Guilherme de Brito

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Guilherme de Brito circa 2003

Guilherme de Brito (b. January 1, 1922 - d. April 28, 2006, birth name Guilherme de Brito Bollhorst) was an important brazilian sambista, singer, songwriter, and painter.

[edit] Biography

Guilherme de Brito Bollhorst was born in Vila Isabel, a traditional neighborhood with regard to samba, the home of 12 years older Noel Rosa, with whom Guilherme was acquainted and who often gave him rides on his car. Guilherme got a cavaquinho as a present when he was 8; later he became also a violonista. With the death of his father when he was 12, Guilherme had to drop his studies and start working. He got a job at old Casa Edson, one of the first recording studios to function in Brazil. His aptitude as an artist arose at a tender age; when still a boy, he used to draw with pencils and coal.

Guilherme met his most important partner, 11 years older Nelson Cavaquinho, when the latter, already famous and known, use to play in the bars of Rio de Janeiro suburbs. In that moment, one of the most important partnerships in samba history was born.

Guilherme wrote 153 songs, the great majority being sambas, almost all of them in partnership, being 75 with Nelson Cavaquinho. They were recorded by many samba artists besides himself, such as Cartola, Elizeth Cardoso, Paulinho da Viola and especially Beth Carvalho, who had a great reverence for the work of the duo Guilherme-Nelson. Some of their most famous songs include "A Flor e O Espinho", "Quando eu me Chamar Saudade", "Pranto de Poeta", "Folhas Secas" and "Minha Festa".

Some of Guilheme's most famous verses are from the song "A Flor e O Espinho", with Nelson. They say:

Tire o seu sorriso do caminho
Que eu quero passar com a minha dor

Translation:

Take your smile away from the way
That I want to pass with my pain

As a painter, Guilherme has his works exposed in galleries across Brazil, the USA, Japan and Australia.