Renato Russo, Maganews

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Rock’n Roll Poet

Renato Russo’s fiftieth birthday

Former  leader of Legião Urbana would have turned 50 at the end of March, had he been alive . Today, 14 years after his death, he is still remembered as one of the greatest pop rock legends in Brazil

People say that a rocker  who dies young becomes a legend. Renato Russo died of AIDS when he was only 36 years old.  Had he been alive, he would have celebrated his 50^th  birthday on March 27^th. But it would be unfair  to say that he became a legend for dying  so soon. Renato became a legend basically by being the leader of the most influential band in the history of Brazil’s pop rock:   Legião Urbana.  He became a myth by writing  (together with Dado Villa-Lobos and Marcelo Bonfá) some of the classics of Brazil’s pop music history.  Classics such as Pais e Filhos,Eduardo e Mônica and Que País é Este? Legião Urbana was created in Brasília, in 1982, and split up in 96, soon after Russo’s death.  It is estimated that, over this period, the band sold more than 20 million albums. Even after the end of the band, Legião’s albums continued with high sales, just like Renato Russo’s solo albums. The power of the band’s legacy (and the “rock n’ roll poet”) can also be measured  on the Internet.  There are more than 500 communities on Orkut dedicated to Legião Urbana (the largest one has more than 500,000 members) and other hundreds of communities dedicated to  Renato Russo. The figures are higher than any other band or singer in the Brazilian music.

English teacher

Renato Manfredini Júnior was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1960. From 1967 to 1970 he lived in New York.  But he lived most of his young life in Brasília. At the age of 15, he started teaching English and it was then when he lived one of his life’s worst  dramas. A severe  disease left him in awheelchair  for months. After overcoming  the disease, Renato was more focused on music. His first band was Abortos Elétricos. It was formed in 1978 and went on for 4 years. After that Legião Urbana was created and the rest is the story everyone knows.  

Vocabulary

1 had he been alive – se ele estivesse vivo

2 former – ex

3 rocker – roqueiro

4 unfair – injusto

5 dying (the same as “to die”) – morrer

6 to be measured – ser medido

7 figures - números

8 worst – pior / piores

9 severe - grave

10 wheelchair – cadeira de rodas

11 overcoming - superar

Matéria publicada na edição de número 54 da Revista Maganews

Áudio – Alline de Paula

Foto – Cris Bierrenback – Folha Imagem