Celso Viáfora

Since the closing years of the 1970s, Celso Viáfora has established a lasting presence through repeated successes at MPB festivals, which in turn has drawn steadily greater attention from specialized outlets. Although his four solo albums have remained outside mainstream commercial reach, his inventive approach has earned respect from associates Guinga and Ivan Lins, a partnership that yielded ten songs, four of which appeared on Lins’ 2000 album A Cor Do Por Do Sol—the title track, “Nada Sem Você,” “Emoldurada,” and “Olimpo,” the last featuring Viáfora as special guest—while interpreters such as Vânia Bastos, who recorded “Linda De Lua,” and Ney Matogrosso, who recorded “A Cara Do Brasil,” have also championed his work. His early training took place at the Fundação Das Artes in São Caetano do Sul, followed by studies in arranging under Nelson Ayres at the Conservatório do Brooklin in São Paulo. Beginning in the late 1970s, he embarked on an extended sequence of university-festival appearances, often alongside Arrigo Barnabé and the group Premeditando o Breque, all participants in the vanguarda paulista movement. Success at numerous such events led to his song “Grão Da Terra” receiving the best-arrangement prize at the International Festival of Viña del Mar in Chile, where Amilson Godoy provided accompaniment; he likewise posted strong showings at the TV Record and Carrefour festivals. The track “Não Vou Sair,” issued without marketing or promotional backing and denied airplay on major radio and television outlets, nevertheless became a hit, first recorded by Nílson Chaves and later covered in nearly ten independent versions by assorted artists while finding regular performance in Brazilian nightspots. In 1986 Viáfora joined César Brunetti, Jean Garfunkel, and Paulo Garfunkel on the shared LP Trocando figura, released by Copacabana. His debut solo album, Celso Viáfora, appeared in 1992 on Outros Brasis and was later reissued on CD by Dabliú, drawing praise from specialist critics. Paixão Candeeira, issued by Dabliú in 1996, advanced his standing with broader media, placing him among the recognized figures of the Rio/São Paulo circuit. Capitalizing on those favorable notices, Cara do Brasil followed in 1999 on RGE/Jam Music, featuring contributions from MPB-4, Chico César, Banda Mantiqueira, Dominguinhos, Arismar do Espírito Santo, Maurício Carrilho, Amilson Godoy, and Jane Duboc. The accompanying presentation at Canecão in Rio likewise included MPB-4 and Chico César.