Chico Buarque

Author profile

born

June 19, 1944 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

gender

male

website

http://www.chicobuarque.com.br/

genre

Literature & Fiction, Entertainment, Nonfiction

About this author

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Francisco Buarque de Hollanda (born June 19, 1944 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), popularly known as Chico Buarque, is a singer, guitarist, composer, dramatist, writer and poet. He is best known for his music, which often includes social, economic and cultural commentary on Brazil and Rio de Janeiro in particular.

Son of the academic Sérgio Buarque de Hollanda, Buarque lived in several locations throughout his childhood, though mostly in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Italy. He wrote and studied literature as a child and came to music through the bossa nova compositions of João Gilberto. He performed music throughout the 1960s as well as writing a play that was deemed dangerous by the Brazilian military dictatorship of the time. Buarque, along wi...more Francisco Buarque de Hollanda (born June 19, 1944 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), popularly known as Chico Buarque, is a singer, guitarist, composer, dramatist, writer and poet. He is best known for his music, which often includes social, economic and cultural commentary on Brazil and Rio de Janeiro in particular.

Son of the academic Sérgio Buarque de Hollanda, Buarque lived in several locations throughout his childhood, though mostly in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Italy. He wrote and studied literature as a child and came to music through the bossa nova compositions of João Gilberto. He performed music throughout the 1960s as well as writing a play that was deemed dangerous by the Brazilian military dictatorship of the time. Buarque, along with several of his fellow musicians, were threatened by the government and eventually left Brazil in 1970. He moved to Italy again. However, he came back to Brazil in 1971, one year before the others, and continued to record albums, perform, and write, though much of his material was not allowed by government censors. He released several more albums in the 1980s and published three novels in the 1990s and 2000s, all of which were acclaimed critically.

Buarque came from a privileged intellectual family background—his father Sérgio Buarque de Holanda was a well-known historian, sociologist and journalist and his mother Maria Amélia Cesário Alvim was a painter and pianist. He is also brother of the singer Miucha. As a child, he was impressed by the musical style of bossa nova, specifically the work of Tom Jobim and João Gilberto. He was also interested in writing, composing his first short story at 18 years old[1] and studying European literature, also at a young age.[2] One of his most consuming interests, however, was playing soccer, beginning at age four, which he still does today.[2] Though he was born in Rio de Janeiro, Buarque spent much of his childhood in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Italy.

Before becoming a musician, Buarque decided at one point to study architecture at the University of São Paulo, but this choice did not lead to a career in that field; for Buarque often skipped classes.[3]

He made his public debut as musician and composer in 1964, rapidly building his reputation at music festivals and television variety shows when bossa nova rhythm came to light and Nara Leão recorded three of his songs.[3] His eponymous debut album exemplified his future work, with catchy sambas characterized by inventive wordplay and an undercurrent of nostalgic tragedy. Buarque had his first hit with "A Banda" in 1966, written about a marching band, and soon released several more singles.[2] Although playing bossa nova, during his career, samba and Música Popular Brasileira would also be widely explored. Despite that, Buarque was criticized by two of the leading musicians at the time,Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil as they believed his musical style was overly conservative.[3] However, an existentially themed play that Buarque wrote and composed in 1968, Roda Viva ("Live Cycle"), was frowned upon by the military government and Buarque served a short prison sentence because of it.[3] He left Brazil for Italy for 18 months in 1970, returning to write his first novel in 1972, which was not targeted by censors.[1]

At this time his thinly-veiled protest single "Apesar de Você" ("In spite of You" --in reference to the military dictatorship)was also produced. [4] ("In spite of you") was overlooked by the military censors, becoming an important anthem in the democratic movement. After selling over 100,000 copies, the single was eventually censored and removed from the market. At one point in 1974, the censors banned any song authored by Chico Buarque. Then, he created a pseudonym, naming himself "Julinho da Adelaide", complete with life history and interviews to newspapers. "Julinho de Adelaide" authored songs such as "Jorge Maravilha" and "Acorda amor" before he was outed in (less)

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Books by Chico Buarque

Average rating: 3.58 · 1,175 ratings · 86 reviews · 17 distinct works

	Budapeste 3.63 avg rating — 596 ratings — published 2004 — 15 editions	My rating:
	Leite Derramado 3.77 avg rating — 236 ratings — published 2009 — 3 editions	My rating:
	Estorvo 3.15 avg rating — 167 ratings — published 1991 — 11 editions	My rating:
	Benjamin 3.39 avg rating — 79 ratings — published 1995 — 8 editions	My rating:
	Gota d'água by Chico Buarque, Paulo Pontes 4.08 avg rating — 26 ratings — published 1975 — 2 editions	My rating:
	Chapeuzinho Amarelo by Chico Buarque, Ziraldo (Illustrator) 4.44 avg rating — 16 ratings — published 1979	My rating:
	Calabar - O Elogio da Traição by Chico Buarque, Ruy Guerra 3.50 avg rating — 20 ratings — published 1966 — 2 editions	My rating:
	Fazenda Modelo 2.84 avg rating — 19 ratings — published 1997	My rating:
	Ópera do Malandro 3.89 avg rating — 9 ratings — published 1978	My rating:
	Para Todos 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 1994	My rating:

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Quotes by Chico Buarque

“Abre o teu coração ou eu arrombo a janela”
― Chico Buarque

5 people liked it

“(Hungarian...) the only tongue the devil respects”
― Chico Buarque, Chico Buarque

4 people liked it

“É sempre bom lembrar
Que um copo vazio
Está cheio de ar”
― Chico Buarque

2 people liked it

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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Around the World ...: Hungary	3	31	Sep 01, 2011 03:02pm
Around the World ...: Brazil	8	78	Apr 12, 2012 04:11am
Bookworm Bitches : A - Z Author Challenge	110	392	May 15, 2012 08:20pm

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