Noca Da Portela

Having composed upwards of three hundred songs committed to disc, Noca da Portela ranks among samba’s most tireless creators, responsible for “Portela Querida,” taken up by Elza Soares, “Isto Tem Que Acabar,” set down by Ataulpho Alves Júnior, “Capital do Samba,” captured by Eliana Pittman, “Condição,” logged by the MPB-4, and “A Queda,” preserved by Sônia Lemos. Among the many voices that have committed his pieces to tape stand Grupo Fundo de Quintal, Eliane Machado, Elza Soares, Beth Carvalho, Os Originais do Samba, and Jorginho do Império. At fifteen he supplied the Unidos do Catete escola de samba with the samba-enredo “O Grito do Ipiranga,” earning the competition’s top mark. In 1958, performing as vocalist and composer inside Trio Tropical, he traversed Minas Gerais, Pernambuco, and Bahia. For the Paraíso do Tuiuti school he furnished several samba-enredo texts, among them “Apoteose da Academia Militar das Agulhas Negras,” “Os Imortais da MPB,” which he cut himself for RCA Victor, “Rio, Carnaval e Batucada,” and “Vida e Obra de Cecília Meirelles,” preserved by Jamelão. In 1966 he shared the stage with Paulinho da Viola in the Opinião theater presentation Carnaval Para Principiantes. At Paulinho’s invitation he entered the Portela escola, appending its name to his own artistic identity. Once inside the Ala dos Compositores he formed Trio ABC da Portela alongside Picolino and Colombo, a unit that carried its repertoire across Brazil and entered two sambas in the II Concurso de Música de Carnaval: “Portela Querida,” delivered by Elza Soares and turned into a hit, and “É Bom Assim,” sung by Gasolina. In 1969 “Chorei, Sofri, Penei” captured the Carnival Contest at São Paulo’s Municipal Theater. The 1976 samba-enredo “O Homem de Pacoval” brought him further attention, while that same year Beth Carvalho recorded “Meu Escudo,” a collaboration with Délcio Carvalho; she later added “Virada,” co-written with his son Gilmar Vilela Pereira under the alias Gilpert. Portela selected his 1985 samba-enredo “Recordar é Viver” for that year’s Carnival. Alcione cut “Vendaval da Vida,” again with Délcio Carvalho, in 1986, and Dominguinhos do Estácio released “Cena Final,” partnered with Toninho Nascimento, in 1989. Noca da Portela’s debut album, Brasilidade, appeared in 1990. The 1995 samba “Gosto Que Me Enrosco” earned him the Estandarte de Ouro, and Maria Bethânia recorded “Ilumina” the same year. In 1996 he and Roberto Serrão shared the album Manda Me Chamar. Paulinho da Viola committed “Peregrino” to disc in 1997. A second Estandarte de Ouro arrived in 1998 for “Os Olhos da Noite,” followed by a third in 1999 for “Pelos Caminhos de Minas Gerais.”