Biography
One of samba’s most revered songwriters, Silas de Oliveira helped establish the Império Serrano samba school and created the very first samba-enredo. Among the many pieces he left behind are “Meu Drama,” later recorded by Cartola under the title “Senhora Tentação”; “Apoteose ao Samba,” co-written with Mano Décio and made famous by Jamelão; and “Aquarelas do Brasil,” a song that received numerous reinterpretations, notably those by Elza Soares and Martinho da Vila.
Born to a Baptist minister, Oliveira grew up under rigorous discipline and eventually taught at his father’s Colégio Assumpção. After finishing secondary school he met the young sambista Mano Décio da Viola, who became both his closest friend and most frequent collaborator. Secretly defying his father’s wishes, Oliveira joined rodas of samba and jongo alongside Rufino, Mestre Fuleiro, Olímpio Navalhada, Aniceto do Império, and Mano Eloy. In 1934 he composed his debut samba, “Meu Grande Amor,” with Mano Décio da Viola; Décio then introduced him to the samba school Prazer da Serrinha, later renamed Império Serrano. Beginning on tamborim, Oliveira soon rose to director of the percussion section, and his first composition for the group was “Sagrado Amor,” written with Manula. In 1940 he married Elaine dos Santos, a former pupil at his father’s school and cousin of two future Império Serrano presidents, João Gradim and Sebastião de Oliveira, the Molequinho.
Following World War II, dictator Getúlio Vargas required samba schools to adopt patriotic themes for their enredos. Consequently, in 1945 Oliveira and Décio produced the first samba-enredo ever written, “Conferência de São Francisco.” When Alfredo Costa, the authoritarian director of Prazer da Serrinha, blocked its performance at the last moment, Oliveira, Décio, and fellow members including Mestre Fuleiro, Rufino, Sebastião de Oliveira, and Antenor broke away to found Império Serrano. Over the next twenty-five years until his death, Oliveira supplied the school with fourteen sambas-enredo that repeatedly placed at the top of the annual Carnaval competition: first place in 1950 with “Sessenta e Um Anos de República,” second place in 1953 with “O Último Baile da Corte Imperial,” and another first place in 1955 with “O Caçador de Esmeraldas.” His initial recording came in 1955 when Heleninha Costa cut “Rádio Patrulha.” The following year Império Serrano earned second place with the samba-enredo “D. João VI,” again co-written with Mano Décio da Viola. “Rádio Patrulha” itself enjoyed widespread popularity during the street parades of 1956 and 1957. In 1960 “Medalhas e Brasões” shared first place with four other entries. The school reached fourth place in 1964 with “Aquarela Brasileira,” Oliveira’s greatest success and one of the most frequently broadcast sambas of all time. Império Serrano again finished fourth in 1965 with “Os Cinco Bailes da Corte,” the same year Oliveira joined the Samba Autêntico collective. Also in 1965 his “Exaltação à Bahia,” written with Joaci Santana, took third place in the official parade; two years later the school placed second with “São Paulo, Chapadão da Glória,” another Santana collaboration. In 1968 “Pernambuco, Leão do Norte” brought another second-place finish and was documented by Oliveira himself on the Sound and Image Museum’s LP As Escolas Cantam Seus Sambas de 1968 Para a Posteridade, the first album to gather every school’s samba from a single year. The last of his sambas performed by Império Serrano was 1969’s “Heróis da Liberdade,” later successfully recorded by Elza Soares.
Oliveira was singing his compositions at a roda de samba organized by Mauro Duarte when a stroke felled him on the terreiro, a fitting end for a true bamba.
Born to a Baptist minister, Oliveira grew up under rigorous discipline and eventually taught at his father’s Colégio Assumpção. After finishing secondary school he met the young sambista Mano Décio da Viola, who became both his closest friend and most frequent collaborator. Secretly defying his father’s wishes, Oliveira joined rodas of samba and jongo alongside Rufino, Mestre Fuleiro, Olímpio Navalhada, Aniceto do Império, and Mano Eloy. In 1934 he composed his debut samba, “Meu Grande Amor,” with Mano Décio da Viola; Décio then introduced him to the samba school Prazer da Serrinha, later renamed Império Serrano. Beginning on tamborim, Oliveira soon rose to director of the percussion section, and his first composition for the group was “Sagrado Amor,” written with Manula. In 1940 he married Elaine dos Santos, a former pupil at his father’s school and cousin of two future Império Serrano presidents, João Gradim and Sebastião de Oliveira, the Molequinho.
Following World War II, dictator Getúlio Vargas required samba schools to adopt patriotic themes for their enredos. Consequently, in 1945 Oliveira and Décio produced the first samba-enredo ever written, “Conferência de São Francisco.” When Alfredo Costa, the authoritarian director of Prazer da Serrinha, blocked its performance at the last moment, Oliveira, Décio, and fellow members including Mestre Fuleiro, Rufino, Sebastião de Oliveira, and Antenor broke away to found Império Serrano. Over the next twenty-five years until his death, Oliveira supplied the school with fourteen sambas-enredo that repeatedly placed at the top of the annual Carnaval competition: first place in 1950 with “Sessenta e Um Anos de República,” second place in 1953 with “O Último Baile da Corte Imperial,” and another first place in 1955 with “O Caçador de Esmeraldas.” His initial recording came in 1955 when Heleninha Costa cut “Rádio Patrulha.” The following year Império Serrano earned second place with the samba-enredo “D. João VI,” again co-written with Mano Décio da Viola. “Rádio Patrulha” itself enjoyed widespread popularity during the street parades of 1956 and 1957. In 1960 “Medalhas e Brasões” shared first place with four other entries. The school reached fourth place in 1964 with “Aquarela Brasileira,” Oliveira’s greatest success and one of the most frequently broadcast sambas of all time. Império Serrano again finished fourth in 1965 with “Os Cinco Bailes da Corte,” the same year Oliveira joined the Samba Autêntico collective. Also in 1965 his “Exaltação à Bahia,” written with Joaci Santana, took third place in the official parade; two years later the school placed second with “São Paulo, Chapadão da Glória,” another Santana collaboration. In 1968 “Pernambuco, Leão do Norte” brought another second-place finish and was documented by Oliveira himself on the Sound and Image Museum’s LP As Escolas Cantam Seus Sambas de 1968 Para a Posteridade, the first album to gather every school’s samba from a single year. The last of his sambas performed by Império Serrano was 1969’s “Heróis da Liberdade,” later successfully recorded by Elza Soares.
Oliveira was singing his compositions at a roda de samba organized by Mauro Duarte when a stroke felled him on the terreiro, a fitting end for a true bamba.