Aldir Blanc

— On Monday, May 4, 2020, Brazil lost one of her exponents in songwriting. Aldir Blanc, poet, lyricist, journalist, and psychiatrist by trade, passed away due to complications to COVID-19. A native of Rio de Janeiro (born on September 2, 1946), Blanc gave up medicine in 1973 to dedicate himself to music. And what an amazing body of work did he leave to Brazilian music! He was not the type of composer to release solo albums as a singer, but the number of Brazilian performers who sang his music is an extensive list. During the 1960s, years when Brazilian music festivals were popular, Aldir Blanc began making his name known to the public. In 1968, he had a song performed in the III International Song Festival, and that was followed by another in 1969 during the II University Festival of Brazilian Popular Music. It was, however, in 1970, that one of his first big hits, “Amigo É Pra Essas Coisas” (co-written with Sílvio da Silva Júnior) received public and critic attention as performed by the group MPB-4 in the III University Festival of Brazilian Popular Music. During the early 1970s, he was a member of the MAU (Movimento Artístico Universitário, or University Artistic Movement) group, which included names such as Ivan Lins and Gonzaguinha among others. Then in 1971, Elis Regina recorded one of his songs for the first time. The following year, he began a long-lasting partnership with his most constant music partner, João Bosco. Together they defined Brazilian music in the 1970s. After Elis Regina, other stellar names recorded him. The list is long and covers names including Simone, Elizeth Cardoso, MPB-4, Sueli Costa, Clara Nunes, Ângela Maria, Nana Caymmi, and many more. It was probably with Elis Regina, though, that one of his biggest hits became a household name in Brazil in 1979, namely “O Bêbado e a Equilibrista” (The Drunk and the Tightrope Walker). Originally, the song was intended to be a homage to Charlie Chaplin. However, as was common during the 1970s, the song was full of metaphors relating to people that had vanished or had been exiled during the Brazilian military dictatorship. One of those exiled was the sociologist Herbert de Souza (a.k.a. Betinho), who was the brother of cartoonist Henfil and musician Chico Mário. The song then turned into a beautiful protest for the return of those who “left in a rocket” (in Portuguese the lyrics say “com tanta gente que partiu num rabo de foguete” to show how quickly many people had left the country). It became known in Brazil as the Amnesty Anthem. I leave you with one rendition of that song by Elis Regina.