For a decade, I dedicated myself to a research project that culminated in the publication of “Memoirs, Travels and French Travelers through Macau (1609-1900)” in four volumes by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC). This work involved editing and analyzing 295 texts by French travelers, in addition to sifting through thousands of documents and press reports.
When the project was finally concluded and published at the end of 2022, I was left with a significant debt to one of the most cultured, intelligent, and meticulous individuals I have encountered in Macau, Dr. Luís Ferreira. For almost two years, he was the critical and attentive reviewer of this work of over 1800 pages. He served as the coordinator for many years of the Revista de Cultura (Review of Culture) of the IC, which, in its international edition, became a benchmark for its originality and creativity.
Vitor Marreiros’s consistently high-quality graphic work was combined with the academic rigor of a journal that revisited fundamental themes of history, heritage, and culture that make Macau (I was tempted to write “made”) the transcultural singularity it still strives to preserve today. A brilliant and meticulous editor, whether in magazine production or in the editing of Henrique de Senna Fernandes’s works, which he directed and brought to fruition, Luís Ferreira was a man always attentive to the need to continually reclaim that unique past that made Macau a transcontinental platform not only for trade and goods, but also for the exchange of ideas, sciences, technologies, and innovations.
Dr. Luís Ferreira was a well-read man, knowledgeable about many literatures and writings. With him, you could talk and learn about Camilo Castelo Branco or about Joseph Conrad’s Lord Jim. You could also discuss the Adagietto from Mahler’s Fifth Symphony or the unmistakable music of that early Zeca Afonso who reinvented the fado of Coimbra. He passed away there in his beloved Coimbra on February 6th. Not only will we miss him, but we also have the privilege of having known and worked with one of Macau’s great cultural editors. I hope that the IC, where he worked for so many years, will not forget his work, example and memory. Ivo Carneiro de Sousa
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