"Tiro ao Álvaro" is a

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 ...

song composed in 1960 by Brazilian composer and singer

Adoniran Barbosa Adoniran Barbosa, artistic name of João Rubinato (6 August 1910 – 23 November 1982), was a noted Brazilian São Paulo style samba singer and composer. Biography Early years João Rubinato was the seventh child of Francesco (Fernando) Rubina ...

(real name João Rubinato) with the radio-journalist

Osvaldo Moles Osvaldo Moles (14 March 1913 – 14 May 1967) was a Brazilian journalist, and radio announcer. He made important contributions the Brazilian radio, journalism, literature, and cinema. Biography Born in Santos in 1913, Moles soon moved with h ...

. In his style of the "paulista" samba, it has humorous

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...

written in a popular

Portuguese language Portuguese ( or, in full, ) is a western Romance language of the Indo-European language family, originating in the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. It is an official language of Portugal, Brazil, Cape Verde, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau and ...

History

The title of the song refers to the sport of

bullseye shooting Bullseye shooting is a category of shooting sport disciplines where the objective is to score points with carefully placed precision fire by hitting a target as close to its center as possible. The name refers to the target center's nickname — ...

, which in Brazil is called "''tiro ao alvo''". During the military

dictatorship A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship are ...

, an opponent of the regime was called “''alvo''” (target). Barbosa, hoping not to be censored, changed the term to the common first name Álvaro, which has a perfect assonance with “''alvo''”. The song was also censored under the pretext of a "''...text in bad taste...''", because it altered certain words with the use of the

Paulista Paulista is a municipality in Pernambuco, Brazil, with a population of 334,376 as of 2020. It has the highest Human Development Index (HDI) of the Recife metropolitan area. It is the birthplace of footballer Rivaldo and is also famous for its beac ...

accent: "''flechada''" (arrow) with "''frechada''", "''tábua''" (plate ) with “''táubua''”, “''automóvel''” (automobile) with “''automorver''” and “'' revólver''” with “''revorver''”. An attempt at publication took place in 1973, but it was not successful until 1980 with the version performed by

Elis Regina Elis Regina Carvalho Costa (March 17, 1945 – January 19, 2002), known professionally as Elis Regina (), was a Brazilian singer of MPB and jazz music. She is also the mother of the singers Maria Rita and Pedro Mariano. She became nationally ...

Others versions

* 1990 —

Demônios da Garoa Demônios da Garoa is a Brazilian samba band. It was formed in São Paulo in 1943, its members drawing influences from a variety of cultural sources to develop their own characteristic style. In 1949, they met Adoniran Barbosa, one of the most im ...

* 2007 —

Diogo Nogueira Diogo Nogueira (born Rio de Janeiro, 1981) is a singer and songwriter from Brazil. He is the son of composer João Nogueira and Ângela Maria Nogueira. He was a samba musician throughout childhood and adolescence, but became a football player. A ...

* 2010 —

Zélia Duncan Zélia Duncan (, 28 October 1964), born Zélia Cristina Gonçalves Moreira, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter. Biography Duncan was born in Niterói, in the state of Rio de Janeiro. She moved with her family to Brasília, where she lived for 16 ...

* 2016 — Péricles (for the theme of the

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...

"''

Haja Coração ''Haja Coração'' (English title: ''Burning Hearts'') is a Brazilian telenovela produced and broadcast by Rede Globo. It is based on the 1987 classic ''Sassaricando'' created by Silvio de Abreu. It premiered on 31 May 2016, replacing ''Totalmente ...

''")

References

Brazilian songs Portuguese-language songs Samba songs Songs written by Adoniran Barbosa 1960 songs {{Brazil-music-stub

History

Others versions

See also

References