Almir de Souza Serra (12 July 1946 – 5 May 2017), better known by his stage name Almir Guineto, was a Brazilian sambista, singer and songwriter and instrumentalist, working in the genres of

samba Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...

and

pagode Pagode () is a Brazilian style of music that originated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as a subgenre of Samba. Pagode originally meant a celebration with food, music, dance, and party. In 1978, singer Beth Carvalho was introduced to this music, like ...

Biography

Guineto was director of the

samba school A samba school () is a dancing, marching, and drumming (Samba Enredo) club. They practice and often perform in a huge square-Compound (enclosure), compounds ("quadras de samba") and are devoted to practicing and exhibiting samba, an Afro-Brazili ...

Salgueiro, a founder of the Fundo de Quintal samba group, and was a member of Os Originais do Samba for 10 years before leaving for a solo career. Born on the Salgueiro hills in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

in a family of musicians, he is credited as the man who introduced the

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

to samba, and is recognized as one of the main fathers of

. Guineto first knew success when his partido "Mordomia" won the first prize in the 1981 MPB-Shell festival. A frequenter of the Cacique de Ramos ''roda de samba'', he took part in the first record of Fundo de Quintal, but by the time of their second album he had already left the group to guide his talent through solo career. At the start of his career, his famous song "Saco Cheio" (''Everything that is made on earth/God's name is thrown in the midst/God must be pissed off'') came to raise protests from Rio de Janeiro's archbishop, D. Eugênio Sales. Besides being very famous as a performer, Almir enjoys a lot of recognition as a songwriter, with many songs recorded by artists such as Beth Carvalho, who considers him one of her favourite song sources, Zeca Pagodinho, Dorina and others. Almir is regarded as an artist of the ''povão'', for the big masses know his hits very well. His songs are the most sung-along in parties and reunions where samba is played on account of their popularity. Guineto has over 12 records edited in Brazil, the first one being ''O Suburbano'', from 1981. His records have a particular samba sound that became trademarked as Almir's, frequently with strong use of the banjo, and with Mauro Diniz often being responsible for the cavaquinho. His potent, raucous voice is another trademark, which some call a "force of nature". Among his greatest hits are the songs "Conselho", "Insensato Destino", "Rendição", "Pedi ao Céu" and "É, Pois É", the last two even more famous in the voice of Beth Carvalho. One of his most important records is the self-titled ''Almir Guineto'' from 1986, which opens with the afro-inspired "Caxambú". "Mãos" is one of his greatest hits in Zeca's voice. Guineto was very respected in Brazil as one of the most important sambistas. He died on 5 May 2017 in Rio de Janeiro due to diabetes and kidney problems.

Discography

* ''Todos os Pagodes'' (2001) * ''Almir Guineto'' (1999) * ''Pés'' (1997) * ''Acima de Deus, só Deus'' (1995) * ''Pele de Chocolate'' (1993) * ''De Bem com a Vida'' (1991) * ''Jeito de Amar'' (1989) * ''Olhos da Vida'' (1988) * ''Perfume de Champagne'' (1987) * ''Almir Guineto'' (1986) * ''Sorriso Novo'' (1985) * ''A Chave do Perdão'' (1982) * ''O Suburbano'' (1981)

References

External links

SóSamba

Cliquemusic

Cliquemusic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guineto, Almir 1946 births 2017 deaths Musicians from Rio de Janeiro (city) Almir Guineto 20th-century Brazilian male singers 20th-century Brazilian singers 21st-century Brazilian male singers 21st-century Brazilian singers Afro-Brazilian male singer-songwriters Brazilian male singer-songwriters Deaths from kidney disease Deaths from diabetes in Brazil Brazilian banjoists