Women of the resistance
Luzia Maria Martins
- Born
- 27 May 1927, Lisbon
- Died
- 13 September 2000, Lisbon
A stage director and playwright, called the mother of Portuguese independent theatre. She founded the Teatro Estúdio de Lisboa (Lisbon Studio Theatre) and confronted the censors; it was in her chronicle “Lisboa 72-74”, in 1974, that “Somos Livres” (We Are Free), by Ermelinda Duarte, was heard for the first time.
She was born in Lisbon on 27 May 1927, the daughter of the set designer Reinaldo Martins, and set foot on the stage of the Politeama at the age of 6.1 She studied at the Liceu Maria Amália Vaz de Carvalho, worked in radio and journalism and, in 1953, left for London, where she studied theatre and worked at the BBC.21
Back in Lisbon, in 1964 she founded, with Helena Félix and Valentina Trigo de Sousa, the Teatro Estúdio de Lisboa (Lisbon Studio Theatre, TEL), the city’s first independent theatre company, at the Vasco Santana Theatre, in the Feira Popular funfair.12 Her play about Bocage, from 1967, was banned by the Censorship Commission shortly after it opened, and in 1968 the reading on World Theatre Day of a message by Helene Weigel, which the censors had banned, took her to court.12
In 1974 she wrote Lisboa 72-74, scenes of everyday life in which “Somos Livres” (We Are Free), with words and music by the actress Ermelinda Duarte, was heard for the first time.12 The TEL closed in 1991; she died in Lisbon on 13 September 2000, and since 2001 a square (largo) in Quinta dos Barros, in São Domingos de Benfica, has borne her name.12
From the archives
Ermelinda Duarte’s single with “Somos Livres” (We Are Free), published by the Valentim de Carvalho label, which dates it to 1975: two songs of her own, with arrangements by José Cid. The song had been born in 1974 in the chronicle “Lisboa 72-74”, by the Teatro Estúdio de Lisboa.
Original page Licença padrão do YouTube — embed permitido pelo canal oficial da editora Valentim de Carvalho
Edições Valentim de Carvalho, on YouTube. The player only connects to that site when you press “Watch”.
Places
In the timeline
They crossed paths with her
Ermelinda Duarte
b. 1946
An actress and singer. She wrote and sang “Somos Livres” (We Are Free) — “a seagull was flying, flying” (uma gaivota voava, voava) — the song that was born in 1974 in a play by the Teatro Estúdio de Lisboa and became one of the most popular anthems of freedom.
Domitila de Carvalho
1871–1966
The first woman to attend the University of Coimbra, she graduated in Mathematics, Philosophy and Medicine and was a teacher and headmistress of the first girls’ secondary school (liceu). A monarchist and conservative who supported nascent Salazarism, she was one of the first three women deputies, elected in 1934 on the National Union lists.
Maria Guardiola
1895–1987
A Mathematics teacher and headmistress of the Liceu Maria Amália Vaz de Carvalho, she was one of the first three women elected as deputies, in 1934, and a central figure in the women’s organisations of the Estado Novo (“New State”).
Notes on the sources3
- The title of the 1967 play about Bocage: “Bocage, Alma Sem Medo” (Toponímia de Lisboa) or “Bocage – alma sem mundo” (DramaOnline).
- The title of the 1974 chronicle: “Lisboa 72-74” (DramaOnline, RTP) or “Lisboa 1972-74” (Toponímia de Lisboa).
- The year the square was named: an edict of 26 June 2001, according to Toponímia de Lisboa; DramaOnline says 2004.
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Sources
- 1A mãe do teatro independente num Largo da Quinta dos Barros. Câmara Municipal de Lisboa — Toponímia de Lisboa, 2013 — consulted on 3 October 2026
- 2Marta Brites Rosa, Luzia Maria Martins (Lisbon, 27/05/1927 – Lisbon, 13/09/2000). DramaOnline — Dramaturgia portuguesa dos séculos XX e XXI (dir. Sebastiana Fadda); versão revista da entrada do Centro Virtual Camões — consulted on 3 October 2026