Demônios da Garoa is a Brazilian

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 ...

band. It was formed in São Paulo in 1943, its members drawing influences from a variety of cultural sources to develop their own characteristic style. In 1949, they met Adoniran Barbosa, one of the most important composers of ''

música popular brasileira (, ''Brazilian Popular Music'') or MPB is a trend in post-bossa nova urban popular music in Brazil that revisits typical Brazilian styles such as samba, samba-canção and Baião (music), baião and other Brazilian regional music, combining them ...

'' or MPB. Together, they personified current socio-cultural trends. In 1994, it was recognized as the oldest performing group in Brazil by Guinness World Records. Today, "Demônios da Garoa" is one of the main samba bands in São Paulo and also one of the most respected musical groups in Brazil.

History

The band was founded by Arnaldo Rosabegan as the "Grupo do Luar" in São Paulo. In 1943, singing for the first time on radio, he won a talent contest on

Rádio Bandeirantes Rádio Bandeirantes (RB) is a Brazilian news radio network, based 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 Bra ...

entitled ''A Hora da Bomba''. The main prize was a contract for two weekly radio shows. The group changed its name at the initiative of the radio announcer Vicente Leporace, an early supporter. He ran a contest to choose the name of the group and an unidentified listener suggested the name "Demônios da Garoa". Leporace, when announcing the band on his program, used to call them "devils from the Moonlight Group". In 1949, during the recording of the soundtrack for the film ''O Cangaceiro'', members of Demônios da Garoa met composer

Adoniran Barbosa Adoniran Barbosa, artistic name of João Rubinato (6 August 1910 – 23 November 1982), was a noted Brazilian São Paulo style samba singer and composer. Biography Early years João Rubinato was the seventh child of Francesco (Fernando) Rubina ...

. The resulting partnership yielded the band's main hits as well as national recognition in Brazil. Barbosa's good humor became the trademark of the group. In 1964, after changes in the original lineup, he recorded "Trem das Onze", which became a well-known song, particularly in São Paulo. Other hits included "Iracema", "Saudosa Maloca", "O Samba do Arnesto", "As Mariposas", " Tiro ao Álvaro", "Ói Nóis Aqui Trá Veiz", "Vila Esperança" and "Vai no Bexiga pra Ver". "Demônios da Garoa" has sold more than ten million records - 69 singles, 34 LPs and 13 CDs. In 1994, it entered the Guinness Book - Brazilian Record Book as the "Oldest Vocal Ensemble of Brazil in Activity". The last two original members of the group, Arnaldo Rosa and Toninho Gomes, died in 2000 and 2005 respectively. Rosa succumbed to

liver cirrhosis Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, chronic liver failure or chronic hepatic failure and end-stage liver disease, is a chronic condition of the liver in which the normal functioning tissue, or parenchyma, is replaced ...

due to spinal treatment, while Gomes died of complications from

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

and

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

. In 2021, Izael Caldeira da Silva died of the COVID-19 virus. The current lineup of "Demônios da Garoa" consists of Sérgio Rosa (son of Arnaldo Rosa), Ricardo Rosa (Ricardinho), Dedé Paraizo and Everson Pessoa. The group, which used to perform only with its own members, now has a supporting band consisting of

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

, 6-string guitar,

contrabass Contrabass (from ) refers to several musical instruments of very low pitch—generally one octave below bass register instruments. While the term most commonly refers to the double bass (which is the bass instrument in the orchestral string family ...

, percussion,

cavaquinho The cavaquinho (pronounced in Portuguese) is a small Portuguese string instrument in the European guitar family, with four wires or gut strings. A cavaquinho player is called a ''cavaquista''. Tuning A common tuning in Portugal is C G& ...

and

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

Partial Discography

*55 Anos de Garoa (1997) *Demônios da Garoa Hoje (1995) *50 Anos (1994) *Esses Divinos Demônios da Garoa (1990) *O Samba Continua (1980) *34 Anos de Música Brasileira (1977) *Samba do Metrô (1975) *Torre de Babel (1974) *Abre a Gira (1973) *Eu Sou de Lá (1972) *Agüenta a Mão, João (1971) *Sai de Mim, Saudade (1971) *Doido Varrido (1969) *Ói Nóis Aqui Tra Veis (1969) *É De Samba Vol. 2 (1968) *É De Samba (1968) *Leva Este (1968) *Eu Vou Pro Samba (1965) *Trem das 11 (1964) *Mas Demônios Que Nunca (1962, Argentina) *Demônios Em Sambas Infernais (1961) *Pafunça (1958) *Demônios da Garoa (1957) *Saudosa Maloca (1957)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demonios da Garoa Brazilian musical groups Samba ensembles Musical groups established in 1943 1943 establishments in Brazil