Do you know Brazil has a specific day for celebrating one of most popular passion? Yes, it´s true! Brazil celebrated last December 1st the National Samba Day- “Dia Nacional do Samba”. The National Samba Day is part of a giant initiative promoted by several artists, musicians, cultural producers, intellectuals and carnival entrepreneurs in order to protect and perpetuate this unique musical rhythm. Samba Schools are also supporting this beautiful project, since the samba is one of the true origins of the great Carnival done in Brazil.

Below a samba cartoon from Lan, one most famous in Brazil:



During this day, a series of samba and carnival events took place all around the country. Definitely, samba is a vibrant cause to celebrate. The Brazilian National Samba Day project started a few years ago when the grand-daughter of legendary samba composer Cartola and president of the Cartola Cultural Center, Nilcemar Nogueira, proposed the Cultural Patrimony registry with Brazil´s Iphan. ( Iphan is the federal organ that serves as a base for the constitution of state and municipal organs for the protection of cultural patrimony. It was created by the Decree nº 25, on the 30th of November of 1937, and elaborated by Mário de Andrade at the request of Gustavo Capanema, minister of then-President Getúlio Vargas).

After careful analysis, the Brazilian government patrimony body declared the Rio de Janeiro Samba, or “Carioca Samba” as a legitimate Cultural Patrimony of Brazil in October 9th, 2007. IPHAN declared Rio´s samba three strands: “the partido alto”, “samba de terreiro”, and “samba-enredo”, the later being the one played at the samba schools Rio de Janeiro Carnival Parade. The Samba School Association in Rio de Janeiro LIESA, also supported this project. Nilcemar said that the project would help not only to preserve the memory of all of those who founded the Brazilian Samba in the past, but would help new generations to come understand, cherish, and cultivate the importance of this genuine Brazilian rhythm.

Samba and Brazil Carnaval legends like Cartola, Carlos Cachaça, Vinícius de Morais and Tom Jobim, (the two last ones composers of “The Girl from Ipanema”) would surely applaud this movement. So next year, December 1st 2009, make sure to celebrate the Carioca Samba! Put on a Cartola record, prepare a nice caipirinha, call your friends and enjoy this magical rhythm!

Unidos da Tijuca flag at their rehearsal:

Angenor de Oliveira, “master” Cartola, synthesizes the samba and the Sambista. He was one of the greatest all time samba composers, and helped to create the traditional Rio de Janeiro Samba School Mangueira, choosing its name, colors and destiny. Cartola shortened the distance between samba writers and the middle class of Rio de Janeiro, helping to promote the carnival in the beginning of last century. Cartola´s 100th birthday anniversary this October is definitely an important date to be celebrated and remembered by Carnival community all over the world.

Cartola was born in the Catete district in Rio, on October 11 1908. He moved to Mangueira at the age of 11, and as a child was encouraged by his father to play the ukulele, a small 5 string version of a guitar. He finished grammar school, but decided to drop out when he was 15, after his mother´s premature death. Needing to make a living, he worked as a bricklayer, wall painter, car washer, and even night watchman. Also, for period of time, he had a job as an office boy in a public civil service department. Historians point out he was never able to make a living from samba or carnival, although he was a true composer genius. Cartola has his first album recorded only in 1974, at the age of 65.




Carnival and Samba researcher Ricardo Albin stated; “I already knew Cartola from the Zicartola Bar nights. One evening, I went over the National Radio Station to watch a program honoring singer Marlene. On the way up, the elevator stopped at the floor where the Secretary of Industry and Commerce was. You cant´ imagine my surprise when I saw Cartola greeting the guests – he was the doorman. I managed to take him to the show, where he was honored too. He was the sweetest and most cordial man I have ever met.”


The nickname Cartola came about at the time he worked as a bricklayer. He was a very vain man, and he hated when the cement dust fell on his hair. He managed to get a hat which looked very much like a top hat (cartola, in Portuguese), so his friends at work started calling him Cartola. None of them could imagine that name would be immortalized for ever as one of the greatest samba composer legends of all times.

In 1925, together with life-time song partner Carlos Cachaça, he founded a musical band called “The Arengueiros”. Three years later, The Arengueiros merged with two other existing samba groups to give birth to the traditional Samba School Mangueira, the second official major school in all samba history. This was April 28, 1928. Cartola joined other friends such as Saturnino Gonçalves, Marcelino José Claudino, Francisco Ribeiro, Euclides Roberto dos Santos, and Zé Espinguela, among others to write the samba school´s foundation document. (Deixa Falar samba school formed a few months before Mangueira by songwriters from Estácio and was officially the first major school to be formed. Later, Deixa Falar´s name was changed to Portela Samba School.)

Below we see a brilliant caricature by Leo Martins of legend Cartola, with the Mangueira shirt and a guitar.



Cartola composed samba school Mangueira´s first samba called “Chega de Demanda”, but his reputation spread outside the samba school when singers Mário Reis and Francisco Alves started buying the rights of his sambas. It is important to state that contrary to his partners, Cartola refused to share the song writing, giving in only when it came to the rights of record sales.

