Agenor de Miranda Araújo Neto, better known as Cazuza (; April 4, 1958 – July 7, 1990), was a Brazilian singer and songwriter, born 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 ...

. Along with Raul Seixas, Renato Russo and Os Mutantes, Cazuza, both while fronting Barão Vermelho and at solo career, is considered one of the best exponents of

Brazilian rock Brazilian rock refers to rock music produced in Brazil and usually sung in Portuguese language, Portuguese. In the 1960s, it was known as , the Portuguese transcription of the line "Yeah, yeah, yeah" from the Beatles song "She Loves You". Overv ...

music. In his 9-year career, he sold more than 5 million albums and achieved 11 number one singles and 18 Top 10 singles in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Biography

Early life and influences

Son of the record producer João Araújo and the amateur singer Maria Lúcia Araújo, Cazuza always had close contact with music. Influenced since early childhood by the strong values of Brazilian music, he had a special preference for the sad, dramatic overtones of

Cartola Angenor de Oliveira, known as Cartola ( Portuguese for top hat), (; October 11, 1908 – November 30, 1980) was a Brazilian singer, composer and poet considered to be a major figure in the development of samba. Cartola composed, alone or with ...

, Lupicinio Rodrigues, Dolores Duran, and Maysa. He began to write lyrics and poems around 1965. In late 1974, a vacation in London, England, acquainted him with the music of

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and songwriter. One of the most iconic and successful Rock music, rock performers of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and her "electric" ...

and

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

, and he soon became a great fan. Cazuza enrolled in college in 1978, but abandoned the course of journalism three weeks later to work with his father at Som Livre. He moved later to San Francisco, where he came in contact with Beat literature, becoming highly influenced by it.

Barão Vermelho

In 1980 he returned to Rio, where he worked with the theatrical group ''Asdrúbal Trouxe o Trombone'' (Asdrúbal Brought the Trombone). There he was noticed by the novice singer/composer Léo Jaime, who introduced him to a beginning rock band that needed a vocalist, the Barão Vermelho (Red Baron). With this very successful eighties

band, who had their greatest success with "Bete Balanço", a song that was part of the soundtrack of a film, Cazuza began his career as a singer. In 1985, Cazuza took part in

Rock in Rio Rock in Rio is a biennial Brazilian multi-day music festival held at City of Rock in Rio de Janeiro. It later branched into other locations such as Lisbon, Madrid and Las Vegas. Ten incarnations of the festival have been held in Rio de Janeir ...

with Barão Vermelho, and around this time,

Caetano Veloso Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso (; born 7 August 1942) is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicália, which encompas ...

claimed he was the greatest Brazilian poet of his generation. It was also in this same year that Cazuza was infected with the

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

virus, precipitating his desire to leave the band to obtain a greater freedom in composition and expression, both musically and lyrically.

Solo career

After he left the band, Cazuza's music began to diversify, incorporating elements of the

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

in songs such as "Blues da Piedade" (Blues of Compassion), "Só as mães são felizes" (Only Mothers Are Happy) and "Balada da Esplanada" (Ballad of the Esplanade), which was based on a poem of the same name by

Oswald de Andrade José Oswald de Souza Andrade (January 11, 1890 – October 22, 1954) was a Brazilian poet, novelist and cultural critic. He was born in, spent most of his life in, and died in São Paulo. Andrade was one of the founders of Brazilian modernism ...

