Agenor de Miranda Araújo Neto, better known as Cazuza (; April 4, 1958 – July 7, 1990), was a Brazilian singer and songwriter, born 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 ...
. Along with
Raul Seixas
Raul Santos Seixas (; 28 June 1945 – 21 August 1989)allmusic Biography/ref> was a Brazilian rock composer, singer, songwriter and producer. He is sometimes called the "Father of Brazilian Rock" and "Maluco Beleza", the last one roughly transla ...
,
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 ...
and
Os Mutantes
Os Mutantes (meaning '' the mutants''; ) are an influential Brazilian rock band that were linked with the Tropicália movement, a dissident musical movement during the Brazilian dictatorship of the late 1960s. The band is considered to be one of ...
, Cazuza, both while fronting
Barão Vermelho
Barão Vermelho () is a Brazilian rock band. Formed in 1981 in Rio de Janeiro, it was originally led by songwriting duo Cazuza (singer) and Roberto Frejat (guitarist), who assumed the vocals after Cazuza's departure in 1985. Frejat left the band ...
and at solo career, is considered one of the best exponents of
Brazilian rock
Brazilian rock refers to rock music produced in Brazil and usually sung in Portuguese. In the 1960s it was known as , from the Portuguese transcription of the line "Yeah, yeah, yeah" from the Beatles song "She Loves You".
Overview
Rock entered t ...
music. In his 9-year career, he sold more than 5 million albums and achieved 11 number one singles and 18 Top 10 singles in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
.
Biography
Early life and influences
Son of the record producer João Araújo and the amateur singer Maria Lúcia Araújo, Cazuza always had close contact with music. Influenced since early childhood by the strong values of Brazilian music, he had a special preference for the sad, dramatic overtones of
Cartola
Angenor de Oliveira, known as Cartola (Portuguese for top hat), (; October 11, 1908 – November 30, 1980) was a Brazilian singer, composer and poet considered to be a major figure in the development of samba.
Cartola composed, alone or with pa ...
,
Lupicinio Rodrigues,
Dolores Duran
Dolores Duran (''Adiléia Silva da Rocha''; 7 June 1930 – 24 October 1959) was a Brazilian singer and songwriter.
Early life
Adiléia Silva da Rocha was born in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or si ...
, and
Maysa
Maysa Figueira Monjardim (June 6, 1936 – January 22, 1977), better known as Maysa Matarazzo, was a Brazilian singer-songwriter, performer and actress. She is also associated with Bossa nova music but is widely known as a torch song (''fossa' ...
. He began to write lyrics and poems around 1965. In late 1974, a vacation in London, England, acquainted him with the music of
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
,
Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and musician. One of the most successful and widely known Rock music, rock stars of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and "electric" stage ...
and
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
, and he soon became a great fan. Cazuza enrolled in college in 1978, but abandoned the course of journalism three weeks later to work with his father at Som Livre. He moved later to San Francisco, where he came in contact with
Beat literature
The Beat Generation was a literary Subculture, subculture movement started by a group of authors whose work explored and influenced Culture of the United States, American culture and Politics of the United States, politics in the post-war era. T ...
, becoming highly influenced by it.
Barão Vermelho
In 1980 he returned to Rio, where he worked with the theatrical group ''Asdrúbal Trouxe o Trombone'' (Asdrúbal Brought the Trombone). There he was noticed by the novice singer/composer
Léo Jaime
Leonardo "Léo" Jaime (born April 23, 1960) is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor and writer, famous for being one of the founding members of the rockabilly band João Penca e Seus Miquinhos Amestrados.
Biography
Léo Jaime was bor ...
, who introduced him to a beginning rock band that needed a vocalist, the
Barão Vermelho
Barão Vermelho () is a Brazilian rock band. Formed in 1981 in Rio de Janeiro, it was originally led by songwriting duo Cazuza (singer) and Roberto Frejat (guitarist), who assumed the vocals after Cazuza's departure in 1985. Frejat left the band ...
(Red Baron). With this very successful eighties
Brazilian rock
Brazilian rock refers to rock music produced in Brazil and usually sung in Portuguese. In the 1960s it was known as , from the Portuguese transcription of the line "Yeah, yeah, yeah" from the Beatles song "She Loves You".
Overview
Rock entered t ...
band, who had their greatest success with "Bete Balanço", a song that was part of the soundtrack of a film, Cazuza began his career as a singer. In 1985, Cazuza took part in
Rock in Rio
''Rock in Rio'' is a recurring music festival originating in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It later branched into other locations such as Lisbon, Madrid and Las Vegas.
Nine incarnations of the festival have been held in Rio de Janeiro, in 1985, 1991, ...
with Barão Vermelho, and around this time,
Caetano Veloso
Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso (; born 7 August 1942) is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo, which encomp ...
claimed he was the greatest Brazilian poet of his generation. It was also in this same year that Cazuza was infected with the
AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
virus, precipitating his desire to leave the band to obtain a greater freedom in composition and expression, both musically and lyrically.
Solo career
After he left the band, Cazuza's music began to diversify, incorporating elements of the
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
in songs such as "Blues da Piedade" (Blues of Compassion), "Só as mães são felizes" (Only Mothers Are Happy) and "Balada da Esplanada" (Ballad of the Esplanade), which was based on a poem of the same name by
Oswald de Andrade
José Oswald de Souza Andrade (January 11, 1890 – October 22, 1954) was a Brazilian poet, novelist and cultural critic. He was born, spent most of his life and died in São Paulo.
Andrade was one of the founders of Brazilian modernism and a m ...
