Adoniran Barbosa
Encyclopedia
Adoniran Barbosa, artistic name of João Rubinato (6 August 1910, Valinhos
- 23 November 1982, São Paulo), was a famous Brazil
ian traditional samba
singer and composer
.
from Cavarzere
(province of Venice
). His parents had settled in Valinhos, a rural town in the state of São Paulo
, about 70 km from the city of São Paulo. In 2010, two bridges were named after Rubinato: one located in Valinhos, Brazil, where the singer was born, and another in Cavarzere, Italy, where his parents came from.
He is said to have been a rather reluctant student, and started working at an early age (which required falsifying his birth date). His first job was a sweeper boy and general helper at a railway company in the nearby town of Jundiaí
. In 1924 he moved to Santo André, a town in the Greater São Paulo area, where he went through many jobs — loom
operator, painter
, plumber
, iron worker, peddler
and waiter
. At a local technical school (the Liceu de Artes e Ofícios) he learned the office of mechanical assistant
.
's samba Filosofia, and got a contract for a weekly 15 minute show.
Fearful that a samba artist with an Italian surname would not be taken seriously by the public, João Rubinato then decided to adopt a more Brazilian-sounding name. So he borrowed the unusual "Adoniran" from one of his friends, and "Barbosa" from samba composer Luiz Barbosa, his idol.
In 1935 he won a Carnaval song contest sponsored by the city of São Paulo, with the samba Dona Boa, composed together with J. Aimberê. Spirited by that success, he married his longtime girlfriend Olga. The couple had a daughter, Maria Helena, but the marriage broke up in less than one year.
. He remained with that network until his retirement in 1972; giving his voice to various popular characters created together with writer Osvaldo Moles, like: Pernafina, Zé Cunversa, and Jean Rubinet (a parody of a French movie star). He also played parts in the movies: Pif-Paf (1945) and Caídos do Céu ("Fallen from Heaven") (1946), both directed by Ademar Gonzaga. In 1949 he married Matilde de Lutiis, who would be his companion and co-author for the next 50 years.
In 1953 he made a fine performance in the movie O Cangaceiro, by director Lima Barreto
. In the early 1950s he wrote many songs on typical São Paulo themes, most of them recorded by the band Demônios da Garoa
, and won two other São Paulo Carnaval contests. In 1955 he introduced the enormously popular character Charutinho ("Short Cigar") in the radio humor show Histórias das Malocas ("Shantytown Stories").
Adoniran also acted in some of the earliest Brazilian soap operas (telenovela
s), such as A Pensão de D. Isaura ("Ms. Isaura's Boarding Home"), and comic programs like Ceará contra 007 ("Ceará
against 007") and Papai Sabe Nada ("Daddy Knows Nothing").
While he never lost his love of São Paulo, towards the end of his life he became increasinly sad about the disappearance of its traditional character. "Until the 1960s," he once said, "São Paulo still existed, but since then I have been looking for it, and could not find it. Brás, where is Brás now? And Bexiga, where is it? I was told to look for the Sé. Could not find it. all I see is cars and concrete."
While his music continued to be played, Adoniran himself was gradually forgotten by the public; so that when he died in 1982, in relative poverty, he had at his side only his wife and a brother in law. However, almost 30 years after his death he is still remembered by popular Brazilian singers like Perci Guzzo, who occasionally performs his songs in tribute .
, 347), there are many mementos of the composer scattered through São Paulo. He gave his name to a school in Itaquera, to a street in the borough of Bexiga, to a Bar Adoniran Barbosa, and to a square. In the Don Orione Square there is a bust
of the artist, and in Jaçanã there is a street called "Rua Trem das Onze
(11 PM Train Street)".
immigrants living in the quarters of Bexiga (Bela Vista
) and Brás, and the poor who lived in the city's many malocas (the shanties of favelas) and cortiço
s (degraded multifamily row houses).
