Brazil: 20 years without the King of baião

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Tribute

Brazil: 20 years without the King of baiãoLuiz Gonzaga died in August 1989. His songs were inspired by the daily lives of people in the Northeast of Brazil

August 2^nd marks 20 years since Luiz Gonzaga died. He wrote some of the biggest classics in Brazilian musical history, such as “Asa Branca” and “O Xote das Meninas”. Known as the “King of baião”, Gonzaga was chiefly responsible for promoting music from the Northeast of Brazil. For decades Brazil listened to Gonzaga playing the accordion and wearing clothes that were typical of the Northeast, such as a leather hat. His lyrics spoke of pain and love for the people in the Northeast.  Luiz Gonzaga was born in Exu, Pernambuco State, in 1912. His son, Gonzaguinha, (killed in a traffic accident in 1991) was also a very talented singer and songwriter. 

A century since the death of Euclides da Cunha 

He wrote “Os Sertões”, one of the great works in Brazilian literature

Euclides da Cunha died tragically on August 15th 1909. He was killed by his wife’s lover. This tragic story was told by Globo TV, in the miniseries Desejo, aired in 1990. Euclides  was born in 1866, in Cantagalo, Rio de Janeiro. He worked as a teacher, engineer, journalist and writer. In 1897 he travelled to Canudos, in Bahia, to cover the “Guerra dos Canudos” (1896-1897) for the newspaper O Estado de SP.  His reports formed the base of his masterpiece Os Sertões, published in1902. In the book Euclides details the everyday lives of the northeastern people, who suffer from starvation, drought, social injustice and government neglect.

Matéria publicada na edição de agosto da Revista Maganews 

Áudio – Aasita Muralikrishna

Vocabulary

1 chiefly (principalmente) – aqui = o maior

2 accordion – acordeão

3 leather hat – chapeu de couro

4 pain -dor

5 lover – amante

6 to cover – cobrir (reportagens)

7 masterpiece – obra-prima

8 starvation – fome

9 drought – seca

10 neglect - negligência