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.
Festa No Céu
Luiz Gonzaga Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Quero ver subir balão
Até no céu, a festa
É noite de São João
No terreiro tem fogueira
Tem sanfona no salão
Vão furar a bananeira
Prá fazer adivinhação
Festa animada
Chega o Padre do Arraia
Zé Funil, Rei do Quentão
Com a Chica vai casar
E a charanga enfeitada
É uma troça
Quando o dia clarear
Findo a Festa na Roça
The lyrics of Luiz Gonzaga's "Festa no Céu" describe a typical celebration of São João, a traditional Brazilian festival honoring Saint John the Baptist that takes place around the winter solstice. The singer expresses his excitement to see fireworks and balloons being released into the sky, indicating that the party is happening in the heavens. The festivities continue on the ground as well, with a bonfire burning in the yard and a live accordion player providing music for the dancers in the hall. The festivities are so lively that people even resort to piercing banana leaves for divination. The celebration appears to last all night until the dawn breaks and the party ends.
The lyrics paint a picture of a joyous and colorful feast, full of cultural traditions that have been passed down for generations. The song captures the essence of Brazilian folklore andthe celebration of Saint John the Baptist is one of the most important commemorations in Brazil. This festival is not only celebrated in Brazil but also in Portugal, Spain and Italy.
Line by Line Meaning
Quero ver soltar foguete
I want to see fireworks being set off
Quero ver subir balão
I want to see balloons being released into the sky
Até no céu, a festa
Even in the sky, the celebration is happening
É noite de São João
It's Saint John's Eve
No terreiro tem fogueira
There's a bonfire in the yard
Tem sanfona no salão
There's an accordion in the hall
Vão furar a bananeira
They're going to pierce the banana tree for divination
Festa animada
Lively party
Chega o Padre do Arraia
The Priest of the village arrives
Zé Funil, Rei do Quentão
Zé Funil, the King of the Hot Drink
Com a Chica vai casar
He's going to marry Chica
E a charanga enfeitada
And the decorated brass band
É uma troça
It's a colorful parade
Quando o dia clarear
When the day breaks
Findo a Festa na Roça
The celebration in the countryside has come to an end
Contributed by Allison C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.