The themes of his songs are drawn from the life of low-wage urban workers, the unemployed and the vagabond
s. His first big hit was Saudosa Maloca ("Shanty of Fond Memories", 1951), where three homeless friends recall with nostalgia their improvised shanty, which was torn down by the landowner to make room for a building. His next success Joga a Chave ("Throw me the Doorkey", 1952) was inspired on his own frequent experiences of arriving late at home and finding the door locked by his wife, Matilde. In his Trem das Onze
("The 11 PM Train", 1964), which has been ranked one of the five best samba songs ever, the protagonist explains to his lover that he cannot stay any longer because he has to catch the last train to the Jaçanã
suburb, and besides his mother will not sleep before he arrives.
of the educated class, Adoniran's lyrics
are a realistic record of the informal speech of São Paulo's lower classes. He once said "I only write samba for the common people. That is why I write lyrics in 'wrong' Portuguese, because that is how the common people speak. Besides, I feel that samba is more beautiful when sung that way". The homeless narrator of his Saudosa Maloca, for example, tells of the day when his shanty was torn down by the landowner:
The peguemo instead of pegamos, fumo instead of fomos, nós sentia instead of nós sentíamos, and tauba instead of tábua were all standard features of the speech of many paulistas. Yet, because of the strong social prejudice attached to such "bad" Portuguese, few if any authors before Adoniran had dared to put those "errors" in writing. Even lyrics ostensibly sung by poor favela dwellers, such as the classic samba Chão de Estrelas ("Starry Floor"), were paragons of correct grammar and pronunciation.
Thus Adoniran's use of "real" Brazilian Portuguese
was a revolution that may be comparable to Gershwin
's use of Gullah
in Porgy and Bess
. Indeed, he was often strongly criticized for it, even by poet and composer Vinícius de Moraes
(of The Girl from Ipanema
fame). But Adoniran did not mind his critics, and his mastery allowed him to break impunely with convention: as he used to say, art was required to sing in "wrong" language. And the success of his most popular songs, such as Tiro ao Álvaro
(1960), was undoubtedly due in good part to the warmth and naturalness of its language.
Barbosa was known as the composer to the lower classes of São Paulo, particularly the poor Italian immigrants living in the quarters of Bexiga (Bela Vista) and Brás, as well as the poor who lived in the city's many shanties and cortiço
s (degraded multifamily row houses). He knew well the Italian-Portuguese pidgin
spoken in the streets of São Paulo, mostly in the sections of Mooca, Brás and Bexiga. In 1965, Barbosa wrote Samba Italiano
(Italian Samba), a song that has Brazilian rhythm and theme, but (mostly) Italian lyrics. Below, the lyrics of this song, with the parts in (mangled) Portuguese in bold and the parts in Italian in normal font:
. A feature of this style is the samba de breque ("brake samba"), where the music is suddenly interrupted to make space for a few spoken words, or a sudden reversal in the melodic line. For example, one of his great successes, the Samba do Arnesto
("Arnest's Samba", 1953) begins:
The melodic
line is suspended briefly for the phrase ele mora no Brás, which marks it as a parenthetical remark — not only in the lyrics, but in the music as well.
Adoniran also left some 90 unpublished lyrics, which are being posthumously set to music by various composers.
Valinhos
Valinhos is a city and municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It is the birthplace of Adoniran Barbosa. Valinhos is famous for its purple fig, the theme of its annual Fig Fest. It is geographically close to Campinas. The city's estimated population in 2009 was107,481. Its area is...
- 23 November 1982, São Paulo), was a famous Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian traditional samba
Samba
Samba is a Brazilian dance and musical genre originating in Bahia and with its roots in Brazil and Africa via the West African slave trade and African religious traditions. It is recognized around the world as a symbol of Brazil and the Brazilian Carnival...
singer and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
.
Early years
João Rubinato was the seventh child of Emma and Ferdinando Rubinato, Italian immigrantsItalian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
from Cavarzere
Cavarzere
Cavarzere is a comune in the Province of Venice in the Italian region Veneto, located about 35 km southwest of Venice....
