Nana Caymmi

The offspring of vocalists Dorival Caymmi and Stella Maris, born Adelaide Tostes Caymmi, Nana Caymmi forged an independent career as a vocalist, evidenced by her sizable catalog of recordings and a pair of gold certifications. She has also written songs, several of which have been interpreted by figures such as Milton Nascimento.

Her first appearance on disc occurred on her father’s album Acalanto, issued by Odeon in 1961. After wedding a Venezuelan physician she relocated to that country in 1959, an experience that fostered her lasting affinity for boleros. Returning to Rio in June 1966—now the mother of two children, pregnant, and newly divorced—she entered the circle surrounding the Tropicalia movement. Her brother Dori, already producing for Philips and acquainted with every participant, kept close ties, yet neither sibling formally aligned with the group. On the São Paulo television program Ensaio Geral, broadcast weekly by TV Excelsior, she encountered Gilberto Gil; fellow regulars included Maria Bethânia, Marília Medalha, Tuca, Francis Hime, Toquinho, Sérgio Ricardo, Ciro Monteiro, and the Tamba Trio. An affair developed between Caymmi and Gil, leading to an informal marriage that provoked widespread controversy on account of their differing racial backgrounds.

At the first International Song Festival held in Rio in 1966, she performed “Saveiros,” composed by Dori Caymmi and Nelson Motta, securing first place despite vocal audience disapproval; many had favored the restrained delivery by newcomer Gal Costa of Gil’s “Minha Senhora,” written with Torquato Neto. Only afterward did she learn that Gil himself had joined the chorus of disapproval, even as their newborn son waited backstage. Later, at the third Brazilian Popular Music Festival staged by TV Record at Teatro Paramount in São Paulo, she joined Gil for their jointly written “Bom-Dia.”

A stretch of marginalization followed. She found no place within Tropicalia’s prevailing pop orientation, which favored iê-iê-iê, nor within the protest-song current that arose under military rule. That movement, encompassing such disparate voices as the Carioca-hill sambista Zé Keti, northeasterner João do Vale, and middle-class Nara Leão, struck her as tedious—its lyrics overwrought and its melodies unappealing. Consequently her concerts repeatedly faltered. She sustained herself by performing in Portuguese at nightclubs across Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile.

Among her solo releases that stand out are the 1979 self-titled album, Voz e Suor recorded with César Camargo Mariano in 1983, Chora Brasileira from 1985, Caymmi’s Grandes Amigos issued in 1986, Talento de Nana Caymmi from 1987, and Só Louco, captured live at the Montreux Festival with Wagner Tiso in 1989; all appeared on EMI. In 1983 she also featured in the documentary Bahia de Todos os Sambas, filmed in Rome. Her contribution to the 1994 Songbook Edu Lobo, released by Lumiar, preceded the album Bolero, which surpassed 100,000 copies and earned her first gold record. She participated in the posthumous tribute to Clara Nunes, Clara com Vida, issued by EMI in 1995, a project that moved 96,000 units within four months. That year the APCA named her Best Female Singer. Subsequent releases included Alma Serena in 1996 and No Coração do Rio in 1997; she received the same APCA honor again in 1998. Resposta ao Vento, released in 1999 and featured in the soundtrack of TV Globo’s soap opera Hilda Furacão, likewise reached 100,000 copies and secured her second gold record. In 2000 she issued the solo collection Sangre de Mi Alma, devoted to boleros and additional pieces that encompassed “Noel Rosa.”