Zilda de Carvalho Espíndola (March 31, 1904 – January 8, 1985), professionally known as Aracy Cortes, was a Brazilian singer, dancer and actress. In the 1920s and 1930s as one of the stars of musical revue at the

Teatro Recreio Teatro may refer to: * Theatre * Teatro (band), musical act signed to Sony BMG * Teatro (Willie Nelson album), ''Teatro'' (Willie Nelson album), 1998 * Teatro (Draco Rosa album), ''Teatro'' (Draco Rosa album), 2008 {{disambiguation ...

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 ...

, she was prominent in bringing the traditional Brazilian

samba Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havin ...

forms into theatre (see

samba-canção Samba-canção () (literally 'samba song') is, in its most common acceptance or interpretation, the denomination for a kind of Brazilian popular songs with a slow-paced samba rhythm. History It appeared after the World War II, at the end of the ...

). Cortes is best known for being the first artist to perform

Ary Barroso Ary de Resende Barroso (1903–1964), better known as Ary Barroso, was a Brazilian composer, pianist, soccer commentator, and talent-show host on radio and TV. He was one of Brazil's most successful songwriters in the first half of the 20th centur ...

's "

Aquarela do Brasil "Aquarela do Brasil" (, 'Watercolor of Brazil'), written by Ary Barroso in 1939 and known in the English-speaking world simply as "Brazil", is one of the most famous Brazilian songs. Background and composition Ary Barroso wrote "Aquarela do Bras ...

" in 1939.Encyclopedia of Contemporary Latin American and Caribbean ... Daniel Balderston, Mike Gonzalez, Ana M. Lopez - 2014 "His compositions were recorded by top artists such as Carmen Miranda, Francisco Alves, Mario Reis, and Aracy Cortes."

References

1904 births 1985 deaths Samba musicians 20th-century Brazilian women singers 20th-century Brazilian singers {{Brazil-singer-stub