"Angra dos Reis" is a song written by

Renato Russo Renato Russo (born Renato Manfredini, Jr., March 27, 1960 – October 11, 1996) was a Brazilian singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of the alternative rock band Legião Urbana. A Brazilian film depicting his life and career was rele ...

, Renato Rocha and

Marcelo Bonfá Marcelo Augusto Bonfá (born January 30, 1965), also known simply as Bonfá, is a Brazilian musician. Famous for being the drummer of Brazilian rock band Legião Urbana, after its disbanding he pursued a solo career, and has released three albums. ...

and released in 1987 on the album '' Que País É Este 1978/1987'' by their band

Legião Urbana Legião Urbana (Portuguese for Urban Legion) was a Brazilian rock band formed in 1982 in Brasília, Distrito Federal. The band primarily consisted of Renato Russo (vocals, bass and keyboards), Dado Villa-Lobos (guitar) and Marcelo Bonfá (d ...

. It was also released in 1988 as the second single off the album.

Background and writing

The melody was composed by drummer

on the piano when they still thought ''Que País É Este'' would be composed of all-new material. Producer Mayrton Bahia recovered the sound and asked Russo to write some lyrics for it, so that the album contained at least one new tune. Russo initially refused and Bahia threatened to not finish the album. On the following day, Russo came back to the studio with the lyrics written on a wrinkled piece of paper. Russo was an opposer of the construction of the

Central Nuclear Almirante Álvaro Alberto Angra Nuclear Power Plant is Brazil's only nuclear power plant. It is located at the Central Nuclear Almirante Álvaro Alberto (CNAAA) on the Itaorna Beach in Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It consists of two Pressurized water reactors, A ...

in the city of the song title. During a 1990 show in

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, twelfth most populous city in the country ...

/ RS, Russo said: "The indigenous name of the place where they built our nuclear power plant is 'soft land'. The indigenous people already knew that anything you build there will sink! No applauding people, we have to boo this!", in reference to Itaorna Beach, where the facility was built.

Music video

The song video shows the members in

Angra dos Reis Angra dos Reis (; Portuguese for ''cove'' or ''bay of the Kings'') is a Brazilian municipality located in the southern part of the state of Rio de Janeiro. The city is located by the sea and includes in its territory many offshore islands, the l ...

: Marcelo Bonfá in a

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

on the shore or drawing next to the power plant; Renato Russo trying to write the lyrics to the song in a typing machine or singing next to the place; and Renato Rocha riding a bike around the city.

Dado Villa-Lobos Eduardo "Dado" Dutra Villa-Lobos (born 29 June 1965) is a Belgian-born Brazilian musician, best known as the ex-guitarist of post-punk band Legião Urbana. Along with singer Renato Russo and drummer Marcelo Bonfá, he was one of the founding ...

had his parts recorded in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, since his child was about to be born; a brief shot of his wife Fernanda's

ultrasound Ultrasound is sound waves with frequency, frequencies higher than the upper audible limit of human hearing range, hearing. Ultrasound is not different from "normal" (audible) sound in its physical properties, except that humans cannot hea ...

is shown. Later, the images alternate between Bonfá watching a movie on the television and all four members having coffee at a diner. By the end of the video, the song is over and Bonfá is seen watching images of the power plant with a female voice stating: "The danger is over. The technicians have already been called. There's no reason to be alarmed. We'll take the necessary measures. We are on your side".

Tracks

12" PROMO (EMI 9951 075)

References

* {{Legião Urbana Legião Urbana songs Songs in Portuguese Pop ballads 1988 singles Songs written by Renato Russo Songs written by Marcelo Bonfá Songs written by Renato Rocha (bassist)