"The Stinky Cat influenced me more than Monty Python"

Missing the Portuguese accent - and the cuisine - comedian and actor Gregório Duvivier is eager to return to Portugal with the play 'O Céu da Língua', which will also take him to Alentejo for the first time.

In an interview with Notícias ao Minuto , the comedian talks not only about the play itself, which is set to premiere this Tuesday, June 17, and will tour 12 cities until July , but also about the weight of words, which are a "battlefield". In this conversation, Duvivier also addresses the importance of culture.

Recalling the time when Brazil saw its Culture portfolio swallowed up - under Michel Temer and Jair Bolsonaro -, Duvivier pointed out that, in his opinion, "Portugal is a giant thanks to its culture". "For me, where Portugal is greatest is not in navigation, not in its past. It is in the 20th/21st century in its poetry". And he reiterated: "Where Portugal is first in the entire world is in culture."

And if Duviver is one of the most beloved Brazilian comedians in Portugal, the Porta dos Fundos actor confided that he is a fan of Bruno Aleixo - and not only - and revealed that he would like to work with Tiago Rodrigues, "the greatest director in the world".

More than making a new piece, the goal is to make it so that people can watch it.

'O Céu da Língua' returns to Portugal after being a success last year. For those who have already seen it, and with the minimum of spoilers, what can you expect again?

Portugal was our big debut. The play is the same, but it will be even more agile. With some additions, but nothing very different.

The main reason for us to come back is that [last year] was a short season. We even did double screenings, but there were still a lot of people who didn't want to see it. More than just doing a new play, the goal is to make sure people can watch it.

From the South to the North, the show will tour 12 cities. Is there a place you are looking forward to performing?

Yes, in Alentejo. It's my first time in Alentejo, in Beja. And I'm dying to visit Alentejo. I've never been. It's going to be really cool.

Brazilians are very focused on a life around work and productivity; the Portuguese know how to live

What is it about Portugal that makes you want to come back so much?

Many things. The first thing that comes to mind is food. There's also wine. And friends. I already have many friends, some of whom live almost a double life, I have many dear people there.

I miss the accent, the voice, and the way they use the Portuguese language. I think life in Portugal is more peaceful than in Brazil. In Rio de Janeiro, where I live, it's very busy and noisy.

There is also a bohemian lifestyle in Portugal, but I feel that they have a more relaxed way of life. What is called 'slow living'. Portugal knows how to live and enjoy life. It's not just about drinking and eating right, but also about enjoying life beyond work. I think Brazilians are very focused on a life around work and productivity; the Portuguese know how to live.

The play is directed by Luciana Paes, who you have described as your favorite actress in Brazil. What is Luciana Paes' vision that makes a difference in this - or other - plays?

Luciana is a great actress. It was a very fruitful meeting. She has the same perception of words that I have and we end up 'sending' words: "Look at this word, how delicious. Look at the sound that the word gossip makes. Look at the origin. Fococa comes from Bantu, from the African language. Cafuné." It's a play that had this meeting of ours, we wrote it together.

This show revolves around words. Do people need to realize the weight that words have these days?

Yes. We use words, but we think little about them. In most discussions, we not only use words, but are also about them. Political discussions, or even [the word] Portugal. What does Portugal mean? Every discussion is semantic to some extent. I think words are really a battlefield.

The first thing in any discussion is to clearly define what we mean by the words we use. In this sense, I think it is very important - politically, as a society - to know how to use words and to use them consciously. I don't think they are 'just' words, I think they have enormous weight and value.

Portugal has already had Portuguese theater festivals in Brazil [...] In addition to advocating an art, culture generates employment

What Portuguese comedy projects do you follow and which ones fit your style best?

I love Ricardo [Araújo Pereira]; it's no secret to anyone. There's also the new series Ruído [by Bruno Nogueira]. Inês Aires Pereira is also a great partner of Porta dos Fundos. I also really like Bruno Aleixo - I thought he was brilliant. I laugh my head off with César Mourão, he's brilliant. Bumba. I also like Beatriz Gosta.

