Miguel de Senna Fernandes (b. 1961, Macau) is a Macanese lawyer, playwright, and theatre director, and the son of writer Henrique de Senna Fernandes. He has practised law since 1989 and served as a notary public since 1995. He writes and directs for Dóci Papiaçám di Macau, a troupe that performs entirely in Macanese patuá — an endangered Portuguese-based creole — working to preserve the language and the community's culture; the troupe's theatre has been listed as Macau intangible cultural heritage since 2012.
A lawyer who, between his father's literary legacy and an endangered language, chose the stage as the way to keep patuá being heard.
Miguel de Senna Fernandes is a Macanese lawyer, playwright, and theatre director, and the son of writer Henrique de Senna Fernandes. Through patuá-language theatre he guards an endangered creole and the culture of a community.
Profile
- Chinese Name: 飛文基
- Portuguese Name: Miguel de Senna Fernandes
- Born: 1961 (Macau)
- Region: Macao
- Domains: Culture (Theatre · Language preservation)
- Subject type: Macanese · Lawyer · Playwright · Theatre director
Background
The Macanese (土生葡人, Macaense) are a community that took root in Macau over centuries, blending Portuguese and Chinese ancestry and culture. Senna Fernandes was born into a Macanese family in Macau in 1961, the son of writer Henrique de Senna Fernandes. He grew up in that Sino-Portuguese tradition and went on to carry forward both the family's grounding in law and culture and the community's language on stage.
Work & Career
I. Lawyer and notary
Senna Fernandes has practised law since 1989 and has been a registered notary public since 1995, working for many years in the Macau legal profession.
II. Patuá-language theatre
In 1993 the patuá poet José 'Adé' dos Santos Ferreira died, regarded as the last poet of distinction to write in the language. Senna Fernandes then took up patuá-language theatre as playwright and director of Dóci Papiaçám di Macau. He writes and directs the troupe's scripts in Macanese patuá — an endangered creole based on Portuguese and mixing in Cantonese and other elements — and has planned to publish them in Portuguese, English, and Chinese so more people can follow. The troupe's theatre has been listed as Macau intangible cultural heritage since 2012.
Connection to Macau
Senna Fernandes's work centres almost entirely on Macau's distinctive Macanese community: he serves it through law and preserves its language and memory on stage. The patuá theatre is performed each year at events such as the Macao Arts Festival and has become an important emblem of the city's cultural identity.