The reaction to Orpheu magazine was not peaceful; it triggered a public controversy, which spread through the Portuguese press of the time. The critiques and comments were mostly playful, and the authors were ridiculed. One of the greatest opponents of the movement was the literary critic Júlio Dantas, one of the most recognized figures of the intelligentsia of the time, whose criticism of the avant-garde movement was sharp and fierce. Unable to remain indifferent to criticism, José de Almada Negreiros authored the anti-Dantas manifesto, written in an ironic, biting tone, causing a controversy that quickly spread. The manifesto attacked not only Júlio Dantas but an entire generation he personified, in a relentless attack on an ideology intended to prevent the freedom of creation of new aesthetic ideas in Portugal.