Renata Rosa grasps the mystic universe within the traditional chants Read Full Bio ↴Renata Rosa grasps the mystic universe within the traditional chants
from Brazil's Northeast, highlighting the less regarded feminine
influences of the outback's popular culture.

Born in Sao Paulo, the composer and musician has gathered a vast array
of rhythmical, poetical structures, canons and voice dialogues from
the grassroot music of the Northeast. Her songs are inspired by
the Maracatu Rural, the Coco and the Cavalo Marinho, amongst others,
and reveal the richness of these traditions, exposing an authentic
repertoire made up of her own compositions, young and old composers
as well as songs that are now in the public domain.

Listening to Renata Rosa is a groundbreaking trip into the timeless
world of the Caboclos, the Native Indians and the Africans of Brazil.
Renata Rosa's performance intertwines the best of the Northeast music
with its dances. The power within the chant is a physical consequence
of the dance, and in some songs the stage ground actually becomes
a percussion instrument, as it is stomped by the artists. Renata plays
the "rabeca" (the traditional brazilian fiddle), alongside her
musicians, Seu Luis Paixao, a native master of this traditional fiddle,
a "viola" (a rare kind of acoustic guitar), 2 percussionists and
a bass guitar.

Renata has just released an outstanding debut album "Zunido da Mata",
produced by Mestre Ambrosio's musicians. After touring and teaching
her art in Italy, USA and Canada, Renata Rosa and band is now ready
to hit international roads, opening new horizons for Brazilian music.

Ms Rosa will teach the Samba de Coco, which is a variation of the Coco.
The origin of Coco lays on the meeting between the native Brazilian
culture and the central African culture, which came with the slaves to
the Northeast of Brazil and involves the circular dance that sights
the ground. The dance has a variety of steps, which the function is
the percussion and are connect to the poetry. Traditionally, the dance
is connected to the construction of houses made by clay and straw. The
owner of the house calls the people of the community to do the Coco
inside the house on the clay floor. While everyone is dancing, singing
and making percussion sounds with their feet, the clay is flattened to
ground level. Renata's workshop will work with the circular dance and
the relationship between the dance, the feet percussion and the poetic
aspects of the music.

Renata Rosa, musician, singer, poet and researcher, was born in
Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 1973. She is part of the "Maracatu de Baque
Solto Estrela de Ouro de Aliança", as Dama do Cacho, one of the
responsibles for the evolution of the maracatu - a traditional carnival
parade from the State of Pernambuco (NE), in which dance, improvised
poetry and music are included. "Maracatu" aggregates elements from
black, indigenous and iberic culture. She also conducts the Boi
da Gurita Seca group, in which she improvises poetry following
the musical and poetic tradition of the "maracatu rural".

She develops research on cultural manifestations of the people from
northeast. Some of her studies are focused on "coco", work chants
and traditional catholic chants such as "Benditos" - which are
performed during the traditional catholic parades - and "excelencia
chants" - chants to prepare the deads' soul to the encounter with
God, usually performed during death-watches.

Renata Rosa has been providing workshops in many Festivals and
Centers: Cleveland Museum of Art (Ohio) , Cathedral St John
the Divine (NY), Festival de Inverno de Garanhuns, (PE), Teatro
Arraial (Recife) , Studio Casa de Pedra (Rio de Janeiro),etc.

Rosa
Renata Rosa Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Oi Rosa, que saudade
Que saudade meu bem
Oi Rosa, que saudade,
Será a Rosa que já vem?

Oi que casa tão bonita,
Por dentro, por fora não,
Por dentro é cravo e rosas,

Por fora, manjericão.

No telhado dessa casa
Corre água sem chover
Se eu morasse dentro dela
Eu engordava sem comer.

Oi Rosa, que saudade
Que saudade meu bem
Oi Rosa, que saudade,
Será a Rosa que já vem?

Oi vaca preta
Irmã da Camaratuba
E o Engenho da Setúbal,
Maceió Pilar
Engenho Novo
E a Usina da Boa Fé,

Rio Doce, Tamandaré,
São Paulo, Minas Gerais.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Rosa" by Renata Rosa are a nostalgic tribute to the character Rosa, who is the central figure of the song. The opening lines of the song express a deep longing for Rosa, suggesting that she has been away for a while. The lyrics then proceed to paint a picture of Rosa's home, describing it as a beautiful house with a garden full of flowers, such as cravo, manjericão, and, of course, roses. The last two lines of the first verse appear to be a metaphor, suggesting that Rosa's house is so idyllic and welcoming that living there would bring joy and contentment.

The second verse of the song adds more color to the portrait of Rosa's world, mentioning various places and landmarks, such as the Camaratuba, Setúbal, and Boa Fé, which could be interpreted as locations in Brazil. The verse appears to describe places where Rosa may have lived or visited, adding to the feeling of nostalgia and yearning for her presence. The song ends with a mention of São Paulo and Minas Gerais, two Brazilian states, which could be interpreted as a sign of hope that Rosa may return soon.

Line by Line Meaning

Oi Rosa, que saudade
Greeting to Rosa expressing nostalgia

Que saudade meu bem
Expressing an intense feeling of missing someone

Será a Rosa que já vem?
Wondering if the person named Rosa is about to arrive

Oi que casa tão bonita,
Greeting to a beautiful house

Por dentro, por fora não,
Explaining that the interior is different from the exterior

Por dentro é cravo e rosas,
Describing the interior as ornate with flower decorations

Por fora, manjericão.
Describing the exterior as simple with herb plants

No telhado dessa casa
Referring to the roof of the house

Corre água sem chover
Explaining water leakage from the roof without rain

Se eu morasse dentro dela
Stating a hypothetical situation of living in the house

Eu engordava sem comer.
Implying that the house is so pleasant that one would indulge in overeating