Tribute to Eduardo Portella (1932-2017) Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno

The following lines roughly transcribe the conference of the same title that I delivered at the premises of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, on September 6, 2017, during the celebrations of its 100th anniversary. The conference concerned the Brazilian intellectual Eduardo Mattos Portella (1932-2017), who was Professor Emeritus at this institution, as well as writer, literary critic, lecturer and researcher of world renown, Minister of Education of Brazil (1979-1980) and member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters since 1981. As if that were not enough, he was Secretary of Culture of the Brazilian State of Rio de Janeiro (1987-1988); in addition, between 1988 and 1993 Portella was vicepresident of UNESCO, an entity which he chaired between 1997 and 1999. I had the privilege and the honour of having him as professor during my doctorate, research supervisor in my post-doctorate and, above all, as a friend during more than two decades.

Keywords: Eduardo Portella, University, Literature, Culture, Brazil.