Francisco Alves da Silva Taborda

Francisco Alves da Silva Taborda, better known as Actor Taborda ComSE (8 January 1824 – 5 March 1909), was the leading male comedy actor in Portugal in the 19th century.

Early life Taborda was born on 8 January 1824, in the parish of São João Baptista, in Abrantes in the Santarém District of Portugal. He was the son of Francisco Alves da Silva Taborda and Maria do Carmo Rola. At the age of nine he moved to the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, where he was cared for by his grandfather who placed him as an apprentice typographer with a printing house. A rapid learner, he soon obtained a better-paid job with another printing house, owned by João José da Mota, which made posters for theatres. In addition, Mota owned a performance space (known as a shed) where circuses were performed. It was there that Taborda made contact with numerous actors performing in Lisbon. Acting career Taborda made his debut as an amateur actor at the small Teatro Timbre, situated on Rua do Arco a São Mamede in Lisbon. The positive reception he received motivated both Mota and Manuel Machado, who was a supervisor at the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, to adapt the shed to a theatre, inaugurating it on 16 May 1846 as the Teatro do Ginásio. Taborda was a member of the cast for the first performance. However, the political and social instability of the time, which culminated in the Maria da Fonte Revolution of 1846, harmed all Lisbon's theatres and Taborda temporarily moved away from the stage. Recognized for his talent, however, he was sent by King Fernando II to train in Paris.

In 1879, Taborda began to have the first symptoms of deafness. One of his greatest successes was achieved in 1881, in the comedy A Voz do Sangue (The Voice of the Blood), which he performed more than 70 times consecutively, a considerable run for Lisbon theatres of the time. In 1883, King D. Luís I granted him an honourable retirement, with a pension, having already made him a Commander of the Military Order of Saint James of the Sword.