Long story short: During a university semester break in 2002, Roberta Sá successfully auditioned for Fama, a talent show on Brazil’s TV Globo. A four-week stint in the national spotlight landed her a manager, leading to her performing a song by Dorival Caymmi for the soundtrack of a prime-time telenovela; her first album contract soon followed. In the succeeding years Sá became an icon of MPB … More Roberta Sá: Sambas & Bossas
For better or worse the world always turns, and though the release of Roberta Sá’s Giro (Spin) predates the current global pandemic by several months, it provides a useful lens for looking back with longing and forward with hope at a universe that now seems stuck in the ice of fear, compounded by social distancing. The music reminds us that it’s a beautiful/complicated universe revolving around love—present and absent, creeping and rushing … More Roberta Sá: Giro
It’s no surprise that samba featured prominently at the Rio Olympics. But in the 100 years of Brazil’s iconic music form —the first song was registered in November 1916—samba has often struggled for respect. The singer-songwriter-novelist Chico Buarque remembers a critic who called him a sambista in a belittling way he took as an insult. When Carmen Miranda conquered Hollywood some Brazilians turned up their noses, at least in part because … More Roberta Sá: Delírio
