Aquarela do Brasil
Ary Barroso wrote "Aquarela do Brasil" in early 1939, when he was prevented from leaving his home one rainy night due to a heavy storm.
[1] Describing the song in an interview to Marisa Lira, of the newspaper Diário de Notícias, Barroso said that he wanted to "free the samba away from the tragedies of life, of the sensual scenario already so explored".
The president of the jury was Heitor Villa-Lobos, and Barroso, offended that his masterpiece was not on the list, ended his relationship with him.
[1][2] The song only became famous after it was included in Walt Disney's 1942 animated film Saludos Amigos, sung by Aloísio de Oliveira.
[1][2] Due to the huge popularity achieved in the United States, it received an English version by songwriter Bob Russell.
The Barroso family, however, strongly denies these claims, pointing out that he also wrote an anti-Nazi song named "Salada Mista" (Mixed salad), recorded by Carmen Miranda in October 1938.
Vargas, although not a fascist himself, was as sympathetic to such regimes in the early years of his presidency as the European governments of the time.
[5] Some criticism to the song, at the time, was that it used expressions little known by the general public, such as "inzoneiro",[6] "merencória", and "trigueiro" (intriguing, melancholic, and swarthy), and that he was too redundant in the verses "meu Brasil brasileiro" ("my Brazilian Brazil") and "esse coqueiro que dá coco" ("this coconut palm that produces coconut").
The composer defended his work, saying that these expressions were poetic effects inseparable from the original composition.
On the original recording, Alves sang "mulato risoneiro" (laughing mulatto) instead of "inzoneiro" because he was unable to understand Barroso's illegible handwriting.
Ô, abre a cortina do passado; Tira a mãe preta do cerrado; Bota o rei congo no congado.
Quero ver essa Dona caminhando, Pelos salões, arrastando, O seu vestido rendado.
Brasil, terra boa e gostosa, Da moreninha sestrosa, De olhar indiferente.
Esse coqueiro que dá coco, Onde eu amarro a minha rede, Nas noites claras de luar.
Oh, open the curtains of the past; Take the black Mother from the cerrado;* Put the Congo king in the congado.
Brazil, beautiful and pleasant land, Of the mischievous brunette little girl, With her air of indifference.
Where hearts were entertaining June We stood beneath an amber moon And softly murmurr'd "some day soon" We kissed and clung together
Return I will To old Brazil The Portuguese lyrics are as sung by Francisco Alves (chorus in brackets).
In 1975, American band The Ritchie Family reached number-one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart for seven weeks and number eleven Pop with their disco version of the song.
[10]Other successful Brazilian singers such as Antônio Carlos Jobim, Erasmo Carlos, João Gilberto (with Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, and Maria Bethânia), Gal Costa, and Simone also recorded versions of the song at the same period.
It was recorded by Geoff Muldaur for the soundtrack, but parts of the song were also incorporated throughout the orchestral score by Michael Kamen, including a Kate Bush version.
In 2007, singer-songwriter Daniela Mercury, which recorded the most recent cover of the song by a Brazilian artist, was invited to perform the song at the end of the opening ceremony of the XV Pan American Games, held in Rio de Janeiro.
During the tournament's opening ceremony, its first verses were performed live by Brazilian singer Claudia Leitte before being joined onstage by Pitbull and Jennifer Lopez to sing "We Are One (Ole Ola)".
In 2021, the Michael Kamen (Brazil movie) arrangement was used by agency VCCP as the soundtrack for the Transport for London post-COVID advertising campaign, #LetsDoLondon.
