Mercenárias ( Portuguese for "Mercenaries"), sometimes erroneously referred to as As Mercenárias, are a

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 ...

ian all-female rock band formed 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 ...

in 1982, by bassist Sandra Coutinho, vocalist Rosália Munhoz and guitarist Ana Machado. With lyrics that heavily criticized Brazilian government and society (and sometimes the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

as well), their sonority was constantly compared to

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. ''Q'' magazine in ...

, Joy Division,

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

and above all

The Slits The Slits were a punk and post-punk band based in London, formed there in 1976 by members of the groups the Flowers of Romance and the Castrators. The group's early line-up consisted of Ari Up (Ariane Forster) and Palmolive (a.k.a. Paloma R ...

. The band ended in 1988, but reunited in 2006 with a new line-up; further changes on the band's line-up would be made in early 2015 and then in 2017. The only original founding member remaining is Coutinho.

History

Mercenárias was founded in

in 1982, by Sandra Coutinho, Rosália Munhoz and Ana Machado, at the time college students: Rosália studied

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

at the PUC-SP, while Sandra and Ana were classmates at the ECA-USP, where they studied

Journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

. A then-unknown

Edgard Scandurra Edgard José Scandurra Pereira (born 5 February 1962) is a Brazilian singer, composer, guitar player, drummer and musical director, who is a member of the Brazilian rock band Ira!.Brito, Carlos.Ana Cañas e Hyldon misturam rock e soul no Palco Su ...

initially served as the band's drummer; however, he would leave the band in order to focus on the incipient Ira!, and was replaced by Lourdes "Lou" Moreira by the time the band released their first album. Sandra would also join Smack in 1983, alongside Scandurra, Sérgio "Pamps" Pamplona and Thomas Pappon, and

gothic rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie a ...

band

Cabine C Cabine C (, Portuguese for "Cabin C") was a short-lived Brazilian post-punk band from São Paulo. With their sonority inspired by acts such as Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure, Cocteau Twins and Talking Heads, and vocalist Ciro Pessoa's lyric ...

in 1984, alongside former

Titãs Titãs () are a Brazilian rock band from São Paulo. Though they basically play pop/alternative rock, their music has touched a number of other styles throughout their 30-year career, such as new wave, punk rock, grunge, MPB and electronic mu ...

member Ciro Pessoa. In 1983 they recorded a demo tape, containing eight tracks, but it was never made available to the general public. The tape caught the attention of famous Brazilian independent label

Baratos Afins Baratos Afins is a long-established Brazilian record label and store, based in São Paulo city. Baratos Afins is an indie record label operating in São Paulo City, Brazil. It was founded by Luiz Calanca in 1978, first as a record shop and late ...

though, which released Mercenárias' debut album, ''

Cadê as Armas? ''Cadê as Armas?'' (Portuguese language, Portuguese for ''Where Are the Weapons?'') is the debut album by Brazilian post-punk band Mercenárias. It was released in 1986 in music, 1986 via famous independent record label Baratos Afins and re-releas ...

'', in 1986. It was extremely well-received, with the tracks "Inimigo", "Santa Igreja", "Polícia" and "Pânico" becoming underground hits. A

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was made for the latter track. In 1988, the band released their second (and last) studio album, ''

Trashland ''Trashland'' is the second and last studio album by Brazilian post-punk band Mercenárias. It was released in 1988 via EMI, and produced by Edgard Scandurra (of Ira! and Ultraje a Rigor, and a long-time friend and former member of Mercenárias) ...

'', via

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

. It received an even better reception than the first one, and won the prize of "Album of the Year" by magazine ''

Bizz Bizz (born Bryce Bernius) is an American rock guitarist, best known for his work with industrial/shock rock band Genitorturers, horror punk band The Undead (also featuring ex members of The Misfits; Bobby Steele and Joey Image), and Sydney metal ...

''. However, EMI fired the band for unknown reasons, and they disbanded soon after. Ana and Rosália abandoned the musical career, while Sandra, in 1998, went on to live in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

for a while, where she formed the short-lived German-Brazilian group Akt, before returning to Brazil in 2005. "Lourdes" underwent a sex reassignment surgery and changed his name to Leonardo, and announced himself to be an

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

activist. In 2006, Sandra reformed the band and hired new members Geórgia Branco and Pitchu Ferraz. In 2012, the band celebrated its 30-year anniversary, and performed at the CCJ Ruth Cardoso in São Paulo, for free. The show counted with the participation of Edgard Scandurra and Clemente Nascimento (of the band

Inocentes Inocentes is one of the oldest active punk rock bands in Brazil. The group was formed in 1981 by former members of pioneer local punk bands Restos de Nada and Condutores de Cadáver. During their first incarnation in the first half of the 1980s, ...

), among others. In November 2013, the band performed at the SESC Consolação, in a show celebrating the 35-year anniversary of Baratos Afins. Sandra's bandmates of Smack, Scandurra and Pamplona, participated in it. In early 2015, Branco and Ferraz left the band and were replaced by Sílvia Tape and Michelle Abu. In mid-2017, Marianne Crestani replaced Tape. In March 2015, Mercenárias announced on their official Facebook page that their 1983 demo would be remastered and finally available for purchase. The band's first release in 27 years, it came out on June 27, 2015 by independent label Nada Nada Discos. On August 11, 2018, the band released the

box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

''Baú 83–87'', containing previously unreleased demos and rarities recorded between 1983 and 1987.Mercenárias - Baú 83-87 LP
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Discography

Studio albums

Compilations

Singles

* ''Pânico/Rock Europeu'' ( split single with Fellini — 2005)

Band members

Current members

* Sandra Coutinho – vocals (2006–), bass guitar (1982–1988, 2006–) * Marianne Crestani – guitar, backing vocals (2017–) * Michelle Abu – drums (2015–)

Former members

* Rosália Munhoz – vocals (1982–1988) * Ana Machado – guitar (1982–1988) * Edgard Scandurra – drums (1982–1985) * Leonardo Moreira – drums (1985–1988) * Geórgia Branco – guitar (2006–2015) * Pitchu Ferraz – drums (2006–2015) * Sílvia Tape – guitar (2015–2017)

References

External links

*
Mercenárias' page at Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mercenarias All-female punk bands Brazilian punk rock groups Musical groups established in 1982 Musical groups disestablished in 1988 Musical groups reestablished in 2006 Brazilian post-punk music groups Brazilian musical trios Musical groups from São Paulo 1982 establishments in Brazil 1988 disestablishments in Brazil 2006 establishments in Brazil