(province of Venice
Province of Venice
The Province of Venice is a province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Its capital is the city of Venice.It has an area of 2,467 km², and a total population of 829,418 . There are 44 comuni in the province . As of 2005, the main comuni by population are:-External links:* * : photos of...
). His parents had settled in Valinhos, a rural town in the state of São Paulo
São Paulo (state)
São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...
, about 70 km from the city of São Paulo. In 2010, two bridges were named after Rubinato: one located in Valinhos, Brazil, where the singer was born, and another in Cavarzere, Italy, where his parents came from.
He is said to have been a rather reluctant student, and started working at an early age (which required falsifying his birth date). His first job was a sweeper boy and general helper at a railway company in the nearby town of Jundiaí
Jundiaí
Jundiaí is a city and municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The population in 2009 was 349,929, and the area is 433.958 km². The elevation is 761 m. Distance is 60 km north of the city of São Paulo.- History and Geography :...
. In 1924 he moved to Santo André, a town in the Greater São Paulo area, where he went through many jobs — loom
Loom
A loom is a device used to weave cloth. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads...
operator, painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, plumber
Plumber
A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable water, sewage, and drainage in plumbing systems. The term dates from ancient times, and is related to the Latin word for lead, "plumbum." A person engaged in fixing metaphorical "leaks" may also be...
, iron worker, peddler
Peddler
A peddler, in British English pedlar, also known as a canvasser, cheapjack, monger, or solicitor , is a travelling vendor of goods. In England, the term was mostly used for travellers hawking goods in the countryside to small towns and villages; they might also be called tinkers or gypsies...
and waiter
Waiter
Waiting staff, wait staff, or waitstaff are those who work at a restaurant or a bar attending customers — supplying them with food and drink as requested. Traditionally, a male waiting tables is called a "waiter" and a female a "waitress" with the gender-neutral version being a "server"...
. At a local technical school (the Liceu de Artes e Ofícios) he learned the office of mechanical assistant
Mechanics
Mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with the behavior of physical bodies when subjected to forces or displacements, and the subsequent effects of the bodies on their environment....
.
Debut as composer and singer
In 1933 João Rubinato moved to the city of São Paulo, where he started composing songs and tried his luck as a singer in Cruzeiro do Sul radio station, in a talent-scouting show directed by Jorge Amaral. After many failures, he finally succeeded with the Noel RosaNoel Rosa
Noel de Medeiros Rosa was a Brazilian songwriter, singer, and guitar/banjo player. One of the greatest names in Brazilian popular music, Noel gave a new twist to samba, combining its Afro-Brazilian roots with a more urban, witty language and making it a vehicle for ironic social commentary.Noel...
's samba Filosofia, and got a contract for a weekly 15 minute show.
Fearful that a samba artist with an Italian surname would not be taken seriously by the public, João Rubinato then decided to adopt a more Brazilian-sounding name. So he borrowed the unusual "Adoniran" from one of his friends, and "Barbosa" from samba composer Luiz Barbosa, his idol.
In 1935 he won a Carnaval song contest sponsored by the city of São Paulo, with the samba Dona Boa, composed together with J. Aimberê. Spirited by that success, he married his longtime girlfriend Olga. The couple had a daughter, Maria Helena, but the marriage broke up in less than one year.
At the Rádio Record
In 1941 he started performing comedy in the radio theater programs of the São Paulo radio station Rádio Record, — which would later become one of the top television and radio networks of Brazil — Rede RecordRede Record
Rede Record de Televisão is a Brazilian television network, founded in 1953 by Paulo Machado de Carvalho, also founder of Rádio Record. Currently it is owned by businessman Edir Macedo, founder and bishop of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God. Since 2007 it is Brazil's second largest...
. He remained with that network until his retirement in 1972; giving his voice to various popular characters created together with writer Osvaldo Moles, like: Pernafina, Zé Cunversa, and Jean Rubinet (a parody of a French movie star). He also played parts in the movies: Pif-Paf (1945) and Caídos do Céu ("Fallen from Heaven") (1946), both directed by Ademar Gonzaga. In 1949 he married Matilde de Lutiis, who would be his companion and co-author for the next 50 years.