Another interesting point of his composing style is that sambas written by Cartola for Mangueira had a melody so beautifully done that they were recorded with many different tempos later on. One of them was “Não quero mais” from 1936, which was sung by Paulinho da Viola in 1973, under the title “Não quero mais Amar ninguém”.

Cartola has already some fame by 1942, having for example, composing songs even to Carmen Miranda. At this date Cartola participated together with others songwriters in a famous recording aboard a ship called “Uruguay”, with conductor Leopoldo Stokowski, who was then visiting Brazil. They were truly making history and as a result of these recordings, two 78 RPM albums were launched by Columbia in the United States. The following year, Cartola formed a band called Conjunto Carioca, and presented shows during one month in São Paulo. Later, he disappeared mysteriously from the musical scene, probably due to the death of first wife and meningitis he contracted.

What is certain is that in 1956, a casual meeting with journalist Segio Porto in Ipanema, made sure that this part of history of the Brazilian music would not miss one of its main and important chapters. The master of sambas worked washing the cars of rich ladies that had no idea he had written “As Rosas Não Falam” – “The Roses don’t Speak”, “Acontece”, “Corra e olhe o Céu”, “O mundo é um moinho”, “Autonomia”, “Minha” , “Tive Sim”, “Amor proibido”, “Ciência e Arte”, and so many other samba treasures. Sérgio then took him to sing at the Mayrink Veiga radio station, one of the most traditional at the time.

By 1961, Cartola has already met his second wife, Eusébia Silva do Nascimento, a.k.a. Dona Zica, and was again living at the Mangueira community. In 1963, he decided to open a bar, which was called Zicartola and lasted only for two years. The bar however was crucial to the revival of samba, since it became an important cross-section and meeting area between Rio rich south zone intellectuals, and songwriters from the creative north zone and Mangueira itself. Following this moment, Cartola and some of his songwriters friends like Zé Keti, Nelson Cavaquinho and other were able to promote their talent and songs outside the Mangueira limits, and recorded too their first albums.

Cartola finally recorded his first album in 1974, and in 1976 he released his second album. He had his official debut (after the releasing of his album) at the Gloria Theater and by 1977 he launched the classical album called “Verde que te quero Rosa”, by American Label RCA Victor. By 1979 Cartola recorded his last album called “Cartola – 70 anos”. Cartola died one year later of cancer, November 30th, 1980. Today, Cartola is recognized as more than a legendary founder of Brazilian Samba. Last year, filmmakers Lírio Ferreira and Hilton Lacerda paid a tribute to Cartola through an excellent movie that has his name as the title. The documentary had the participations of some of his friends like Nélson Sargento and musical commentator Nélson Motta. The documentary shows that more than a samba legend, Cartola is eternal and probably the original reference of Brazilian root samba.

Everybody is aware that this year we are celebrating 200 years since the Portuguese Royal family arrived in Rio, but how did Rio de Janeiro become what is known for today? Follows below a small summary of Rio de Janeiro historical events:

The Guanabara Bay was first discovered by explorers from Portugal in January, 1502, which is how the January River, as 'Rio de Janeiro' translates, gained its name. At that time, 'river' was used by the Portuguese for any larger body of water. Soon after, Europeans from all over were coming there, with French smugglers already taking advantage of the bay by 1519. The first permanent European settlement in the area, called France Antarctique, was founded in 1555 by French naval officer Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon. However, Villegaignon was forced to leave two years later after coming into conflict with the rest of the settlers.



Portuguese knight Estácio de Sá officially founded the city in March of 1565, calling it São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro 20 (St. Sebastian of the January 20th River). For many years, the city's common name was São Sebastião. Founded as a base from which to conquer France Antarctique, the French were driven out within two years. The exact site of Rio de Janeiro's founding is at the foot of Sugarloaf Mountain. As it evolved over the years, the entire city was relocated to the top of a hill, according to the Medieval European defensive strategy, bringing the current center of town in a southwesterly direction, an urban shift which continues to this day.

Sugarcane was the area's first product, with slaves from both Africa and domestic areas utilized for the labor. When higher-quality sugarcane from northern districts of Brazil became more popular, this industry went into decline. In 1763, the colonial administration was relocated to the city of Rio de Janeiro, and it remained mainly a colonial capital until 1808, when the Portuguese royal family had to flee from Napoleon's invasion, winding up in Rio. Thereafter the city served as the kingdom's capital, becoming the only European capital located outside of Europe.



Prince Pedro I >declared Brazil's independence in 1822, but by that time the city's economic and political importance was dwindling when compared to São Paulo. However, it remained the capital even after the late 19th Century, when the monarchy was thrown out and a republic established in its place.

Then, in the early decades of the 20th Century, Copacabana Beach's natural beauty combined with the allure of the Copacabana Palace Hotel brought Rio de Janeiro the reputation it retains to this day, as the ultimate beach vacation spot.




Belavista Brazil Carnival is a non-commercial blog devoted to wonders of Rio de Janeiro, with a focus to the Brazilian Carnival. Our sole objective is to describe how Carnival in Rio de Janeiro is magically created, its artists, dancers and musicians that make up the world’s largest show. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns