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| Martinho da Vila | |
|---|---|
| Name | Martinho da Vila |
| Background | solo_singer |
| Birth name | Martinho Jorge da Silva |
| Birth date | 12 February 1938 |
| Birth place | Duas Barras, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Genre | Samba, MPB |
| Occupation | Singer, songwriter, writer, actor |
| Years active | 1967–present |
| Label | EMI Records, RCA Records, BMG, Sony Music |
Martinho da Vila is a Brazilian singer, composer, writer, and actor whose career has been central to the modern development of samba and Música Popular Brasileira. Born in Duas Barras, Rio de Janeiro (state), he rose to national prominence in the late 1960s and became one of the most recorded and influential figures in Brazilian popular music. Martinho's work spans performance with leading escolas de samba, collaborations with prominent artists, and publications that document Afro-Brazilian culture and history.
Martinho Jorge da Silva was born in Duas Barras, Rio de Janeiro (state), and raised in the Vila Isabel neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro. His family background connected him to Afro-Brazilian traditions linked to Candomblé and to regional cultural practices of the Samba de Roda and Pagode. Early influences included recordings by Noel Rosa, Cartola, Ismael Silva, Candeia, and Jair Rodrigues, and he frequented rodas and rehearsals associated with Portela, Mangueira, Imperatriz Leopoldinense, and Casquinha. He worked in civil service positions at Rede Ferroviária Federal, later moving to venues and studios associated with Praça Onze and the Lapa music scene.
Martinho began professional recording in the 1960s, releasing music on labels such as RCA Records alongside contemporaries like Elis Regina, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Chico Buarque, and Gal Costa. His breakthrough album included songs that received airplay on Radio Nacional Rio de Janeiro and performances on television programs hosted by Boca de Ouro and variety shows on TV Globo. He maintained ties with samba schools such as Salgueiro and Portela while also engaging with MPB festivals and composers from the Tropicalismo movement. Over decades he recorded with orchestras and arrangers including Edu Lobo, Tom Jobim, Eumir Deodato, and producers at Som Livre studios. His stage presence led to residencies at venues like Canecão, Circo Voador, and international tours that took him to the Olympia (Paris), Carnegie Hall, and festivals in Lisbon, Luanda, Cape Town, and Tokyo.
Martinho's prolific discography includes landmark albums released on EMI Records and BMG with compositions that entered the canon of samba, such as "Casa de Bamba", "Devassada", and "Mulheres". He composed alongside or had songs recorded by Zeca Pagodinho, Beth Carvalho, Adoniran Barbosa, Paulinho da Viola, João Bosco, Geraldo Pereira, Monarco, Bethânia, and Milton Nascimento. His albums featured musicians like Cartola (sambista), Anastácia, Alcione, Mart'nália, João Nogueira, and arrangers such as Jaques Morelenbaum and Arthur Verocai. International compilations and reissues were released through labels like Universal Music Group and appeared on charts monitored by Billboard and reviewed in publications such as Folha de S.Paulo and O Globo.
Martinho collaborated extensively with leading samba artists, working with figures from Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel, Portela, Mangueira and composers in the samba-enredo tradition. He influenced a generation that includes Zeca Pagodinho, Arlindo Cruz, Fundo de Quintal, Xande de Pilares, Tia Surica, and younger artists like Leci Brandão and Fafá de Belém. He participated in projects with Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso that bridged samba and Tropicalismo, and his compositions were interpreted by Gal Costa, Maria Bethânia, Daniela Mercury, and Ivete Sangalo. Martinho also engaged with cultural institutions such as the Museu da Imagem e do Som (Rio de Janeiro), the Fundação Cultural Palmares, and academic circles at the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro and Universidade de São Paulo studying Afro-Brazilian musicology and folklore.
Beyond music, Martinho authored books and essays that engaged with Afro-Brazilian identity, publishing through Brazilian houses and contributing to discussions linked to Quilombo dos Palmares history and Capoeira culture. He acted in theatrical productions staged at venues like Teatro Municipal (Rio de Janeiro), appeared in television novelas on TV Globo and in documentary films screened at festivals such as Festival de Brasília and Festival do Rio. His writing and cultural advocacy connected him with intellectuals and artists including Sérgio Buarque de Holanda, Florestan Fernandes, Abdias do Nascimento, Milton Santos, and contemporary cultural commentators.
Martinho received numerous honors from Brazilian institutions and cultural bodies, including recognition from the Academia Brasileira de Letras, awards at the Prêmio da Música Brasileira, and lifetime achievement citations from municipal and state governments such as the Prefeitura do Rio de Janeiro and the Governo do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. He was celebrated at festivals organized by Sesc and awarded by organizations like ABMI and honored by samba schools including Portela and Salgueiro for his contributions to the Carnaval repertoire. Internationally, he received invitations and commendations from cultural councils in Portugal, Angola, and Mozambique.
Martinho has been active in social and cultural movements supporting Afro-Brazilian rights, aligning with organizations such as the Movimento Negro Unificado, Fundação Cultural Palmares, and community projects in Maré and Complexo do Alemão. His activism intersected with public debates involving figures and institutions like Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Dilma Rousseff, Jair Bolsonaro, and municipal cultural policies administered by the Secretaria de Cultura do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. He has family ties with artists in the da Vila lineage and mentored younger musicians while participating in philanthropic work with entities such as UNICEF Brazil initiatives and local education programs.
Category:Brazilian singers Category:Samba musicians