Departures of note

Ademar Ayres do Amaral was a Brazilian civil engineer and writer from Óbidos, in the west of Pará state. Born in Óbidos, he spent his childhood on a farm in the region and studied in Santarém before moving to Belém in 1964, where he graduated in civil engineering from the Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA) in 1972. Literature, however, became his great passion.

He began writing short stories and chronicles in 1976 and received an honorable mention from the Academia Paraense de Letras in 1980. In 1984 he published his first book, 'A Encomenda e o Deputado'. Over his career he won notable awards, including the Terêncio Porto prize in 2005 and the Assembleia Paraense short-story contest in 2006.

Ademar was also one of the idealizers and founders of the Academia Artística e Literária de Óbidos (AALO), created to value local writers, and was regarded as one of the main references of the literature and culture of Óbidos. Known for his good humor and storytelling, he drew inspiration from the landscapes and experiences of his Amazonian childhood. He died in Belém on 21 September 2026.