Brazilian singer-songwriter Chico Buarque has been awarded the Camões Prize, the most prestigious award in Portuguese literature, for his opus of work. The prize-giving ceremony was set to take place in Portugal last Saturday, April 25th, but it was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a statement, the prize's jury said that it chose Chico for both the quality of his work and his "contribution to the cultural formation of different generations in all the countries where Portuguese is spoken." The jurors also emphasized the "multifaceted character" of Buarque’s work, which covers poetry, theater, and romance. "His work has crossed borders and is a fundamental point of reference in contemporary culture”, said the jury in the note.

Born in 1944 in Rio, Chico Buarque made his name as a performer of protest songs in the 1960s, when Brazil was ruled by a military dictatorship, exploring the samba and bossa nova genres. He later turned to fiction, and his 2003 novel Budapest won the Jabuti Prize, a prestigious literary award in Brazil.

The Camões prize, created in 1988, is awarded every year to an author from any Portuguese-speaking country. Named after Luís de Camões, it is the most important prize for literature in the Portuguese language. The choice recognizes an author's entire work, rather than just a specific work.

The prize’s formal diploma carries the signature of the presidents of both, Portugal and Brazil, but Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro indicated that he would not sign.

Upon learning, Buarque resorted to social media to criticize the former military official turned president, saying that “Bolsonaro’s refusal to sign felt like a second Camões prize for him.”

The Ministry of Cultural of Portugal also reacted to Bolsonaro’s decision, saying it would not prevent Chico Buarque from receiving the honor.