In 1953 he made a fine performance in the movie O Cangaceiro, by director Lima Barreto
Lima Barreto (director)
Lima Barreto was a Brazilian film director and screenwriter. He directed six films between 1940 and 1961.-Filmography:* Fazenda Velha * Painel * Santuário * O Cangaceiro...
. In the early 1950s he wrote many songs on typical São Paulo themes, most of them recorded by the band Demônios da Garoa
Demônios da Garoa
Demonios da Garoa are a São Paulo-based Brazilian samba group. Having existed for over sixty years, they are one of the most famous practitioners of samba paulista, a notable regional style distinct to São Paulo...
, and won two other São Paulo Carnaval contests. In 1955 he introduced the enormously popular character Charutinho ("Short Cigar") in the radio humor show Histórias das Malocas ("Shantytown Stories").
Adoniran also acted in some of the earliest Brazilian soap operas (telenovela
Telenovela
A telenovela is a limited-run serial dramatic programming popular in Latin American, Portuguese, and Spanish television programming. The word combines tele, short for televisión or televisão , and novela, a Spanish or Portuguese word for "novel"...
s), such as A Pensão de D. Isaura ("Ms. Isaura's Boarding Home"), and comic programs like Ceará contra 007 ("Ceará
Ceará
Ceará is one of the 27 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is currently the 8th largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the main touristic destinations in Brazil. The state capital is the city of...
against 007") and Papai Sabe Nada ("Daddy Knows Nothing").
Later years
In spite of the success of his songs and radio characters, Adoniran only became a star of sorts after 1973 when he recorded his first own album. That made him respected as a major composer, and gave him some media exposure. Nevertheless, through his career he continued living a simple and happy life. He had earned a private table at the Bar Brahma, one of the city's most traditional bars.While he never lost his love of São Paulo, towards the end of his life he became increasinly sad about the disappearance of its traditional character. "Until the 1960s," he once said, "São Paulo still existed, but since then I have been looking for it, and could not find it. Brás, where is Brás now? And Bexiga, where is it? I was told to look for the Sé. Could not find it. all I see is cars and concrete."
While his music continued to be played, Adoniran himself was gradually forgotten by the public; so that when he died in 1982, in relative poverty, he had at his side only his wife and a brother in law. However, almost 30 years after his death he is still remembered by popular Brazilian singers like Perci Guzzo, who occasionally performs his songs in tribute .
Homages
Besides the Museu Adoniran Barbosa (at Rua XV de NovembroRua XV de Novembro
Rua XV de Novembro is one of the major streets in downtown Curitiba. Also known as Flower Street , it is one of the first major pedestrian streets in Brazil...
, 347), there are many mementos of the composer scattered through São Paulo. He gave his name to a school in Itaquera, to a street in the borough of Bexiga, to a Bar Adoniran Barbosa, and to a square. In the Don Orione Square there is a bust
Bust (sculpture)
A bust is a sculpted or cast representation of the upper part of the human figure, depicting a person's head and neck, as well as a variable portion of the chest and shoulders. The piece is normally supported by a plinth. These forms recreate the likeness of an individual...
of the artist, and in Jaçanã there is a street called "Rua Trem das Onze
Trem das Onze
"Trem das Onze" is a famous classical samba composition by Brazilian singer Adoniran Barbosa , released in 1964 and made famous that same year by the samba group Demônios da Garoa...
(11 PM Train Street)".
Themes
Adoniran Barbosa made good on the hardships of his youth by becoming the composer of the lower classes of São Paulo, particularly the poor ItalianItalian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
immigrants living in the quarters of Bexiga (Bela Vista
Bela Vista
Bela Vista is one of the most traditional Italian neighborhoods in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. It belongs to the borough of Sé, and it has been a mixed neighborhood since its beginning, where free African-Brazilians and/or a mixture of Native-Brazilians, Blacks and Portuguese descendants lived...
