Martinho Da Vila

Martinho da Vila emerged as a leading creator of hill samba, crafting numerous sambas-enredo that serve as the central vehicles for samba school parades during the Carioca Carnival. Working simultaneously as composer and performer, he has released more than thirty LPs and CDs, several of which surpassed one million copies sold. A wide range of vocalists have covered his material, among them Simone, Beth Carvalho, Roberto Ribeiro, and Alcione.

Da Vila first began frequenting the Escola de Samba Aprendizes da Boca do Mato at age thirteen. Two years later he completed the samba de terreiro “Piquenique.” Starting in 1957 he supplied one samba-enredo each year for his school’s Carnival parade, opening with “Carlos Gomes,” followed by “Tamandaré” in 1958, “Machado de Assis” in 1959, “Rui Barbosa na Conferência de Haia” in 1960, and nine further works in the years that followed. In addition to composing, he acted as mestre de harmonia for the same school. The group paraded to his “Construtores da Cidade do Rio de Janeiro” in 1965; the next year he joined G.R.E.S. Unidos de Vila Isabel, where he developed a distinct samba-enredo style and adopted the name Martinho da Vila. He entered the III FMPB in 1967 with the partido-alto “Menina Moça” and also sang his own songs in the show A Fina Flor do Samba at Rio’s Teatro Opinião. That same season Unidos de Vila Isabel presented his “Carnaval de ilusões,” written with Gemeu. In 1968 and 1969 samba schools again performed his sambas-enredo, including Eliana Pittman’s rendition, with Rodolfo de Souza, of “Laiá do Cais Dourado.” During 1968 he appeared in Samba Autêntico, No. 1 and the IV FMPB, presenting “Casa de bamba,” which appeared on his debut LP issued the same year by RCA Victor. The ensemble A Voz do Samba, of which he was a member, recorded an album of his songs in 1970. “Segure Tudo” reached the hit parade in 1972, while “Canta, Canta, Minha Gente” and “Disritmia” broke sales records in 1974. He kept writing the annual samba-enredo for Unidos da Vila Isabel in subsequent seasons. Tá Delícia Tá Gostoso, released by Sony in 1995, sold 1.5 million copies. Simone devoted an entire album, Café com Leite, to his compositions in 1996. He introduced new figures to the samba community, among them Grupo Compasso da Vila, Roda de Saia, and the sambistas Agrião and Tiago Mocotó. A committed proponent of Black awareness, he promoted cultural exchanges with Africa through concerts, lectures, and recordings. Among the notable releases of the late twentieth century are Martinho Canta Martinho from 1997 and O Pai Da Alegria from 1999.

The twenty-first century opened with Lusofonia in 2000, one of his most acclaimed and commercially successful albums, which prompted tours throughout Brazil, South America, and Africa. He issued Da Vila Da Roça E Da Cidade in 2001, his final Sony project. Although Butiquim released Voz E Coração in 2002, Conexões ao Vivo on MZA in 2003 initiated a multi-year association with EMI/Universal and returned him to the charts. His tours, however, continued to sell out in every city. Brasilatinidade appeared in 2005, followed by a live version the next year. Reducing his road schedule, da Vila devoted more time to his grandchildren and other projects while various labels supplemented his catalog with reissues and compilations until he returned to the studio in 2010 for Filosofia de Vida. Its title track and charting lead single were recorded as a duet with Ana Carolina. Sony marked the forty-fifth anniversary with the 2012 compilation 4.5 Atual, while da Vila participated in several live multi-artist albums, including Rock in Rio Ao Vivo and Pirajá: Esquina Carioca, both issued in 2013 though recorded earlier. He starred in the 2014 biographical film O Samba directed by Georges Gachot, and the written biography Martinho da Vila: Tradição e René was published in 2016. Unsatisfied with that account, he began a second autobiography the following year with Kamille Viola and released De Bem Com a Vida in 2018. In honor of his eightieth birthday that same year, Sony issued Alo Vila Isabeeeel, which featured numerous new originals and appearances by younger guests including Maria Freitas, Mart'Nalia, Dunga, Claudio Jorge, and Andre Diniz.