The son of a peasant and accordion player, he was attracted to the 8-bass accordion at an early age, although he started out by accompanying his father by playing the zabumba (a type of bass drum) and singing at parties and religious celebrations. He left home in 1930 to join the army, and toured Brazil with an army band until 1939. Gonzaga decided to remain in Rio de Janeiro with a recently purchased accordion. He performed in the streets and in bars, playing boleros, waltzes and tangos.
After noticing that the Northeastern immigrants missed the music from their hometowns, he started to give listeners the sort of music they craved to hear: xaxados, baiões, chamegos and cocos. At Ary Barroso’s talent show, Luiz Gonzaga played his chamego "Vira e Mexe" and was acclaimed by the audience and by the dreaded host, who gave him the highest score.
In 1943, he dressed up in typical Northeastern costumes for the first time to perform live, and got hyped. Later on, as well as playing popular tunes on the accordion, he began to sing his own material, and his skills as a songwriter were revealed.
Gonzaga's son, Luiz Gonzaga do Nascimento Júnior, known as Gonzaguinha, born 1945, was also a noted Brazilian singer and composer.
His greatest hit ever, "Asa Branca" (written with Humberto Teixeira), was recorded in 1947 and was covered countless times by many different artists. He worked on the radio until 1954, enjoying huge popularity. He is widely recognized for singlehandedly taking the baião style and the accordion to a wide audience. For a time RCA (now BMG), his recording label, was almost exclusively dedicated to printing his singles and albums. During the 60's, as the public taste shifted to bossa nova and iê-iê-iê, he found himself increasingly stranded from big city stages, so he toured the countryside, where his popularity never abated.
In the 70s and 80s, he slowly re-emerged, partly due to covers of his songs by famous artists like Geraldo Vandré, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, his son Gonzaguinha and Milton Nascimento. Some of his greatest hits are "Vozes da Seca" ("Voices From Drought"), "Algodão" ("Cotton"), "A Dança da Moda" ("The Dance In Fashion"), "ABC do Sertão" ("The ABC of Sertão"), "Derramaro o Gai" ("They Spilt the Gas"), "A Letra I" ("The 'i' letter"), "Imbalança" ("Shake It"), "A Volta da Asa-Branca" ("The Return Of The Picazuro Pigeon"), "Cintura Fina" ("Slender Waist"), "O Xote das Meninas" ("The Girls' Schottische", written with Zé Dantas, and "Juazeiro", "Paraíba", "Mangaratiba", "Baião-de-Dois", "No Meu Pé de Serra" ("There In My Homeland"), "Assum Preto" ("Blue-back Grassquit"), "Légua Tirana" ("Tyrannical league"), "Qui Nem Jiló" ("Like Solanum gilo", written with Humberto Teixeira. Other successful collaborations resulted in "Tá Bom Demais" ("It's Very Good") (with Onildo de Almeida), "Danado de Bom" ("Very Good") (with João Silva), "Dezessete e Setecentos" ("Seventeen And Seven hundred") and "Cortando o Pano" ("Cutting Cloth") (both with Miguel Lima).
Gonzaga died of natural causes at the age of 76.
A Danca da Moda
Luiz Gonzaga Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Nas noites de São João
Em vez de polca e rancheira
O povo só pede e só dança o baião
No meio da rua
Inda é balão
Inda é fogueira
É fogo de vista
O povo só pede e só dança o baião
Ai, ai, ai, ai, São João
Ai, ai, ai, ai, São João
É a dança da moda
Pois em toda a roda
Só pede baião.
Luiz Gonzaga's song A Dança da Moda talks about the changes that have taken place in Rio during the nights of São João, where instead of polkas and rancheiras, people now only request and dance baião. The song describes the festivities and the traditional elements of São João such as the balloons, bonfires, and fireworks, yet emphasizes the dominance of baião as the song people request the most.
The song is a reflection of the cultural shift in the region and the growing popularity of baião as a genre that has surpassed other traditional styles of music. The lyrics also serve as a commentary on the changing preferences of the people and the influence of popular culture. The song embodies a sense of community and togetherness as people come together to celebrate and dance to the music.
Line by Line Meaning
No Rio tá tudo mudado
Things have changed in Rio
Nas noites de São João
During the nights of Saint John
Em vez de polca e rancheira
Instead of polkas and rancheiras
O povo só pede e só dança o baião
People only ask for and dance baião
No meio da rua
In the middle of the street
Inda é balão
There are still balloons
Inda é fogueira
There are still bonfires
É fogo de vista
It's just for show
Mas dentro da pista
But on the dance floor
O povo só pede e só dança o baião
People only ask for and dance baião
Ai, ai, ai, ai, São João
Oh, oh, oh, oh, Saint John
Ai, ai, ai, ai, São João
Oh, oh, oh, oh, Saint John
É a dança da moda
It's the dance of the moment
Pois em toda a roda
Because in every circle
Só pede baião.
They only ask for baião.
Contributed by Lillian G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.