) and Brás, and the poor who lived in the city's many malocas (the shanties of favelas) and cortiço
Cortiço
Cortiço, or gueto , is a Portuguese term commonly used in Brazil and Portugal to describe an area of urban housing where many people live in conditions of poor hygiene and poverty. Some cortiços can be seen in big Brazilian cities such as São Paulo, Salvador, Rio de Janeiro,and Recife...
s (degraded multifamily row houses).
The themes of his songs are drawn from the life of low-wage urban workers, the unemployed and the vagabond
Vagabond (person)
A vagabond is a drifter and an itinerant wanderer who roams wherever they please, following the whim of the moment. Vagabonds may lack residence, a job, and even citizenship....
s. His first big hit was Saudosa Maloca ("Shanty of Fond Memories", 1951), where three homeless friends recall with nostalgia their improvised shanty, which was torn down by the landowner to make room for a building. His next success Joga a Chave ("Throw me the Doorkey", 1952) was inspired on his own frequent experiences of arriving late at home and finding the door locked by his wife, Matilde. In his Trem das Onze
Trem das Onze
"Trem das Onze" is a famous classical samba composition by Brazilian singer Adoniran Barbosa , released in 1964 and made famous that same year by the samba group Demônios da Garoa...
("The 11 PM Train", 1964), which has been ranked one of the five best samba songs ever, the protagonist explains to his lover that he cannot stay any longer because he has to catch the last train to the Jaçanã
Jaçanã
Jaçanã is a borough of the city of São Paulo, Brazil. It constitutes with Tremembé the subprefecture Jaçanã-Tremembé, marking the northern boundaries of the city....
suburb, and besides his mother will not sleep before he arrives.
Adoniran's language
Unlike the samba songs of the previous decades, which generally used the formal PortuguesePortuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
of the educated class, Adoniran's lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
are a realistic record of the informal speech of São Paulo's lower classes. He once said "I only write samba for the common people. That is why I write lyrics in 'wrong' Portuguese, because that is how the common people speak. Besides, I feel that samba is more beautiful when sung that way". The homeless narrator of his Saudosa Maloca, for example, tells of the day when his shanty was torn down by the landowner:
| Peguemo todas nossas coisa, | "We picked up all our belongings | ||
| E fumo pro meio da rua | And we went out on the street | ||
| Apreciá a demolição. | To watch the demolition. | ||
| Ai, que tristeza que nós sentia, | Ah, what a sorrow we felt, | ||
| Cada tauba que caía | Each plank as it fell | ||
| Doía no coração... | Hurt us in the heart..." |
The peguemo instead of pegamos, fumo instead of fomos, nós sentia instead of nós sentíamos, and tauba instead of tábua were all standard features of the speech of many paulistas. Yet, because of the strong social prejudice attached to such "bad" Portuguese, few if any authors before Adoniran had dared to put those "errors" in writing. Even lyrics ostensibly sung by poor favela dwellers, such as the classic samba Chão de Estrelas ("Starry Floor"), were paragons of correct grammar and pronunciation.
Thus Adoniran's use of "real" Brazilian Portuguese
Brazilian Portuguese
Brazilian Portuguese is a group of Portuguese dialects written and spoken by most of the 190 million inhabitants of Brazil and by a few million Brazilian emigrants, mainly in the United States, United Kingdom, Portugal, Canada, Japan and Paraguay....
was a revolution that may be comparable to Gershwin
Ira Gershwin
Ira Gershwin was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century....
's use of Gullah
Gullah language
Gullah is a creole language spoken by the Gullah people , an African American population living on the Sea Islands and the coastal region of the U.S...
in Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess is an opera, first performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward. It was based on DuBose Heyward's novel Porgy and subsequent play of the same title, which he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy Heyward...
