Demônios da Garoa is a Brazilian samba 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 Música popular brasileira (, ''Popular Brazilian 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 and other Brazilian regional music, c ...

'' 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 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 "Tiro ao Álvaro" is a samba song composed in 1960 by Brazilian composer and singer Adoniran Barbosa (real name João Rubinato) with the radio-journalist Osvaldo Moles. In his style of the "paulista" samba, it has humorous lyrics written in a pop ...

", "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, and end-stage liver disease, is the impaired liver function caused by the formation of scar tissue known as fibrosis due to damage caused by liver disease. Damage causes tissue rep ...

due to spinal treatment, while Gomes died of complications from

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level (hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

and Alzheimer's disease. The current lineup of "Demônios da Garoa" consists of Sérgio Rosa (son of Arnaldo Rosa), Ricardo Rosa (Ricardinho), Dedé Paraizo, Izael Caldeira da Silva and Everson Pessoa. The group, which used to perform only with its own members, now has a supporting band consisting of

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

, 6-string guitar,

contrabass Contrabass (from it, contrabbasso) 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 orchest ...

, percussion,

cavaquinho The cavaquinho (pronounced in Portuguese) is a small Portuguese string instrument in the European guitar family, with four wires or gut strings. More broadly, ''cavaquinho'' is the name of a four-stringed subdivision of the lute family of ins ...

and

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a musica ...

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