WOMAD

Neguinho da Beija-Flor

From Brazil

One of the most respected sambista, Neguinho da Beija-Flor has evolved in the samba’s world for more than three decades. He has been a puxador (the official singer in a samba school) since 1970, and, since 1975, the puxador of the samba school Beija-Flor de Nilópolis, which has grown in popularity since then.In the past 30 years, “Beija-Flor” has won several times the carnival competition of the famous carnival of Rio, that happens at the “Avenida”, the Sambodromo. In 2001, Beija Flor de Nilópolis, under the musical direction of Neguinho da Beija Flor, fell just _ of a point short of winning the title at Carnaval with their spectacular presentation dedicated to African history, ancient wars, weddings, the Dahomey kingdom, and the Vodun religion. Consequently, Beija Flor's response to the champions, Imperatriz, and to samba lovers everywhere, was: "Just wait until next year." It didn’t work out in 2002, but then, in 2003, 2004 and 2005, “Beija-Flor” has won the carnival three times in a row."From when I was a child, I always knew I wanted to be a singer," explains the legendary sambista. "At times, I wasn't sure if I would earn any money from my singing, but I knew that this was what I wanted to do with my life." Neguinho da Beija Flor, like so many of Brazil's top artists, grew up in a musical family. Son of a trumpeter of the famous Orquestra Tabajara, Neguinho Da Beija-Flor took musical lessons from his father when he was very young. At ten he won a contest by singing a samba by Jamelão. He became puxador in 1970 in the bloco Leão de Iguaçu. In 1975, he became the puxador of the samba school Beija-Flor de Nilópolis where he remains until today. In 1976, his samba-enredo "Sonhar Com O Rei Dá Leão" gave him the first title in the Carioca Carnival.Neguinho da Beija Flor's recording career began in 1980 and was quickly picked up by Brazil's division of Sony Records (CBS), putting out a large number of hits. Until 2001, Neguinho released 17 albums and tried all samba’s styles. His first album’s title was “Vida No Peito”. His other 15 albums until 2000 had hits with sambas-enredo like "Os Cinco Bailes da História do Rio" (Silas de Oliveira/Dona Ivone Lara/Bacalhau) and "Aquarela Brasileira" (Silas de Oliveira). He had hits in other styles like samba and samba-canção, like "Ângela" (Serginho Meriti/Alexandre). His biggest one is "O Campeão," a kind of anthem to the soccer-goers (and “Domingo vamos ao Maracanã). In 1991, he won the Sharp prize as Best Samba Singer. In 2001, he released his first live-recorded CD commemorating 25 years of career, “25 Anos De Fé E Raiz”, on Indie Records.