. Indeed, he was often strongly criticized for it, even by poet and composer Vinícius de Moraes
Vinicius de Moraes
Marcus Vinicius de Moraes , known as Vinicius de Moraes and nicknamed O Poetinho , was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Son of Lydia Cruz de Moraes and Clodoaldo Pereira da Silva Moraes, he was a seminal figure in contemporary Brazilian music...
(of The Girl from Ipanema
The Girl from Ipanema
"Garota de Ipanema" is a well-known bossa nova song, a worldwide hit in the mid-1960s that won a Grammy for Record of the Year in 1965. It was written in 1962, with music by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Portuguese lyrics by Vinicius de Moraes. English lyrics were written later by Norman Gimbel.The...
fame). But Adoniran did not mind his critics, and his mastery allowed him to break impunely with convention: as he used to say, art was required to sing in "wrong" language. And the success of his most popular songs, such as Tiro ao Álvaro
Tiro ao Álvaro
"Tiro ao Álvaro" is a samba song composed in 1960 by Italian-Brazilian composer and singer Adoniran Barbosa . In his style of the "paulista" samba, it has humorous lyrics written in a popular Portuguese language.-Lyrics:...
(1960), was undoubtedly due in good part to the warmth and naturalness of its language.
Barbosa was known as the composer to the lower classes of São Paulo, particularly the poor Italian immigrants living in the quarters of Bexiga (Bela Vista) and Brás, as well as the poor who lived in the city's many shanties and cortiço
Cortiço
Cortiço, or gueto , is a Portuguese term commonly used in Brazil and Portugal to describe an area of urban housing where many people live in conditions of poor hygiene and poverty. Some cortiços can be seen in big Brazilian cities such as São Paulo, Salvador, Rio de Janeiro,and Recife...
s (degraded multifamily row houses). He knew well the Italian-Portuguese pidgin
Pidgin
A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common. It is most commonly employed in situations such as trade, or where both groups speak languages different from the language of the...
spoken in the streets of São Paulo, mostly in the sections of Mooca, Brás and Bexiga. In 1965, Barbosa wrote Samba Italiano
Samba Italiano
"Samba Italiano" is a popular samba song composed in 1965 by Adoniran Barbosa , who was a son of Italian immigrants of the city of Valinhos, Brazil, and knew well the pidgin Italian-Portuguese dialect spoken in the streets of São Paulo, mostly in the sections of Mooca, Brás and Bexiga.The lyrics...
(Italian Samba), a song that has Brazilian rhythm and theme, but (mostly) Italian lyrics. Below, the lyrics of this song, with the parts in (mangled) Portuguese in bold and the parts in Italian in normal font:
Original in São Paulo's pidgin Gioconda, piccina mia, Vai brincar ali no mare í no fundo, Mas atencione co os tubarone, ouviste Capito, meu San Benedito? Piove, piove, Fa tempo que piove qua, Gigi, E io, sempre io, Sotto la tua finestra E vuoi senza mi sentire Ridere, ridere, ridere Di questo infelice qui Ti ricordi, Gioconda, Di quella sera in Guarujá Quando il mare ti portava via E mi chiamasti Aiuto, Marcello! La tua Gioconda ha paura di quest'onda | Free translation to English Gioconda, my little Go frolicking there, deep into the sea But pay attention to the sharks, do you hear Understood, my Saint Benedict? It rains, it rains It has rained for a long time here, Gigi And I, always I Under your window And you, without hearing me Laughing, laughing and laughing Of this unhappy one here Do you remember, Gioconda That afternoon in Guarujá When the sea took you away And you called for me: Help, Marcello! Your Gioconda is afraid of this wave |
Musical style
His favorite musical style is the samba paulista, the samba of São Paulo, generally despised by the sambistas of Rio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
. A feature of this style is the samba de breque ("brake samba"), where the music is suddenly interrupted to make space for a few spoken words, or a sudden reversal in the melodic line. For example, one of his great successes, the Samba do Arnesto
Samba do Arnesto
"Samba do Arnesto" is a classical samba song composed in 1953 by Italian Brazilian composer and singer Adoniran Barbosa. In his style of the "paulista" samba, it has humorous lyrics written in poor Portuguese language of the São Paulo city's poor suburbs with Italian immigrants...
