Segarrega, whose first edition was released on 8 December 1821, was the second newspaper in circulation in the city of Recife, nine months after the Aurora Pernambucana (27 March 1821).
With four pages measuring 27 x 18cm, having underneath the paper’s name the phrase “Brincando, contarei verdades puras” (Jokingly, I will tell pure truths) and, as the frontispiece, a vignette with a cegarrega (a popular instrument that produces a sound similar to a cicada through the friction of a reed over a ribbed tube, whose spelling in Portuguese now begins with ‘c’) with a hexagonal border.
Its editor, Filipe Mena Calado da Fonseca, Portuguese-born but rooted in Recife since childhood and one of the participants in the 1817 movement, as well as being ex-secretary of the Goiana revolutionary junta, presented in the opening article an idea of what would be his editorial line:
I do not intend to give a determined direction to public opinion; I shall limit myself to narrating facts stripped of all accoutrements. My reflexions will be impartial and I will not be adhering to my principles to the point of ignoring the warnings of my correspondents. I promise to be faithful to the word. As for events, they are the main task of Segarrega, which also gathers newsworthy and non-official correspondence. [...].
Printed at Tipografia Nacional (National Press), which was owned by the government, from the 16th edition on 31 August 1821, it was printed by the Cavalcanti & Co press, the company that had bought the official press.
Edited from December 1821 to October 1823, it reported on events reflecting republican ideals, defending political freedom, later becoming opposed to the republican wave. It reported official acts; correspondence between the Pernambuco government and the crown; news from neighbouring provinces and abroad; and notices of public interest, such as the departure of vessels from the Port of Recife, sale of real estate, produce, buying and selling of slaves.
It circulated irregularly: sometimes twice a month, sometimes monthly, sometimes every two months.
Its last edition (27) was published on 27 October 1823.
Today it is possible to view a collection with 24 editions of Segarrega at the library of the Ricardo Brennand Institute (IRB), situated in the Recife suburb of Várzea. The Centre for Documentation and Studies of Brazilian History at the Joaquim Nabuco Foundation also has a collection of the newspaper on microfilm.
Recife, 24 April 2008.
(Updated on 8 September 2009).
Translated by Peter Leamy, January 2012.
sources consulted
NASCIMENTO, Luiz do. História da imprensa de Pernambuco, 1821-1954. Recife: Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, 1969. v. 4.
SILVA, Leonardo Dantas. A Imprensa e a Abolição. Recife: Fundaj, Ed. Massangana, 1988. 184 p.
how to quote this text
Source: GASPAR, Lúcia. Segarrega (Newspaper). Pesquisa Escolar Online, Joaquim Nabuco Foudation, Recife. Available at: <https://pesquisaescolar.fundaj.gov.br/en/>. Accessed: day month year. Exemple: 6 Aug. 2009