Candido Botelho

Cândido Botelho, an educated chamber singer and Villa-Lobos favorite interpreter, had success as a popular music singer both in Brazil and in the U.S. In June 1940, having performed in New York representing Brazil in the world's fair, Botelho was consecrated as the Voice of Brazil. The singer who made a success out of the until then unnoticed "Aquarela do Brasil" (Ary Barroso) in the 1939 play Joujoux et Balangandans (Henrique Pongetti), he was hired by NBC, where he worked until 1941. In Brazil, Botelho also had success as an actor in the cinema (Maridinho de Luxo, 1938). His biggest hit was Barroso's "Canta Mais." Botelho recorded his first album in 1929, with the modinhas "Canção da Felicidade" and "Canção do Violeiro." That same year, he performed at Gaveau Hall (Paris, France), during the Brazilian Week. In Brazil, he performed regularly at the Rádio Cruzeiro do Sul and Rádio Kosmos (São Paulo). In 1936, Botelho participated in the inauguration of Rádio Nacional (Rio de Janeiro), having been hired for the radio's cast in the next year, when he moved to Rio. His most popular recordings in the '30s were the embolada "Passarinho Verde" (folklore) and the modinhas "Quem Sabe" and "Conselhos" (Carlos Gomes) and "Viola Quebrada" (Mário de Andrade). In 1940, Botelho debuted at the Cassino da Urca, where he performed with Aurora Miranda, Grande Otelo, and other big-time artists. Returning from the U.S. in 1941, Botelho followed to Argentina the same year when he participated in the Brazilian government-sponsored cultural program Hora do Brasil, at the Rádio Municipal (Buenos Aires), with Radamés Gnattali and orchestra. In the same year, Botelho participated in the second staging of Joujoux et Balangandans in Brazil, recording with success three of Barroso's songs from the soundtrack, "Canta Mais," "Cena de Senzala," and "Brasil Moreno." ~ Alvaro Neder