Tomas Tavera is a divisive man, whether in his architectural work, in academia, or in his personal life. Those who know him closely say he has a difficult, loud, and hyperactive nature. with He is 85 years old, and his career has been marked by controversy and scandalwhich will now result in a documentary for TVI. As an architect, he will forever be remembered as the author of “Torres das Amoreras”, which revolutionized Lisbon's landscape and divided opinions in the 1980s, often called “mamaracos” – although he was awarded the Order of Valmor, in 1982, for the residential area Da Encosta das Oleas and an honorable mention from the Valmor Award, in 1994, for the headquarters building of the University of Bangalore (along with the design of the SIC hardware, when the private television was launched, then directed by Emidio Rangel, or three of the ten stadiums that Built for the 2004 European Championship, including José Alvalade, from Sporting). He was called the “Pope” of Portuguese Postmodernism.

Tomás Cardoso Tavera was born in Lisbon, on November 22, 1938, into a family that he himself classifies as “very poor,” the son of a Caresse embroidery father and a housewife mother. He took the industrial course at the École Marquis de Pombal, where he left to work for Caresse as a locksmith.. In 1955, He joins the studio of architect Nuno Teotonio Pereira As a designer – He also works in the offices of Luiz Alsada Batista, Manuel Lagenia, Nuno Portas and Conceição Silva.. With the talent of the stranger, your adventure in architecture will begin here. “I've been drawing pretty well since I was a kid. Any kind of stuff,” he explained at one point. actually He is married to Amaryllis Christina, and they are expecting their first daughter – They had two children – Tomas Tavera divided himself between work and classes – which he attended on a Gulbenkian scholarship – and Gatherings at the cafés of Gilo and Monte Carlo, where he met the Surrealists and associated with Antonio Marta Lisboa, Mario Cesarini and Carlos Liottiamong others. “I finished the course late, because I didn't need to take a course,” he said of the architecture course.

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Thomas Taviera

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He had to fight hard to win among the architects. He has always viewed his humble origins as an obstacle to being taken seriously.. “For Teutonicos, I was nothing. (…) The person who entered architecture was the son of the family, I was the worker, I was proud to be a worker, a scoundrel,” he said in a 2020 interview. “It made me angrier towards the world, it made me study more, make me work harder.”“, he assumed when he recalled an incident with Teotonio Pereira. The anger and resentment that would shape his path and his character. Even in the form of architecture, which is always disturbing and provocative.

1989, the year of “death”

But Tomas Tavera's life will forever be remembered through the famous 30-minute VHS tape. the The scandal broke in 1989, the year of “shame.”When the architect was at the height of his success and fame – in addition to his work as an architect and his real estate business, He owned nightclubs such as Banana's, Ad Lib and Twin's in Porto, and it was common for him to arrive in a Rolls Royce to the most important parties.. At that time, he was one of the most popular figures. This recording would spread throughout Lisbon like wildfire and can still be seen on porn sites today.

The famous cassette – whose poor copies ended up traveling across the country from north to south – contains sexual encounters between Tomas Tavera and several women, recorded without the knowledge of the participants by the architect, in 1987, in his office on Avenida da Repubblica, with Scenes of obscene pornography, with complete disrespect towards casual sex partners, in what became known as the “Tavira Affair”. There was much speculation at the time about the identity of these women. Names associated with high society are mentioned. Others, younger, will be students in the architecture course where Tavera was a professor. The scandal even rocked the government at the time, led by Anibal Cavaco Silva, which ended with a cabinet reshuffle. The then Minister of Finance, Miguel Cadilli, believed that his name was involved in a case of alleged tax evasion, reported by the Independent newspaper, in the purchase of an apartment in Amoreiras.

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Thomas Taviera

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When referring to the Portuguese scandal, the Spanish magazine Interview stated that the scandal involved “the heroes of Portuguese political and economic life” and “the current political (and public) administration of Portugal”, as reported by the newspaper Diario de Noticias. There was even an attempt to prevent the magazine from being published in Portugal. But this was just a repeat of what happened here months ago. On October 2, 1989, the cover of issue 2 of “Semana Ilustrada” had already shown it all for the Portuguese. 150,000 print copies sold out quickly. Even today it is possible to find a copy in “good condition” on OLX for 50 euros. Inside, frames of porn cassettes were spread out, leaving everything exposed. Tomas Tavira even tried to ban the publication of the magazine owned by Andre Gamboa Neves, nicknamed “the Portuguese Larry Flynt”, but to no avail. In an interview with “Expresso” in 1989, Andre Neves said that he had a business lunch with Tomás Tavera at Bananas restaurant, and the two recorded the conversation. According to the newspaper Diário de Notícias, the two later met at the Ritz Hotel and tried to reach an agreement for 36,000 contos (180,000 euros) without result. The photos ended up appearing on newsstands.

A scandal shook the country and affected the future of Tomas Tavira, who began to be seen as an “undesirable person.” There were many legal actions, and “Semana Ilustrada” ended up being banned and ended up being closed down without the announced “continuation”. The architect Amaryllis divorced Christina and saw the society in which one of the most famous figures was turning its back on him. “Portuguese society has rejected me culturally and politically. In Portugal, journalists do not allow me to live. These events erase me as Portuguese. I am an uncluttered person. The only thing left for me is silence,” he then lamented. For the newspaper “Expresso”.