Mona Gadelha

Recognition arrived gradually for the seasoned vocalist Mona Gadelha. Her musical path began during the 1970s in Fortaleza CE, where she performed original material with regional groups such as Kaleidoscópio and Emoções Perigosas. The latter ensemble issued a single and carried out tours across the Northeast. Following completion of her studies, she relocated to São Paulo SP in 1985 and took up journalism. By 1994 she had assumed the role of executive producer for independent releases. Her debut album, which she co-produced, appeared on Movieplay in 1996. The record earned positive critical notices, with “Cinema Noir,” “Imagine Nós,” and “Cor de Sonho” gaining rotation on select radio playlists. “Cinema Noir” also featured on the Rádio Musical FM (SP) compilation A Gema do Novo. Its accompanying video aired on MTV Brazil as well as on cable outlets in Mexico, Spain, and Portugal. Eliana Printes recorded Gadelha’s “Crepúsculo de Uma Deusa,” and the resulting album reached the Top Ten in multiple Brazilian cities, among them Rio. Gadelha’s follow-up effort, Cenas & Dramas, arrived in 1999; the track “Johnny Vai Pra Guerra?” was subsequently licensed for the Spanish FNAC anthology Music of the Caribbean and Latin America.