIDE, Church, Colonial War, LUAR, Intervention Music, CNSPP, Censorship.
