Brazil: The country pays homage to the Samba master

If he was alive, Angenor de Oliveira (1908-1980), better known as Cartola, would be celebrating 100 years this October 11. To put it simply, Cartola was one of the most important figures in Brazilian samba and the composer behind the first samba school in Rio de Janeiro. Despite having only 4 years of formal education, Cartola composed or co-composed over 500 songs, all of them presenting very elaborate but simple lyrics which are deeply loved by Brazilians.

“Cartola did not exist. It was a dream that we had”, has said Nelson Sargento, another legendary Brazilian composer. On the centenary of this dream, bloggers pay homage publishing their favorite song or poem, quotes, videos, photos and bits and pieces of Cartola's history, a history inextricably linked with the history of samba itself.

Danton K [pt] talks about Cartola's poor childhood - he was the fourth of seven children - and how this made him interested in music.

Angenor de Oliveira nasceu no bairro do Catete, no Rio de Janeiro, no dia 11 de outubro de 1908. Tinha oito anos quando sua família se mudou para Laranjeiras e 11 quando passou a viver no morro da Mangueira, de onde não mais se afastaria. Desde menino participou das festas de rua, tocando cavaquinho no rancho Arrepiados e nos desfiles do Dia de Reis. Passando por diversas escolas, conseguiu terminar o curso primário, mas aos 15 anos, depois da morte da mãe, deixou a família e a escola, iniciando sua vida de boêmio.

Angenor de Oliveira was born in the neighborhood of Catete, in Rio de Janeiro, on October 11, 1908. He was 8 when his family moved to Laranjeiras and 11 when they went to live in the Mangueira slum, which he would never leave. From a young age he participated in street festivals, playing Cavaquinho in the Arrepiados carnival groups and the twelfth day parades. He went through several schools, and managed to finish primary school, but only at 15 years. After the death of his mother, he left the family and school and began his bohemian life.

It was there in the neighborhood of Mangueira that Cartola met other sambistas and the malandragem. At 19 years, in 1928, with a group of friends, Cartola played an important role in founding a carnival group that later became Estação Primeira de Mangueira, one of the most loved samba-schools in Brazil. Douglas Ceconello [pt] talks about how he combined his two passions in this project:
Cartola não apenas fundou a Estação Primeira de Mangueira como escolheu as cores e o nome. O verde e rosa, achava ele, referiam-se às tonalidades de seu querido e amado - o que naquela época devia parecer bastante paradoxal - Fluminense.
Not only did Cartola found the Estação Primeira de Mangueira but he chose its colors and name. The green and pink, he thought, referred to the shades of his dear and beloved team - which at that time should seem rather paradoxical - Fluminense [Football Club].
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2008/10/12/brazil-the-country-pays-homage-to-the-samba-master/