("Arnest's Samba", 1953) begins:
- O Arnesto nus convidou prum samba, ele mora no Brás.
- "Arnest invited us for a samba, he lives in Brás."
The melodic
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
line is suspended briefly for the phrase ele mora no Brás, which marks it as a parenthetical remark — not only in the lyrics, but in the music as well.
Compositions
- Malvina, 1951
- Saudosa maloca, 1951
- Joga a chave, with Osvaldo Moles 1952
- Samba do ArnestoSamba do Arnesto"Samba do Arnesto" is a classical samba song composed in 1953 by Italian Brazilian composer and singer Adoniran Barbosa. In his style of the "paulista" samba, it has humorous lyrics written in poor Portuguese language of the São Paulo city's poor suburbs with Italian immigrants...
, 1953 - Pra que chorar, with Matilde de Lutiis
- A garoa vem descendo, with Matilde de Lutiis
- As mariposas, 1955
- Iracema, 1956
- Apaga o fogo Mané, 1956
- Bom-dia tristeza, 1958
- Abrigo de vagabundo, 1959
- No morro da Casa Verde, 1959
- Prova de carinho, 1960
- Tiro ao ÁlvaroTiro ao Álvaro"Tiro ao Álvaro" is a samba song composed in 1960 by Italian-Brazilian composer and singer Adoniran Barbosa . In his style of the "paulista" samba, it has humorous lyrics written in a popular Portuguese language.-Lyrics:...
, with Osvaldo Moles 1960 - Luz da light, 1964
- Trem das OnzeTrem das Onze"Trem das Onze" is a famous classical samba composition by Brazilian singer Adoniran Barbosa , released in 1964 and made famous that same year by the samba group Demônios da Garoa...
, 1964 - Agüenta a mão, 1965
- Samba ItalianoSamba Italiano"Samba Italiano" is a popular samba song composed in 1965 by Adoniran Barbosa , who was a son of Italian immigrants of the city of Valinhos, Brazil, and knew well the pidgin Italian-Portuguese dialect spoken in the streets of São Paulo, mostly in the sections of Mooca, Brás and Bexiga.The lyrics...
, 1965 - Tocar na banda, 1965
- Pafunça, with Osvaldo Moles 1965
- O casamento do Moacir, 1967
- Mulher, patrão e cachaça, 1968
- Vila Esperança, 1968
- Despejo na favela, 1969
- Fica mais um pouco, amor, 1975
- Acende o candieiro, 1972
- Uma Simples Margarida (Samba do Metrô)
- Já Fui uma Brasa
- Rua dos Gusmões
Adoniran also left some 90 unpublished lyrics, which are being posthumously set to music by various composers.
Quotes
- Deus dá o frio conforme o cubertô. ("God gives us the cold according to the blanket"). In: Saudosa Maloca (1951)
- Mai daí, o homem reza todo dia uma oração. Se quiser tirá de mim arguma coisa de bão, que me tire o trabáio. a muié não! ("Thence man prays every day so: if You wish to take something good away from me, please take away my job, not my woman!"). In: Conselho de Mulher.
- Não seja bobo, não se escracha. Mulher, patrão e cachaça, em qualquer canto se acha. ("Don't be a fool, don't get too upset. Woman, boss and brandy can be found on any corner"). In: Mulher, Patrão e Cachaça (1968).
- Nóis viemos aqui prá beber ou prá conversá? ("Did we come here to drink or to talk?"). In: Nóis Viemos Aqui Prá Quê?
- Falar errado é uma arte, senão vira deboche. ("To speak wrongly is an art, otherwise it becomes scoffing")
External links
- Official site
- Adoniran Barbosa. Biography (in Portuguese).
- Another one
- And another
- Lyrics of Adoniram Barbosa Songs. In Portuguese.
- MP3 Recordings of Adoniram Barbosa songs. Terra Music (30 sec. samples, sung by himself)