Gattai was born in São Paulo city in the neighborhood of Paraíso, state of São Paulo, on July 2, 1916, to a family of Italianimmigrant. Gattai's father, Ernesto Gattai, was an anarchist and came from the region of Veneto, following the social anarchist experiment called Colônia Cecília that sought to create an anarchist community in the Brazilian jungle. Her father was arrested in 1938 due to political oppression under the Vargas Estado Novo regime. Gattai lived in Paraíso, São Paulo for her entire adolescence. In the 1930s, Zélia Gattai entered the intellectual and social circles of the modernists of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, becoming a friend of personalities such as Oswald de Andrade, Lasar Segall, Tarsila do Amaral, Mário de Andrade, Rubem Braga, Zora Seljan, Paulo Mendes de Almeida, Carlos Lacerda, Aldo Bonadei, Vinícius de Moraes and others. At the age of 20, Zélia Gattai married Communist militant Aldo Veiga and had her first child, Luís Carlos Veiga, with him. Their marriage ended after eight years and Gattai ended up falling in love with writer and communist Jorge Amado. The new couple decided to live together in 1945 and had their first child, João Jorge Amado, together in 1946. Due to political condemnation by the Vargas regime, Zélia Gattai and her family were forced to leave Brazil and decided to relocate to Europe. The family spent the first part of the five year exile in Paris where Gattai used the opportunity to get a degree in French Civilization, Phonetics, and Language at the University of Sorbonne in 1949. They later relocated to Prague where they lived for 1950 to 1952. It is in Prague that their third child, Paloma Jorge Amado, was born and Gattai discovered her passion for photography. The family returned to Brazil in 1952 and moved into Gattai's parents house in Rio de Janeiro for the next eleven years. In 1963 the family moved to Salvador in the state of Bahia and would remain there for the remainder of Gattai's life. While living in Salvador, Gattai began to focus on her literary career. Zélia Gattai died in Salvador on May 17, 2008 at the age of 91.
Literary career
Zélia Gattai began her literary career in 1979 with an autobiography about her early life and the reality of Italian immigrants in Brazil, titled Anarquistas, Graças a Deus. This memoir quickly became a bestseller and it was dramatized as a miniseries directed by Walter Avancini and created by the Globo Television Network in 1984 which allowed it to capture a large audience. Throughout her career, Gattai explored many genres including memoirs, children's literature, and romance novels. Many of her publications also included photography taken by Gattai that allowed her to create photo-biographies to further her story. In total, Gattai wrote 14 works including three successful children's books, 10 memoirs and one romance novel. On the death of Amado in 2001, Gattai was elected to the vacant 23rd seat in the Brazilian Academy of Letters.
Literary Works
Anarquistas graças a Deus - 1979
Um chapéu para viagem - 1982
Senhora dona do baile - 1984
Reportagem incompleta - 1987
Jardim de inverno - 1988
Pipistrelo das mil cores - 1989
O segredo da rua 18 - 1991
Chão de meninos - 1992
Crônica de uma namorada - 1995
A casa do Rio Vermelho - 1999
Cittá di Roma - 2000
Jonas e a sereia - 2000
Códigos de família - 2001
Jorge Amado um baiano sensual e romântico - 2002
Vacina de Sapo e outras lembranças - 2005
Awards and Titles
Throughout her literary career, Zélia Gattai was recognized with many awards and honors. She was given the following awards:
Prêmio Dante Alighieri - 1980
Prêmio Revelação Literária, concedido pela Associação de Imprensa - 1980
Diploma de Sócia Benemérita da Ordem Brasileira dos Poetas da Literatura de Cordel
Diploma de Madrinha dos Trovadores, concedido pela Ordem Brasileira dos Poetas da Literatura de Cordel
Medalha do Mérito Castro Alves, da Secretaria da Educação e Cultura do Estado da Bahia - 1987
Diploma de Reconhecimento do Povo Carioca pelos relevantes serviços prestados à Cultura e ao Turismo, da Prefeitura da Cidade do Rio de Janeiro
Prêmio Destaque do Ano - 1988
Diploma de Magnífica Amiga dos Trovadores Capixabas, Espírito Santo - 1991
Comenda das Artes e das Letras dada pela ministra da França, Caterine Trautmann - 1998