[3] For her mother, a mestizo and poor woman, the birth of Chiquinha was a very difficult, in part because of the risk that the father would not recognize the paternity of her daughter.

Indeed, José Basileu, the military promising career, from a wealthy family, suffered from the pressure of his parents, who were against his marriage with Rosa.

[3][4] In Brazil in the late 19th century, women were often seen on a quasi role of slave; few dared to defy their parents and husbands; when that happened, they were quickly sent to reformatories and convents.

However, since 1808 with the arrival of the Royal Family in Brazil, women began to circulate more in the streets, dancing in receptions, to come to parties at theater and opera.

The port of Rio de Janeiro became the financial and commercial center of the Empire, which were trading coffee, slaves and foreign goods that fascinated the new consumers.

[2] In 1870, Chiquinha moved to Minas Gerais with the engineer João Batista de Carvalho, with whom she had a daughter, Maria Alice (born in 1876).

In 1876, Chiquinha Gonzaga, 29 years old, lived in Rio de Janeiro with her eldest son, João Gualberto, to work as an independent musician and initiate her successful career as a pianist and composer.

In 1899, after decades dedicated mainly to her music, Chiquinha met João Batista Fernandes Lage, a young Portuguese musician.

For this reason also, Chiquinha and João Batista moved to Lisbon (Portugal) where they lived several years away from the acquaintances in Rio de Janeiro.

Shortly after her return from Europe, her friend Nair de Tefé married the Brazilian president Hermes Rodrigues da Fonseca, becoming the first lady of Brazil.

Once, in 1914, for the premiere of "Corta Jaca" at the presidential palace, the first lady joined Chiquinha on guitar, playing an excerpt from the song composed by the pianist.

[2] This episode was considered a scandal at the time, with public critics against the government, the life at the palace, the promotion and dissemination of music whose origins were in "vulgar" dances, contrary to the values of the aristocratic social elite.

After the end of his presidential term, Hermes da Fonseca and Nair de Tefé moved to France, where they remained for a long time.

[2][7] By the end of her life, she composed music for 77 theater plays and was the author of about 2,000 compositions in different genres: waltzes, polkas, tangos, lundus, maxixes, Fado, quadrilles, mazurkas, Choros and serenades.

Due her maternal origins and the many injustices experienced during her life, Chiquinha was a very active citizen and involved in all kinds of social movements that took place during her generation in Brazil, such as the abolition of slavery, with the Law Áurea of 1888 and the proclamation of the Republic in 1889.