There are a lot of people in Portugal who do quality humor. All types. I find that interesting. You have a great variety of humor and you make me laugh a lot - and have for a long time. Gato Fedorento influenced me more than Monty Python.

And what do you think about the consumption of Portuguese culture in Brazil? In other words: Portugal watches a lot of Brazilian cultural content, whether it's related to comedy or soap operas, for example. The opposite doesn't seem to happen, does it?

Unfortunately, no. Brazil looks a lot like the United States and I think that's sad. And Latin American products don't either. We are neighbors of Argentina and Uruguay and we consume very little. We should.

We are very focused on the United States for geopolitical and almost financial reasons. We were colonized. After Portugal, first by England, then by the United States. We replaced one colony with another and I think that is a shame.

There are countries that speak the same language as us - and if we consume little from Portugal, we consume even less products from Angola or Mozambique. I find it sad because we share the same language, which also has many cultural aspects. This saddens me and in Brazil I do my best to spread the word about Portuguese culture.

But to be fair, we consume a lot of literature.

Like, for example?

It's not that Brazil is a big consumer of literature, but here we read a lot of Valter Hugo Mãe, José Saramago - of course - or José Luís Peixoto. Miguel Sousa Tavares. From Mozambique, Mia Couto. [From Angola], José Eduardo Agualusa.

Unfortunately, I think Miguel Esteves Cardoso is not as widely read here as he deserves. Miguel Esteves Cardoso is a good example of a genius that Brazil has not yet discovered. I think it's a shame, and I'm telling everyone here. But he doesn't have good editions in Brazil, unfortunately. He has this problem too.

Is it then a lack of openness or knowledge in Brazil rather than Portugal trying? Or is it a 'balance'?

I think it's worth a try. The United States is not a cultural hegemon for nothing: it has to do with a state project and a lot of money invested. It's not just 'soft power', it's not by chance.

Portugal has had Portuguese theater festivals in Brazil, and that's how I met Tiago Rodrigues and fell in love with his theater. He's a genius. Tiago is the greatest director in the world today. Unfortunately, I don't think that festival exists anymore, just as there are very few mechanisms to encourage Portuguese culture to travel to Brazil. France, for example, has a thousand incentives for the literary publication of its French authors. Portugal, if I'm not mistaken, has no incentives. And Brazil is the same - it doesn't invest in this.

It's a shame because culture, in addition to advocating a country's art form, is also a social and financial aspect that generates many jobs. The United States invests in it because it knows it is a huge source of income.

I regret that the governments of Portugal and Brazil do not invest more in this partnership. Of the things that happen and are successful - like Porta dos Fundos - it is partly due to the merit of the artists alone. There is not even a hint of government involvement.

Temer and Bolsonaro eliminated the Culture portfolio because they think it is not that important

In Portugal, we have just lost an exclusive portfolio for Culture. With the change of Government, the Culture portfolio is now part of the Sports and Youth portfolio. This is a sign that less attention is being paid to it.

It's a shame. This also happened in Brazil during the years of Michel Temer and Jair Bolsonaro. They eliminated the Ministry of Culture because they think it's not that important. But I think it's very strategic. It's a central pillar.

Agostinho da Silva said that Portugal is a bonsai, because its dimensions are small and its proportions are gigantic. Portugal is gigantic thanks to its culture. For me, where Portugal is greatest is not in its navigations, nor in its past. It is in the 20th/21st centuries, in its poetry. Portugal has the greatest poet of the 20th century in the entire world, who is [Fernando] Pessoa. And it has some of the greatest novelists, such as Saramago and António Lobo Antunes - and many others.

Where Portugal ranks first in the entire world is in culture.

If you could work with anyone Portuguese that you haven't worked with before, who would it be?

Tiago Rodrigues. Tiago Rodrigues, but not only. I really like Sara Barros Leitão. She's brilliant. I've only read her play and seen a video, but I'm a fan. Of her writing, of her as an actress.

Read Also: Play 'O céu da língua' by Gregório Duviviver with extra date in Lisbon