; showcasing increasingly intimate lyrics, like those in "Só se for a Dois" (Only If It Will Be as a Couple), as well as opening itself up to influences from Brazilian pop music with interpretations of
Cartola
Angenor de Oliveira, known as Cartola (Portuguese for top hat), (; October 11, 1908 – November 30, 1980) was a Brazilian singer, composer and poet considered to be a major figure in the development of samba.
Cartola composed, alone or with pa ...
's "O Mundo é um Moinho" (The World is a Windmill),
Raul Seixas
Raul Santos Seixas (; 28 June 1945 – 21 August 1989)allmusic Biography/ref> was a Brazilian rock composer, singer, songwriter and producer. He is sometimes called the "Father of Brazilian Rock" and "Maluco Beleza", the last one roughly transla ...
's "Cavalos Calados" (Silent Horses) and
Caetano Veloso
Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso (; born 7 August 1942) is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo, which encomp ...
's "Esse Cara" (This Guy).
Contrary to what usually happens once an artist leaves a band that has made them famous, Cazuza's solo career proved to be more successful than that of his former group. "Exagerado" (Exaggerated), "
O Tempo não Pára" (Time Doesn't Stop), and "Ideologia" (Ideology) were his greatest hits and proved to be a great influence on subsequent Brazilian musicians.
In 1986, Cazuza was featured in the AIDS benefit album
Red Hot + Rio
''Red Hot + Rio'' is a compilation album produced by Béco Dranoff and Paul Heck as part of the Red Hot AIDS Benefit Series intended to promote AIDS awareness. This installment is a contemporary tribute to the bossa nova sound, especially the mu ...
produced by the
Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization (RHO) is a not-for-profit, 501(c) 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture.
Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilati ...
, performing the song "Preciso Dizer que Te Amo" in a duet with
Bebel Gilberto
Isabel Buarque de Hollanda Gilberto de Oliveira (born May 12, 1966), known as Bebel Gilberto, is an American-born Brazilian popular singer often associated with bossa nova. She is the daughter of João Gilberto and singer Miúcha. Her uncle is ...
.
Final years
In 1989, he admitted publicly for the first time that he had AIDS and released his last album in life: ''Burguesia''. Cazuza was
openly bisexual
Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...
but was not active in the
LGBT movement
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) movements are social movements that advocate for LGBT people in society. Some focus on equal rights, such as the ongoing movement for same-sex marriage, while others focus on liberation, as in the ...
. However, his openness about being a
person with AIDS helped to change public perceptions and attitudes about HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment.
Death
Cazuza died in Rio de Janeiro on July 7, 1990, at the age of 32, due to a septic shock caused by AIDS. He was buried at the
Cemitério São João Batista in Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro.
FindAGrave.com burial site
/ref> Cazuza's mother set up the Viva Cazuza Society (''Sociedade Viva Cazuza''), a charity which sponsors AIDS prevention
HIV prevention refers to practices that aim to prevent the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV prevention practices may be undertaken by individuals to protect their own health and the health of those in their community, or may ...
and provides a home for HIV-positive
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause AIDS, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the ...
children
Other media
A biopic starring Daniel de Oliveira and directed by Sandra Werneck called '' Cazuza: O Tempo não Para'' ("''Cazuza: Time Doesn't Stop''") was released in 2004.
In 2014, the biographic musical Cazuza – Pro Dia Nascer Feliz opened in São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
. It featured songs from Cazuza's solo career as well as from his time as frontman of Barão Vermelho. The musical starring Emílio Dantas was directed by João Fonseca and toured Brazil for two years.
Discography
With Barão Vermelho
* 1982: ''Barão Vermelho
Barão Vermelho () is a Brazilian rock band. Formed in 1981 in Rio de Janeiro, it was originally led by songwriting duo Cazuza (singer) and Roberto Frejat (guitarist), who assumed the vocals after Cazuza's departure in 1985. Frejat left the band ...
120,000 – Gold''
* 1983: '' Barão Vermelho 2 180,000 – Gold''
* 1984: ''Bete Balanço (Original Soundtrack)''
* 1984: ''Maior Abandonado
''Maior Abandonado'' () is the third album by Brazilian rock band Barão Vermelho, released in 1984. It is their most critically acclaimed and generally considered their best album. It contains their biggest hit "Bete Balanço". This was the last ...
800,000 – Platinum''
* 1992: ''Barão Vermelho Ao Vivo''
Solo
* 1985: ''Exagerado 750,000 – Platinum 2x''
* 1987: ''Só se for a dois 600,000 – Platinum''
* 1988: '' Ideologia 2,000,000 – Diamond''
* 1988: ''O tempo não pára 1,800,000 – Diamond''
* 1989: ''Burguesia 850,000 – Platinum 2x''
* 1991: ''Por aí 600,000 – Platinum''
* 2005: ''O Poeta Está Vivo – Ao Vivo no Teatro Ipanema 1987 250,000 – Platinum''
Films
*''Bete Balanço'', 1984
*''Um Trem para as Estrelas
''Subway to the Stars'' ( pt, Um Trem para as Estrelas) is a 1987 Brazilian drama film directed by Carlos Diegues. It was entered into the 1987 Cannes Film Festival. The film was selected as the Brazilian entry for the Academy Award for Best For ...
'', 1988
*'' Cazuza - O Tempo Não Pára'', 2004 (biopic)
References
External links
*
Official site
*
{{Authority control
1958 births
1990 deaths
AIDS-related deaths in Rio de Janeiro (state)
Alternative rock singers
Bisexual men
Bisexual musicians
Brazilian composers
20th-century Brazilian male singers
20th-century Brazilian singers
Brazilian rock singers
Brazilian socialists
LGBT composers
Brazilian LGBT singers
LGBT songwriters
Musicians from Rio de Janeiro (city)
20th-century composers
20th-century LGBT people
LGBT people in Latin music
Burials at Cemitério de São João Batista