"Tiro ao Álvaro" is a

samba Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...

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. 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, ...

written in a popular

Portuguese language Portuguese ( or ) is a Western Romance language of the Indo-European language family originating from the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. It is the official language of Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal and São Tom� ...

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 shooting target, target as close to its center as possible. The name refers to the target cen ...

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

dictatorship A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, who hold governmental powers with few to no Limited government, limitations. Politics in a dictatorship are controlled by a dictator, ...

, an opponent of the regime was called “''alvo''” (target). Barbosa, hoping not to be censored, changed the term to the common first name

Álvaro Álvaro or Álvar (, , ) is a Spanish, Galician and Portuguese male given name and surname of Germanic Visigothic origin. The patronymic surname derived from this name is Álvarez. Given name Artists * Álvaro Carrillo, Afro-Mexican songwrit ...

, 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 be ...

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, 1982), known professionally as Elis Regina (), was a Brazilian singer of Bossa nova, Música popular brasileira, MPB and jazz music. She is also the mother of the singers Maria Rita and ...

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 26 April 1981) is a Brazilian singer and songwriter. He is the son of composer João Nogueira and Ângela Maria Nogueira. Early life He was a samba musician throughout childhood and adolescence, but became a football play ...

* 2010 —

Zélia Duncan Zélia Duncan (, born 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 ...

* 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 (film and television), drama genres around the w ...

"'' Haja Coração''")

References

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

History

Others versions

See also

References