This samba composition, which is heavily influenced by the Afro-Brazilian religion of Candomblé, was first performed by the duo.
A well-known version was released by Daniela Mercury on her 2005 album Balé Mulato.
[citation needed] In 1970 in Uruguay Vinicius had married actress Gesse Gessy, the latter of whom made him deeply immerse himself in the Candomblé universe, as can be observed in this composition.
Not that this was new, since Vinícius had already experimented, with Baden Powell in the 1966 album Os Afro-sambas.
At this stage, the religious content of the songs comes from a syncretism, as the poet is questioning the mystical values of his early religious training and incorporating other values, other beliefs such as candomblé, that he has internalized and that are part of his sensibility as a poet.