Biography
Olegário Mariano earned lasting renown for his poetry and literary achievements in Brazil, yet he also supplied words for numerous significant songs. Famous interpreters committed forty-two of his pieces to disc, while additional lyrics appeared in print. He supplied the libretto for the operetta Mariúsa, whose score was composed by Joubert de Carvalho. That composer became his most frequent collaborator; together they produced twenty-four songs, nineteen of which reached publication and recording, many of which remain familiar today. “Cai, Cai, Balão” and “Tutu Marambá,” both interpreted by Gastão Formenti—who likewise recorded “Hula,” “De Papo Pro Ar,” and “Zíngara”—continue to figure in Brazilian childhood repertoire. Jaime Ovalle set the poem “Seu Zé Raimundo” to music, and Patrício Teixeira captured it on disc in 1926. Two years afterward Hekel Tavares composed melodies for several further poems by Mariano, among them “Sapo Cururu,” which Francisco Alves recorded in 1929. Ary Barroso furnished music for “Tu Qué Tomá Meu Home,” released by Araci Cortes the same year, while Gastão Lamounier set “Arrependimento,” again sung by Formenti in 1929, along with “Reminiscência” and “Suave Recordação.” Hekel Tavares joined the theatrical pioneer Procópio Ferreira in reciting selected poems across multiple discs. Francisco Alves also recorded the Joubert-Mariano collaboration “Dor De Recordar” in 1929, and Carmen Miranda performed “Absolutamente,” “Se Você Quer,” and “Bom-dia, Meu Amor” between 1931 and 1933.
Mariano arrived in Rio de Janeiro at the age of eight alongside his parents. He had already begun composing verse before turning thirteen, and at twelve he issued his debut volume, Angelus. Subsequent collections included Visões De Moço (1911), Sonetos (1912), Evangelho da Sombra e do Silêncio (1913), Canto da Minha Terra (1913), Água Corrente (1917), Últimas Cigarras (1920), Castelos Na Areia (1922), and Cidade Maravilhosa (1923). Election to the Academia Brasileira de Letras in 1926 preceded further volumes: Bataclan (1927), Destino (1931), Poemas de Amor e de Saudade (1932), Teatro (1932), Coletânea de Tradutores (1932), Poesias Escolhidas (1932), O Amor Na Poesia Brasileira (1933), Vida, Caixa de Brinquedos (1933), O Enamorado da Vida (1937), Da Cdeira No. 21 (1938), Abolição Da Escravatura E Os Homens Do Norte (1939), Em Louvor Da Língua Portuguesa (1940), A Vida Que Já Vivi (1945), Quando Vem Baixando O Crepúsculo (1945), Cantigas De Encurtar Caminho (1949), and Tangará Conta Histórias (1953). His complete poetic output later appeared as Toda Uma Vida De Poesia (1958). In 1934 he served as a congressman; he also acted as secretary of the Brazilian embassy in Bolivia, plenipotentiary minister in Portugal, and Brazil’s ambassador to Portugal, among other official roles and honors.
Mariano arrived in Rio de Janeiro at the age of eight alongside his parents. He had already begun composing verse before turning thirteen, and at twelve he issued his debut volume, Angelus. Subsequent collections included Visões De Moço (1911), Sonetos (1912), Evangelho da Sombra e do Silêncio (1913), Canto da Minha Terra (1913), Água Corrente (1917), Últimas Cigarras (1920), Castelos Na Areia (1922), and Cidade Maravilhosa (1923). Election to the Academia Brasileira de Letras in 1926 preceded further volumes: Bataclan (1927), Destino (1931), Poemas de Amor e de Saudade (1932), Teatro (1932), Coletânea de Tradutores (1932), Poesias Escolhidas (1932), O Amor Na Poesia Brasileira (1933), Vida, Caixa de Brinquedos (1933), O Enamorado da Vida (1937), Da Cdeira No. 21 (1938), Abolição Da Escravatura E Os Homens Do Norte (1939), Em Louvor Da Língua Portuguesa (1940), A Vida Que Já Vivi (1945), Quando Vem Baixando O Crepúsculo (1945), Cantigas De Encurtar Caminho (1949), and Tangará Conta Histórias (1953). His complete poetic output later appeared as Toda Uma Vida De Poesia (1958). In 1934 he served as a congressman; he also acted as secretary of the Brazilian embassy in Bolivia, plenipotentiary minister in Portugal, and Brazil’s ambassador to Portugal, among other official roles and honors.