Vinicius de Moraes is a great figure of modern Brazilian popular culture. A composer of bossanova and a playwright, he was an esteemed diplomat in the early post-war period of the modern state of Brazil. He is most renowned for his compositions in partnership with Antonio Carlos Jobim, such as the song “A Garota de Ipanema” or “The Girl from Ipanema.”

On Monday Agust 16th 2010, in Brasilia, President Lula and the government of Brazil officially and posthumously reinstated Moraes as an official Brazilian Ambassador, with all the privileges of a “First Class” Minister. This allows his family to claim Vinicius’ pension. This was cut in an unceremonious coup in 1968, when the military regime of the day stripped Moraes of his diplomatic rights and cargo.

Vinicius de Moraes was an incredible man! Even now, in this shishi cafe, the music is playing in the background is a song written by him and Mr. Tom Jobim. And what a beautiful country Brazil is! Where, despite all of its accumulated hardships, a poet and artist can rise so prominently in its diplomatic service. This harkens to another time, where artists (and among them, poets) were masters and magicians of words, rhyme, and meter, not simply performers and good marketing. Vinicius was a man who loved song, women and drink long before it became stylish to do so, in fact, he may just have created this style (although we doubt that). By the time of his passing, he had married 8 times.

The short story

Vinicius de Moraes was born Marcus Vinicius de Moraes in Rio de Janeiro, on October 19, 1913. He died on July 9, 1980. His early life included a Jesuit Catholic education and membership in a Masonic lodge. He studied law in the Catete neighbourhood at the University of Rio de Janeiro and there he met Octavio de Faria, who inspired him to take a literary path. He soon entered the working world at the Ministry of Health and Education. He travelled on a scholarship to study English at Oxford. All during this time he continued to write poetry and started writing in an older more delineated form. He forsook ‘free verse’ in favour of a style based on traditional forms and focused on accuracy in the meter. In the 1940s he returned to Brazil, wrote for several publications, was a film critic, and even worked for the Banking Employees’ Institute of Social Security. It was after this that he entered in the foreign service.

After he travelled accross the NorthEast of Brazil, Vinicius was inspired to become “a man of the left.” The poverty he saw greatly influenced his political stance. He then went to France to work in the foreign service. He continued writing poetry, playing music, composing songs and being a romantic. By this time he had already married 3 times and was the father of 2 children. He wrote a play, Orfeu da Conceição, that was adapted into the film Black Orpheus, which won an Academy Award for the best Foreign Language Film of 1959 (the movie was directed by the Frenchman Marcel Camus). It was also awarded the Palme d’Or at the Cannes International Film Festival. The film’s success launched Vinicius’ career as an internationally renowned artist and his collaboration with Tom Jobim on the soundtrack for the film, also heralded the beginning of the latter’ international career. The partnership of the two, occurred on the crest of the bossanova movement and defined Vinicius’ musical career. It opened the doors of the world to this music. Surely Vinicius’ popularity among the French modernist socialites, won Brazil, Rio and bossanova many fans and advocates from around the world. This image of the smooth talking, romantic guitarist with deep lyrics and cigarettes remains to this day an icon of the Rio de Janeiro artists.

Speaking of which, this very image is the one of Baden Powell, a guitarist who in his heyday collaborated greatly with Vinicius in the 1960 and early 70s. Together they wrote a collection of tunes, with heavy influence from the Afro-Brazilian cosmology, that were released as the Afro-sambas. After his dismissal from the diplomatic service by the military regime, who wanted to clean up the country’s image as a “land of bohemians.” At this point, Vinicius, who was reputed for consuming large amounts of whisky, decided to dedicate himself to art. He joked after his dismissal that “his alcoholism was public knowledge.” He teamed up with Toquinho, a prominent singer and guitarist, recorded several records and toured extensively.

Vinicius lived a passionate life full of service, art, big loves, women, music and song… When he died in 1980, it was beside his eighth and last wife, Gilda de Queirós Mattoso, and of the ever-faithful Toquinho. Vinicius is buried in Rio de Janeiro’s Cemitério São João Batista.

Below is a song “Para Viver Um Grande Amor” or “To Live a Big Love.” A few cheesy images but beautiful poetry and music; and reflects the life of the immortal poet of Brazil.