He played guitar in a very peculiar way and he was the first one to be a singer-composer, guitarist like, you know, Bob Dylan. He was a very good singer. His voice was beautiful. His music was absolutely fresh and simple and good. And his lyrics were wonderful. He was...the round artist. Everything , he could do everything and do very well. His lyric was always about the sea, about Bahia, about the fishermen.

 

  The Vargas’ flirtation with Nazi Germany ended in 1939 when Brazil signed the Good Neighbour Agreement with its big neighbor to the north, the USA. Links between Brazil and America grew stronger, just at the right time for the emergence of samba’s first international superstar and Brazil’s most successful Hollywood actress, the colorful, highly controversial Carmen Miranda. 

 

  Carmen Miranda, she herself was Hollywood, she herself was kitsch. She was internationally known in a way that brought to our minds both pride and shame. 

 

  I think we should all celebrate Carmen Miranda. First of all, because she was one of the major singers in Brazilian music and she helped the launch of some of the greatest composers of the 30’s.