Power, Glory and Solitude; Ladies and gentlemen; Power Profile; Illuminated Capital; Body and soul. The names of some of the books signed by Orlando Brito give the clue that he dedicated himself to experiencing and photographing for more than 60 years of his life: politics in Brasília.
Brito, as he was called by friends and fans, arrived in the federal capital when in fact everything was bush. It was 1956, four years before the foundation of what candangos like him called at the time the capital of hope.
His eyes and lenses have been witnesses of every government since then. He saw political photojournalism as a mission. It looked like an antenna stuck in the heart of the central plateau. He used to say that he needed to photograph power because the people on the other side of Brazil needed not only to know, but to see the facts of politics.
He portrayed the military dictatorship like no one else. He was the only one to have the courage to shoot dictator Ernesto Geisel on the beach. The sequence of soldiers who fell and died symbolized the regime’s agony. In the redemocratization, he clicked the victory and the death of Tancredo Neves. He saw the Dutch Mondrian with Fernando Henrique Cardoso on the windows of Palácio da Alvorada. The armored Congress in the 2013 demonstrations. The chess of politics. There are many, many images of the history of Brazil in the last 50 years.
It was a pioneer. Sometimes he reversed the logic. It was the text reporters who had to write about their images. His talent was infinite. Just like your heart. Orlando Brito was a gentleman. Elegant, delicate, soft-spoken, low. He used to call journalists and friends by the diminutive, showing affection.
Orlando Brito died this morning at the age of 72. He is survived by daughter Carolina and grandchildren Tomas and Teo.
Source: CNN Brasil
