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 Festa do Milho
Luiz Gonzaga Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A grande festa do milho } bis
Alegre igual a mamãe
Que ver voltar o seu filho
Em março queima o roçado
A dezenove ele planta
A terra já está molhada
Ligeiro o milho levanta
Em maio solta o pendão
Já todo embonecado
Prontinho para São João
No dia de Santo Antônio
Já tem fogueira queimando
O milho já está maduro
Na palha vai se assando
No São João e São Pedro
A festa de maior brilho
Porque pamonha e canjica
Completam a festa do milho
Luiz Gonzaga's song "A Festa do Milho" is a celebration of the corn harvest in the Brazilian countryside. The song describes how the rural people celebrate the harvest with music, dance, and food. The first verse says that the people are happy like a mother who sees her son return home. This comparison implies that the corn harvest is something that the people look forward to and cherish.
The song also highlights the hard work and dedication that goes into growing the corn. The second verse describes how the crops are planted in March and grow quickly in the moist soil. The farmers clean the fields in April and by May, the corn is tall and ready for the harvest season. The festivities start on the day of Saint Anthony, with bonfires and roasted corn. Finally, the most significant celebrations occur during the Saint John and Saint Peter's day, where pamonha and canjica, traditional corn dishes, are served.
Overall, "A Festa do Milho" portrays a joyful and lively celebration of the corn harvest in the rural communities of Brazil. The song celebrates the hard work and dedication that goes into cultivating and harvesting crops, and the communal celebration of agriculture and food.
Line by Line Meaning
O sertanejo festeja
The people of the rural areas celebrate
A grande festa do milho
The grand celebration of corn
Alegre igual a mamãe
They are happy like a mother
Que ver voltar o seu filho
Who wants to see their child return
Em março queima o roçado
In March, they burn down the field
A dezenove ele planta
On the 19th, they plant
A terra já está molhada
The ground is already moist
Ligeiro o milho levanta
The corn quickly grows
Dá uma limpa em abril
They clean up in April
Em maio solta o pendão
In May, the flagpole is raised
Já todo embonecado
All dressed up
Prontinho para São João
Ready for Saint John's feast
No dia de Santo Antônio
On Saint Anthony's day
Já tem fogueira queimando
There is already a burning bonfire
O milho já está maduro
The corn is already ripe
Na palha vai se assando
It is roasted in the husk
No São João e São Pedro
On Saint John and Saint Peter's day
A festa de maior brilho
The brightest celebration
Porque pamonha e canjica
Because of pamonha and canjica
Completam a festa do milho
Complete the corn feast
Contributed by Avery D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.