In his essay “A hora presente,” Ascânio Lopes Quatorzevoltas blames the belligerence in the world for the habit of viewing foreigners as enemies, and for the rampant nationalist anger in Europe and the United States. In his opinion those feelings are devoid of idealism; they are merely the expression of a desire to nationalize institutions, consolidate a sense of nationality, and establish local criteria for the solution of internal, local problems. He believes that national unification and the subsequent development of Brazilian collectivism can be achieved by cultural means that, of course, should be based on an intrinsically Brazilian version of the Portuguese language and Brazilian culture. It is essential to have legislation in place that will protect the national interest. Hence the slogan: “Absorb foreign influence without being absorbed by it.”

The monthly art and culture magazine VERDE was launched in Cataguases, in the state of Minas Gerais in 1927 under the direction of the civil engineer and poet Enrique de Resende (1899–1973). The magazine endorsed the modernist movement from beyond the fringes of the Rio de Janeiro–São Paulo circuit. Its team of writers included the poet Antônio Martins Mendes (1903–80) and the attorney and writer Rosário Fusco (1910–77), both of whom would subsequently join Resende as co-directors of the magazine. Other members of the Grupo Verde included the poets Carlos Drummond de Andrade (1902–87), Ascânio Lopes Quatorzevoltas (1906–29), and Deocleciano Martins de Oliveira (1906–74), among others (see “Manifesto do Grupo Verde de Cataguazes” [doc. no. 780996]).

Ascânio Lopes, as the young poet was known, was born in Ubá (Minas Gerais) and came to Cataguases with his family as a child. He helped to start VERDE, the monthly magazine (1927–29). He contributed to every one of the magazine’s issues, including the sixth and final one that, as it happens, commemorated his death.  

The article “A hora presente” [The Current Time], appeared in the magazine’s second issue, during the year it was launched. The magazine published material written by the group’s members and by other writers who were invited to contribute. The essays and poems eschewed foreign literary styles and trends, as well as those that originated in the major cities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Though the magazine expressed an interest in Brazilian modernist ideas, it preferred to stick to a local, everyday language.