João do Rio: life, passion and work

Considered by all his contemporaries to be the most complex man of his time, Paulo Emílio Coelho Barreto—João do Rio (1881-1921)—was born practically poor and rose through the ranks, achieving fame and the hatred it aroused. As a journalist, he was a historic innovator of the Brazilian press, fusing reporting and chronicling into a new, highly personal genre. As a citizen and artist, he was the incomparable archetype of his time—a mulatto, overweight, and openly gay man, João do Rio endured ridicule and ridicule without flinching. From this biography, the reader will extract an unusual film for the richness of the life and the people who inhabited the world of the writer, who died at the age of 41, inside a taxi, amidst the streets of the Rio de Janeiro he loved so much.