Favela
Francisco Alves (Rio de Janeiro, August 19, 1898 — Pindamonhangaba, Septemb… Read Full Bio ↴Francisco Alves (Rio de Janeiro, August 19, 1898 — Pindamonhangaba, September 27, 1952) was maybe the most successful singer of all time in Brazil. In his career span of 35 years of success (interrupted by his death in a car accident), he was the singer who recorded more 78 rpm albums in Brazil than anyone: 526 albums with 983 songs. As a composer, he left around 132 songs, but many of them were later proved to have been bought from composers. Even then, just one of his certified creations (his signature tune, "A Voz do Violão," with lyrics by Horácio Campos) is enough to accredit him in this field. The son of a Portuguese immigrant who played the bombardon in leisure hours, Chico Alves (as he became known later by his audiences) was praised for his voice since he was a child, but worked at several small jobs (shoeshiner, hatmaker, taxi driver) prior to success. His artistic career debut was in 1918, in the company owned by actors João de Deus and João Martins. He recorded for the first time the next year, invited by João Gonzaga (alleged son of the female conductor Chiquinha Gonzaga and owner of the newly founded recording company Popular). The two albums had the marcha "O Pé de Anjo" and the sambas "Fala Meu Louro" and "Alivia Estes Olhos," all by Sinhô (who participated in the recording as an accompanying musician). "O Pé de Anjo" was part of the musical polemic that appeared after the first samba, "Pelo Telefone," opposing the Bahianos and Cariocas. This song was the biggest hit of the Carnival of 1920, and the other songs also were successes in that year. Alves would record three other albums with eight songs for Popular, but the recording company would last less than a year, having sold very little records. Invited by José Segreto, he became a regular performer at the Teatro São José together with Vicente Celestino, whom he imitated until then, and Otília Amorim. Enjoying crescent popularity, he moved successively from one theater company to another. In 1927, he was taken to Odeon by Freire Júnior, recording 11 albums with 19 songs still in the mechanical process. In July of that year, Odeon became the first company in Brazil to record through the electromagnetic process, and Alves was the first artist to do so in the album with the marcha "Albertina" and the samba "Passarinho do Má" (both by Duque). Soon, he also became a Parlophon artist (Odeon's subsidiary label), recording under the pseudonym of Chico Viola. In 1928, he made acquaintance with the Estácio sambistas Ismael Silva (from whom he bought the samba "Me Faz Carinhos") and Bide (from whom he bought "A Malandragem"). He then became friends with the entire Estácio gang, parading in the local samba school (which was, in fact, just a rancho) Deixa Falar during Carnival. Becoming true friends with Ismael Silva, he recorded almost all his compositions (mostly written with Nilton Bastos) until 1935. In 1929, he debuted in radio at the Rádio Sociedade. He was already an extremely popular artist by then. In 1930, he performed in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In the same year, he formed a duo with Mário Reis, recording with him 12 important albums. In 1931, he performed again in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with Mário Reis, Carmen Miranda (her first international tour), Luperce Miranda, and Tute. Two years later, he signed with Rádio Mayrink Veiga together with Carmen Miranda and Mário Reis. In the same year, his records were used in the film Voz do Carnaval (Ademar Gonzaga). In 1934, he left Odeon for RCA Victor, where he would stay until 1937. In 1934, he also toured the South with Noel Rosa, Mário Reis, and Nonô as accompanying pianist. He had a show of his own on Rádio Cajuti, who launched Orlando Silva (who would be his rival in popularity). In 1935, he debuted in cinema in the film Alô, Alô, Brasil (Wallace Downey/João de Barro/Alberto Ribeiro), followed by Alô, Alô, Carnaval (Ademar Gonzaga, 1936); Laranja da China (J. Rui, 1940); and, by Luís de Barros, Samba em Berlim (1943), Berlim na Batucada (1944), Pif-Paf (1945), Caídos do Céu (1946), and Esta é Fina (1948). In 1936, he performed for two months at Radio El Mundo (Buenos Aires, Argentina), having invited Alzirinha Camargo and Benedito Lacerda. In 1937, he returned to Odeon, staying there until 1939. In 1939, he was was the launcher of the genre samba-exaltação, recording "Aquarela do Brasil" (Ary Barroso). In that year, he became a Columbia artist, recording 14 albums there until July 1941, when he returned to Odeon where he would stay until his demise, also recording four songs for RCA Victor days before the accident. In 1941, he signed with Rádio Nacional, where would stay until his death. After he was gone, his life was depicted in the film Chico Viola Não Morreu (1955). His autobiography was released in 1966, written by David Nasser (his partner since 1940, with whom wrote 20 songs) and titled Chico Viola.

Favela
Francisco Alves Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Favela oi, favela,
Favela que guardo no meu coração
Ao recordar com saudade
A minha felicidade
Favela dos sonhos de amor
E do samba-canção.
{Bis}
Hoje tão longe de ti
Se vejo a lua surgir
Eu relembro a batucada
E começo a chorar
Favela das noites de samba
Berço dourado dos bambas
Favela é tudo que eu posso falar.

Favela oi...{Bis}

Minha favela querida
Onde eu senti minha vida
Presa a um romance de amor
Numa doce ilusão
E uma saudade bem rara
Na distância que nos separa
Eu guardo de ti esta recordação.





Favela oi,...{Bis}

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Francisco Alves's song Favela are a nostalgic tribute to a beloved community that is deeply ingrained in the singer's heart. Favela refers to the shantytowns on the outskirts of Brazilian cities where many poor families reside. Despite the poverty and difficulties faced by the inhabitants of these areas, the song speaks of the joy and happiness found there through music and love.


The first verse speaks of the dreams of love and the samba-canção, a romantic style of samba music, that are synonymous with life in the favela. The chorus repeats the name of the favela, emphasizing its importance and significance to the singer. In the second verse, the singer is far from the favela and remembers the sound of the drums, the music that filled his heart, and the memories that bring him to tears. The last verse speaks of the sweet illusions of love that the singer experienced in the favela and the rare longing that he feels for it now.


Line by Line Meaning

Favela oi, favela,
Greetings, dear slum area,


Favela que guardo no meu coração
A place in my heart that I cherish dearly,


Ao recordar com saudade
As I reminisce,


A minha felicidade
My happiness,


Favela dos sonhos de amor
Slum area filled with romantic and dreamful aspirations,


E do samba-canção.
And samba music.


Hoje tão longe de ti
Now I am so far away,


Se vejo a lua surgir
When I see the moon rise,


Eu relembro a batucada
I recall the joyful percussions,


E começo a chorar
And I begin to weep,


Favela das noites de samba
Slum area of joyful nights filled with samba,


Berço dourado dos bambas
Golden cradle of samba legends,


Favela é tudo que eu posso falar.
Slum area is all I can speak of.


Minha favela querida
My beloved slum area,


Onde eu senti minha vida
Where I experienced life profoundly,


Presa a um romance de amor
Immersed in a romantic love affair,


Numa doce ilusão
In a sweet illusion,


E uma saudade bem rara
And a nostalgic feeling so rare,


Na distância que nos separa
Despite the distance between us,


Eu guardo de ti esta recordação.
I hold these memories of you dearly.


Favela oi,
Greetings, dear slum area,


...{Bis}
Repeated chorus.




Writer(s): Roberto Martins

Contributed by Liliana D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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