Luiz Gonzaga do Nascimento (Exu, Pernambuco, December 13, 1912 — Recife, Pe… Read Full Bio ↴Luiz Gonzaga do Nascimento (Exu, Pernambuco, December 13, 1912 — Recife, Pernambuco, August 2, 1989) was a prominent Brazilian folk singer, songwriter, musician and poet. Born in the countryside of Pernambuco, he is considered to be responsible for the promotion of Northeastern ("nordeste") music throughout the rest of the country. He is also known as the "king of baiao" and "Gonzagão".

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.

Alvorada Da Paz
Luiz Gonzaga Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Jânio Quadros
Tu és um soldado
Sentinela da democracia
O Brasil foi por ti libertado
Reação nacional, valentia

Jânio Quadros, a tua bandeira
É a Pátria querida a servir

Tornar grande a nação brasileira
Gloriosa, feliz no porvir
Jânio Quadros, tu és presidente
Norte e Sul, a nação unirás
No Planalto, te quer tanta gente
Novo sol, Alvorada da paz

Só Lacerda gritou Guanabara
Paraná respondeu com Nei Braga
Minas deu Magalhães, jóia rara
Tantas glórias o povo afaga
Oh! São Paulo! Que tem Dom Carvalho
Salve-se de Gondim e Luiz

Redenção, honradez e trabalho
E o Brasil, seu destino feliz

Overall Meaning

The song "Alvorada Da Paz" by Luiz Gonzaga is an anthem dedicated to Jânio Quadros, the 22nd president of Brazil. The lyrics paint a picture of Jânio Quadros as a loyal soldier and a sentinel of democracy, casting him as a hero who had liberated Brazil. The song also touches on the theme of Brazil's greatness and glory in the future, for which Jânio Quadros is seen as an important agent.

The song also includes references to other important political figures of the time, such as Lacerda, Nei Braga, and Magalhães, who were instrumental in shaping Brazil's political history. São Paulo, the largest city in Brazil, is also mentioned as having its own significant political figure in Dom Carvalho. The song celebrates the hard work, redemption, and honesty of the people of Brazil, giving hope for a bright future.

Line by Line Meaning

Jânio Quadros
Referring to Jânio Quadros

Tu és um soldado
You are a soldier

Sentinela da democracia
Guardian of democracy

O Brasil foi por ti libertado
Through you, Brazil was liberated

Reação nacional, valentia
National reaction, bravery

Jânio Quadros, a tua bandeira
Jânio Quadros, your banner

É a Pátria querida a servir
Is serving the beloved homeland

Tornar grande a nação brasileira
To make the Brazilian nation great

Gloriosa, feliz no porvir
Glorious and happy in the future

Jânio Quadros, tu és presidente
Jânio Quadros, you are the president

Norte e Sul, a nação unirás
Uniting the nation, both North and South