Mario de Loiola Furtado

One of Goa's premier and Chinchinim's greatest journalist. His family ran a news paper titled the "India Purtuguesa", which was the greatest tool or avenue for Goans troubled by the Portuguese rule. Though, neither the news paper nor his columns can be classified as anti-Portuguese, he brought about a new chapter where Goans could criticize and lash out at the Portuguese regime and bring it's lapses to the fore. Coming from the Loyola-Furtado family, which was instrumental in assuring civil rights to Goans, equal to the rights enjoyed by people in Portugal, he worked extra hard is ensuring that Goans were treated in equilibrium with the "Pakle" or, the "white people". While Jose Inacio de Loiola and Francisco Luis Gomes ensured that legislations were passed to ensure civil rights, Mario de Loiola Furtado ensured that enough Goans were aware of such legislations and enough Goans worked to uphold them. His stature normally arose to greater cultural heights at carnival times, with "khell tiatres" staged all over the place, specially from the balcao of his ancestral home at Chinchinim. A lawyer by profession, he died in 1946 at a young age of 33, but is remembered by his few surviving contemporaries as a legal luminary. He left behind his widow and three minor sons. Of his three sons, the eldest has been South Goa's cultural icon, leading many a carnival parade, making sure that Goa's great "antique" culture stayed alive. With many a painting, public show, amusement extravaganza, etc., he did all he could, and all that most folks could, to keep Goa's and Chinchinim's great cultural presence alive. His second son, Rajendra, a lawyer, took a different route, when he, as the Court Receiver, took it upon himself to ensure that the age old system of the Sociedade Agricola dos Gauncares de Cuncolim stayed alive, specially in times when there was a danger of the same disappearing as evacuee property. People in Cuncolim, specially the ever decreasing politically conscious senior citizens still revere Rajendra as the person responsible for keeping Cuncolim and the Cuncolim way of life alive, as it is today. His third son, Guido, took the modern route as he became a Civil Engineer and a real estate builder. Guido is known as one amongst Goa's great entrepreneurs.

Mario's third generation, Sean, Adv. Mario II, Razia and Ana Karina are still young, but it will be no surprise when they make contributions to Goa that will be remembered for a lifetime.

Since Mario's untimely death in 1946, Goa took a few years to find a mass educator, but, in lines with his wishes, today's mass media revolution can produce more Mario de Loiola Furtados