Aquarela do Brasil

"Aquarela do Brasil" ("Watercolor of Brazil"), also known in the English-speaking countries simply as "Brazil", is one of the most popular Brazilian songs of all time, written by Ary Barroso on a pluvious night in 1939. It was first recorded by Aracy Cortes later that year. This song marked the creation of a new genre, the samba-exaltação (Exaltation Samba), which was looked upon favorably by the nationalist dictatorship of Getúlio Vargas. Some people have suggested that the composer was kowtowing to the Vargas regime, although the Barroso family strongly denies it, and Ary Barroso is known to have written at least one anti-fascist song, "Salada Mixta," recorded by Carmen Miranda in October 1938. The song has been successful through the years and has been played in many different styles, from a cappella to orchestral arrangements.

Main covers

Year	Artist	Album	Source
1957	Frank Sinatra	Come Fly With Me
1958	Bing Crosby	Fancy Meeting You Here
1960	Ray Conniff	Say It with Music (A Touch of Latin)	[1]
1963	Paul Anka	Our Man Around the World	[2]
1970	Antonio Carlos Jobim	Stone Flower	[3]
1970	Erasmo Carlos	Erasmo Carlos & Os Tremendões	[4]
1975	Elis Regina	A Arte de Elis Regina	[5]
1975	The Ritchie Family	Brazil
1976	Chet Atkins	Guitar Monsters	[6]
1976	João Gilberto	Amoroso (later re-recorded in Live in Montreux)	[7]
1980	Gal Costa	Aquarela do Brasil	[8]
1980	Simone	Ao Vivo	[9]
1987	Ney Matogrosso	Pescador de Pérolas	[10]
1990	Harry Belafonte	Around the World with the Entertainers	[11]
1997	Pink Martini	Sympathique	[12]
1998	Vengaboys	To Brazil
1995	Dionne Warwick	Aquarela do Brazil	[13]
2000	Rosemary Clooney	Brazil	[14]
2002	Cornelius	Point
2004	Martinho da Vila	Apresenta Mané do Cavaco	[15]
2005	Arcade Fire	"Rebellion (Lies)" (B-side)
2005	Daniela Mercury	Balé Mulato	[16]
2005	Plácido Domingo	Lo Essencial de	[17]

Usage in popular culture

Films

Year	Film	Director
1942	Saludos Amigos	Norman Ferguson, Wilfred Jackson, Jack Kinney, Hamilton Luske, Bill Roberts
1943	The Gang's All Here	Busby Berkeley
1944	The Three Caballeros	Norman Ferguson, Clyde Geronimi, Jack Kinney, Bill Roberts
1948	Sitting Pretty	Walter Lang
1956	The Eddy Duchin Story	George Sidney
1976	Silent Movie	Mel Brooks
1980	Stardust Memories	Woody Allen
1985	Brazil	Terry Gilliam
1998	There's Something About Mary	Farrelly brothers
1999	Three to Tango	Damon Santostefano
2003	Carandiru	Hector Babenco
2003	Something's Gotta Give	Nancy Meyers
2004	The Aviator	Martin Scorsese
2006	Sicko	Michael Moore
2008	WALL-E	Andrew Stanton

Television programs

Year	TV Series	Episode
1996	Dexter's Lab	"Dimwit Dexter"
2002	The Simpsons	"Blame it on Lisa"
2008	Eli Stone	As the show's theme song and during episode previews.

References

1. Ary Barroso, Giant of Brazilian Song
2. Original lyrics, ibid.
3. English and Spanish translations of the lyrics, ibid.
4. The Political Side of Ary Barroso by Daniella Thompson

External links

• "Aquarela do Brasil" at All Music Guide
• "Aquarela do Brasil" on "Ary Barroso - The Life and Times of Ary Barroso"