A YEAR OF HOMAGE

[trilingual]

The year 2005 marks the 50th anniversary of the untimely death of Latin America's greatest diva of all time: Carmen Miranda. The year will be filled with events commemorating her life and career. Books will be published, museums will be refurbished, exhibits will tour, CDs and DVDs will be issued, you name it!

 

For those of us of a certain generation, and for even more people of succeeding generations, Carmen Miranda remains the single most powerful image of Brazil. Many of us, I'm sure, were first inspired to learn more about Brazil, or to travel here, intrigued by Carmen's inexhaustible charisma and good humor. The American films Carmen appeared in are mostly not what you'd call great art. But all it took was her appearance on the screen to turn a turkey into the most dazzling entertainment. A tiny woman in real life (which is why she used those sky-high platform shoes) she was a giant on screen or on the stage. Whenever she appeared you just couldn't take your eyes off of her, and her talent and persona obliterated everything else around her. Every moment she was before you sparkled, and she made life seem like the most marvelous party! With her glittering "bahiana" costumes, extravagant jewelry and over-the-top "tutti-frutti" hats, Carmen became an eternal source of inspiration for drag queens around the globe! (Carmen designed most of the hats and costumes herself: she spent years making and modeling hats in a Rio milliner's shop before launching her spectacular Brazilian singing and recording career.) Endless American performers have been influenced by her, from Mickey Rooney and the Andrews Sisters all the way to Bette Midler and Madonna. As some of you have undoubtedly noticed, Trilingual himself has been deeply influenced by Carmen's life and art!

 

Carmen Miranda left a complicated legacy: a gigantic talent and a person who was enormously loved by all her friends, family and fans, yet unhappy in love herself. In her American films, Carmen created indelible memories of the archtypical "Latin Spitfire" (but with a wicked and profoundly Brazilian sense of humor and the absurd). She introduced America to entirely new musical rhythms, launched glamorous styles of clothing (every woman in America was wearing her high-fashion turbans at one point in the late 40s) and for several years was the highest-paid entertainer in the U.S.! The hilariously mangled English was an act: Carmen didn't speak the language before coming to the U.S., but she learned it rapidly and in real life spoke fluently, with only a light accent which she exaggerated greatly for performances.

 

Before being "discovered" by Lee Shubert performing at the Casino da Urca in Rio, where he signed her up to appear on Broadway in time for the 1939 World's Fair, Carmen was Brazil's greatest female singing and recording star of the radio and vaudeville era. Her Brazilian discography is enormous, and every great writer and composer wrote songs for her. Together with her sister Aurora (still living) she toured throughout Brazil and Argentina, where they were a sensational success. Brazilians had very mixed feelings about Carmen after she emigrated to the U.S. She was accused by some of her fans as having "sold out" and become "Americanized," which hurt her more profoundly than most people ever imagined. Yet when her body was brought back to Rio for burial, her funeral cortege drew the largest throngs ever seen in Rio until that time. People realized that she had been Brazil's first true superstar, known and loved the world over. Sixty thousand mourners (or more) followed her funeral procession. Her passing is felt to this day. The world became so much less joyous and gay when she left us. But her spirit still hovers over her beloved Brazil, and you know she's looking on with approval when the très gay "Banda de Carmen Miranda" makes its annual appearance in Rio's Carnival. Long may she samba in our hearts!

 

http://www.musicweb.uk.net/nostalgia/2003/Sept03/Carmen_Miranda_8120719.jpg

 

http://www.npr.org/programs/lnfsound/collaborators/photos/carmen_mike.jpg

 

http://mpbfm.ig.com.br/programas/acervo/img/carmen.jpg

 

http://www.dacre.org/stills/webm/Mir1491.jpg

[Guest Tampa Yankee]

>... Latin America's greatest diva of all time: Carmen Miranda.

 

Not to diminish Carmen's contributions and impact in anyway but I thought this was 'Eva.... a little bit of star quality'. Admittedly the high notes they hit were somewhat different. :o

[trilingual]

Evita Peron could be said to give Carmen a run for her money, but I think Carmen wins out. Carmen's career began much earlier and ran for a much longer period of time (from the 20s until her death in the 50s). She was famous throughout Brazil and much of South America for decades before coming to the notice of the U.S. and the rest of the world. Being apolitical, she wasn't a divisive figure the way Evita was (in Evita's case you either loved her or hated her, with virtually no middle ground). Carmen's memory is kept evergreen by her films and recordings, and her famous costumes (which are impressively timeless).

 

Evita's career lasted only a few years in the late 40s and early 50s (she died of cancer very young). In her day she was supremely famous in Argentina, but known more or less by reputation elsewhere. After her death, she was an iconic figure only in Argentina, and might very well have become mostly forgotten elsewhere without the intervention of Andrew Lloyd Weber. Although she was an actress and radio personality before marrying Juan Peron, Evita was not a great talent, and her work as an entertainer doesn't stand the test of time. The Perons were an incredibly divisive phenomenon in Argentina. Many working class Argentines still worship the Perons, who despite their dictatorial tactics and fascination with fascism brought real labor legislation, social welfare benefits and the vote for women to a country that had been dominated by a selfish, greedy and short-sighted oligarchy until then. But these aren't achievements widely known or appreciated outside Argentina. On the whole, Evita doesn't quite make it as high in the ranking as Carmen!

 

If we want to construct a Holy Trinity of iconic Latin American women, we probably should add Frida Kahlo to the mix, although she, too, didn't enjoy Carmen's fame during her lifetime and only became considered a larger than life figure long after her death.

[dick_nyc]

The last time I was in Rio I went to the Carmen Miranda museum. They have a display of many of her gowns, hats and jewelry there. It is not a great museum but it does give you a glimpse of her before Hollywood as well as a good idea of how tiny she was and the gorgeous gowns she wore. It is located in a park in Flamingo I think close to the art museum.

[CT Dick]

Also worth a visit is the São João Baista Cemetery in Botafogo. Carmen Miranda's grave is there as well as hundreds of beautiful funereal sculptures. She is buried near the graves of several early Brazilian aviators with stunning graves.

 

Dick