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(english translation of brasil pandeiro in the works)

"Brasil Pandeiro" (English translation: 'Brasil Tambourine') is a 1940 samba-exaltação song by Bahian composer Assis Valente that praises the genre of samba and the people of Brazil. Together with "Recenseamento" ("Census"), it was composed specifically for singer Carmen Miranda, who had arrived in the United States the year before, but she refused. Instead, the song rose to fame after it was recorded by the band Anjos do Inferno. Years later, it was re-recorded and popularized by the band Novos Baianos in their album Acabou Chorare after the suggestion of the group's mentor João Gilberto.

"Brasil Pandeiro" is an anthem similar to "Aquarela do Brasil"; the latter even contains a rhythmic motif that serves repeatedly as an accompaniment to Valente's melody through its intentions to imitate the pandeiro. The pandeiro's feature in two patriotic Brazilian songs affirms the instrument as a symbol of Brazil and legitimizes the batucada variation of samba as an art form of significant Brazilian cultural value.

Context

In 1940, Portugese-born Brazilian singer Carmen Miranda had just arrived in the United States and was at the peak of her fame. She received several compositions, among which were "Recenseamento" and "Brasil Pandeiro" by Valente. She recorded the former, but regarding the latter, she told Valente, "Assis, this does not work. You were bored." Miranda's attitude was criticized by several individuals associated with the composer, including journalist Enéas Viany, who wrote on June 24, 1941:

"(...) Despite my lack of personal importance, I have always tried to elevate the name of this Portugese girl who held a Brazilian heart in her chest. (...). Anjos de Inferno recently recorded the samba "Brasil Pandeiro", written by Assis Valente, who attempted suicide in late May as a result of life difficulties. This composition he had reserved for Carmen. I wanted to present it as an introductory tribute to some of his hits. She examined the song and declined. (...) Ingratitude, yes! Even if samba were destined to fail, she should have looked to the past and accepted it. This little girl of the balangandas lost a Brazilian friend. It wasn't worth much... but it's always better to have unconditional friends, and I belonged in that group. From now on I will no longer believe in your innocence when a colleague accuses you."

Interpretations

The song references the success of Brazilian music - especially samba - which had recently reached the North American public through the songs and films of Miranda, who happened to be an old love of Valente himself.

Valente also calls on Brazilians, who, like himself, are predominantly mixed-race, to recognize their own worth. The composer's verses conclude as such:

“Chegou a hora dessa gente bronzeada mostrar seu valor

Eu fui à Penha e pedi à padroeira para me ajudar Salve o Morro do Vintém, Pindura Saia, que eu quero ver

Eu quero ver o Tio Sam tocar pandeiro para o mundo sambar“

English: "It's time for these tanned people to show their worth

I went to Penha and asked the patron saint to help me Hail Morro do Vintém, Pindura Saia, I want to see

I want to see Uncle Sam play the pandeiro for the world to samba to"

(Note that Penha, Pindura Saia, and Morro de Vintém are, respectively, two neighborhoods and a mountain in Rio de Janeiro; all locations are significant to the birthplace of samba.)

The song also evokes, in the form of a prayer:

"Brasil, esquentai vossos pandeiros

Iluminai os terreiros

Que nós queremos sambar"

English: "Brazil, warm up your pandeiros

Light up your patios

As we want to samba"

Versions

Anjos do inferno

After being rejected by Miranda, "Brasil Pandeiro" ended up first being recorded by Anjos de Inferno the same year for Columbia Records. According to Yara Caznok, professor of music at Sao Paulo State University, the recording was "one of the highlights of this production, although the composer's own contemporaries were in agreement regarding the very modest resources of their guitar and the artist's almost always out-of-tune voice". Nonetheless, it ended up being one of the group's greatest successes.

Novos Baianos

The band Novos Baianos re-recorded the song in 1972 in the album Acabou Chorare. The recording of "Brasil Pandeiro" for the group was inspired by musical artist João Gilberto, who had paid the band a visit while they were in Rio de Janeiro, and, noticing their electric style, he advised them to take "the road back home", to find their roots, and to "turn inward". Gilberto accompanied this almost spiritual suggestion with his proposal that the band re-record "Brasil Pandeiro". As recalled by band member Moraes Moreira in 2010,

"We were influenced by rock; we listened to a lot of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, all those bands from the 80s. But it was there, with João Gilberto, that we woke up to samba. When he showed us "Brasil Pandeiro" by Assis Valente - it's time for these tanned people to show their worth - we understood his message. We started to incorporate the cavaquinho, the pandeiro, all of that into our sound, without losing the rock vibe. That's what made Novos Baianos different. We made the album Acabou Chorare, it was a milestone."

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It was the first (and only) song on the disk of which the band was not the author.

This version is more loaded, with {Paulinho Nogueira|craviola} arrangements by Pepeu Gomez, and vocals performed by

References

2. Soares, Astréia. Outras conversas sobre os jeitos do Brasil: o nacionalismo na música popular. Annablume, 2002, p.61. ISBN 8574192619
3. Revista Scena Muda, 24/06/1941, p.31. Citado por Tânia da Costa Garcia, O "it verde e amarelo" by Carmen Miranda (1930-1946), p. 211-212. Annablume, 2004. ISBN 8574194506
4. Yara Caznok, Brasil Pandeiro, p.3. Irmãos Vitale. ISBN 8574071730
5. Ronaldo Conde Aguiar, Almanaque da Rádio Nacional, p.56. Casa da Palavra, 2007. ISBN 8577340821
6. Mello, Zuza Homem de e Severiano, Jairo. A canção no tempo: 1958-1985. 34th edition, 1999, p.169. ISBN 8573261196
7. Ferron, Fabio Maleronka e Cohn, Sergio (1). Interview with Moraes Moreira carried out by Fabio Maleronka Ferron and Sergio Cohn on June 26, 2010, in São Paulo. Page 6. Available at http://www.producaocultural.org.br/wp-content/uploads/livroremix/moraesmoreira.pdf Archived March 18, 2014, by Wayback Machine.
8. Pereira, Humberto Santos. "O Mistério do Planeta: Um Estudo Sobre a História dos Novos Baianos (1969 - 1979)", p.73. Universidade Federal da Bahia, 2009. Available at http://www.ppgh.ufba.br/IMG/pdf/O_Misterio_do_Planeta_-_Dissertacao_de_Humberto_Santos_Pereira.pdf[ligação inativa]
9. Discos do Brasil - Acabou Chorare. Archived on July 6, 2011, by Wayback Machine. Discography and technical sheets organized by Maria Luiza Kfouri. Retrieved June 18, 2011.