Bororó

Bororó acquired his skills on the violão directly from his father, the celebrated Bohemian Sinhôzinho, who authored three thousand written satires. His schoolteacher bestowed the nickname Bororó following a visit by a group of Bororo Indians to the family home. From early childhood onward, he performed modinhas set to verses by Castro Alves, Casimiro de Abreu, Gonçalves Crespo, and Melo Morais Filho. He maintained regular partnerships in serenatas alongside the leading instrumentalists of his era and counted among his closest companions João Pernambuco, Quincas Laranjeiras, Gustavo Ribeiro, Rogério Guimarães, Américo Jacomino (the Canhoto), and Henrique Flauta. While still a boy he supplied original material to the Carnival ranchos Flor da Estopa, Lírio do Amor, and Mimosas Cravinas. Although his total output remained modest, several of those pieces achieved enduring classic status. The standout success “Da Cor do Pecado” received its first recording from Sílvio Caldas in 1939. “Curare,” another major hit, was introduced by Orlando Silva in 1940 and subsequently interpreted by Rosa Passos. Sílvio Caldas likewise enjoyed strong results with the Evrágio Lopes collaboration “O Que É O Que É.” In 1982 Guavira Editores of Rio de Janeiro issued his memoir Gente da Madrugada: Flagrantes da Vida Noturna, which chronicles episodes from his nocturnal Bohemian existence.