; showcasing increasingly intimate lyrics, like those in "Só se for a Dois" (Just the two of us), as well as opening itself up to influences from Brazilian pop music with interpretations of

's "O Mundo é um Moinho" (The World is a Windmill), Raul Seixas's "Cavalos Calados" (Silent Horses) and

's "Esse Cara" (This Guy). Cazuza's solo career proved to be more successful than that of his former group. "Exagerado" (Exaggerated), " O Tempo não Pára" (Time Doesn't Stop), and "Ideologia" (Ideology) were his greatest hits and proved to be a great influence on subsequent Brazilian musicians. Cazuza co-wrote the song "Preciso Dizer que Te Amo" with

Bebel Gilberto Isabel Buarque de Hollanda Gilberto de Oliveira (born May 12, 1966), known as Bebel Gilberto, is an American-born Brazilian people, Brazilian popular singer often associated with bossa nova. She is the daughter of João Gilberto and singer Miú ...

which was released in 1986 on her self-titled EP. The song was also featured posthumously in the 1996 AIDS benefit album

Red Hot + Rio Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

produced by the

Red Hot Organization ''Red Hot Organization'' (RHO) is a non-profit, 501(c) 3, international organization with goals to promote diversity through equal access to healthcare through pop culture. Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors ...

in a duet with

Final years

In 1989, he admitted publicly for the first time that he had AIDS and released his last album in life: ''Burguesia''. Cazuza was openly

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

but was not active in the LGBT movement. However, his openness about being a person with AIDS helped to change public perceptions and attitudes about HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment.

Death

Cazuza died in Rio de Janeiro on July 7, 1990, at the age of 32, due to a

septic shock Septic shock is a potentially fatal medical condition that occurs when sepsis, which is organ injury or damage in response to infection, leads to dangerously low blood pressure and abnormalities in cellular metabolism. The Third International C ...

caused by AIDS. He was buried at the Cemitério São João Batista in Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro. Cazuza's mother set up the Viva Cazuza Society (''Sociedade Viva Cazuza''), a charity which sponsors AIDS prevention and provides a home for

HIV-positive The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

children

Other media

A biopic starring Daniel de Oliveira and directed by Sandra Werneck called '' Cazuza: O Tempo não Para'' ("''Cazuza: Time Doesn't Stop''") was released in 2004. In 2014, the biographic musical ''Cazuza – Pro Dia Nascer Feliz'' opened in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

. It featured songs from Cazuza's solo career as well as from his time as frontman of Barão Vermelho. The musical starring Emílio Dantas was directed by João Fonseca and toured Brazil for two years. Cazuza was portrayed by Jullio Reis in the 2025 Brazilian film '' Homem com H'', a biopic about Ney Matogrosso.

Discography

With Barão Vermelho

* 1982: '' Barão Vermelho 120,000 – Gold'' * 1983: '' Barão Vermelho 2 180,000 – Gold'' * 1984: ''Bete Balanço (Original Soundtrack)'' * 1984: '' Maior Abandonado 800,000 – Platinum'' * 1992: ''Barão Vermelho Ao Vivo''

Solo

* 1985: ''Exagerado 750,000 – Platinum 2x'' * 1987: ''Só se for a dois 600,000 – Platinum'' * 1988: '' Ideologia 2,000,000 – Diamond'' * 1988: ''O tempo não pára 1,800,000 – Diamond'' * 1989: ''Burguesia 850,000 – Platinum 2x'' * 1991: ''Por aí 600,000 – Platinum'' * 2005: ''O Poeta Está Vivo – Ao Vivo no Teatro Ipanema 1987 250,000 – Platinum''

Films

*''Bete Balanço'', 1984 *'' Um Trem para as Estrelas'', 1988 *'' Cazuza - O Tempo Não Pára'', 2004 (biopic)

References

External links

*
Official site
*

{{Authority control 1958 births 1990 deaths AIDS-related deaths in Rio de Janeiro (state) Deaths from sepsis Alternative rock singers Bisexual male musicians Bisexual singers Bisexual composers Bisexual songwriters Brazilian male composers Brazilian rock singers Brazilian socialists Brazilian LGBTQ singer-songwriters Brazilian LGBTQ composers Brazilian bisexual men Brazilian bisexual musicians Musicians from Rio de Janeiro (city) 20th-century Brazilian male singers 20th-century Brazilian singers 20th-century Brazilian songwriters 20th-century Brazilian composers 20th-century Brazilian LGBTQ people LGBTQ people in Latin music Burials at Cemitério de São João Batista