Papas Da Língua

In 1993 Léo Henkin, a guitarist and composer, gathered the members of the Brazilian rock band Papas da Lingua, among them vocalist Serginho Moah, bassist Ze Natalio, and drummer Fernando Pezão. Their earliest material immediately attracted Globo TV soap-opera producers, who placed several songs as themes on widely watched Brazilian programs. The same tracks later appeared in major advertising campaigns for Iguatemi shopping centers and Coca-Cola. Those high-profile placements translated into bookings at large concert halls and tours that crossed national borders. Audiences routinely topping 100,000 helped launch their breakthrough album Xa-La-Lá, which quickly spread their reputation across South America. By 2003 the group had staged more than a thousand concerts on two continents, performed in over 700 cities, and sold in excess of 100,000 CDs. In 2004 they captured a performance at Porto Alegre’s Sao Pedro Theater—long regarded as the city’s musical sanctuary—resulting in the live CD and DVD Papas da Lingua ao Vivo Acustico. So many tickets were purchased that the band scheduled extra dates, all of which also sold out. Papas da Lingua rank among Brazil’s most successful pop acts.