Chico Buarque de Hollanda was born in Rio, but spent part of his childhood in São Paulo. Born to a family of intellectuals - his father and uncle were writers - Chico belongs to the generation of artists who exploded in the 60s in Brazil, together with Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, a decade later than Tom Jobim and João Gilberto.
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Thanks for the article Clara. Chico Buarque rocks. However, I still do not believe that as a writer he has lived up to his status as a musician. Not that he is a bad writer (on the contrary, he is very talented as your article correctly points out) but just for as a musician he is a genius. A pity he is not so well known in the U.S (even tough he is worshipped in Europe). However, unfortunately, we can pretty much say the same for all the Brazilian culture in general, which is seen, by Americans, just as an appendix of the HispanicMexican culture.
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Has Been written by Guest,
May 27, 2005
Chico's first couple of records were good but he has put out about thirty years of boring uninspired garbage since then. He should give up, although, at this point he doesn't have any credibility anyway. He's like those old guys that you see on RAI who had some national hits and are identifiable by people in their 60's as big stars. Oh, wait a second. He's well known in Europe as a writer. Right
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... written by Guest,
May 27, 2005
his first couple of records were good ?!?!?! are you crazy?!?!? have you never heard of "construcao", "cotidiano", "roda-viva", "fado tropical", "minha historia" and many other great songs Chico wrote?!?
Are you stupid or what?!?
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... written by Guest,
May 28, 2005
Yeah, he's crazy.
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I agree with the crazy guy written by Guest,
May 29, 2005
I got "50 Anos" as a present 2 years ago and find most of it to be boring. I had the first two albums before that and thought Chico was the best but now I can't listen to anything past about 1972. Sorry.
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... written by Guest,
May 29, 2005
In matters of taste there is no dispute.
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Not an illuminating article written by Guest,
May 29, 2005
This is pretty basic stuff--anyone with a modicum of knowledge about Chico could have written it. There's no particular perception, no in-depth insight into musical construction. It's a junior-high school quality not worthy of an online magazine that presumably attracts readers already interested in and aware of Brazilian culture. And I must respectfully disagree with those who feel he hasn't done anything great since 1972 or so--Paratodos, for example, is brilliant. But to each his or her own. Your loss if you can't appreciate him.
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let me disagree, please. written by Guest,
May 30, 2005
Before judging the quality of the article, one should think of the public it is aiming at. Even tough this article looks a bit superficial and surely does not make justice to Chico’s talent; one should consider that Americans are unaware of Chico’s existence. Thus, there is no much sense in presenting an “in-deep” analysis of him or his works here, I guess.
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Kal written by Guest,
June 12, 2005
I agree with the comment above mine. For someone who knows of Chico Buarque, this is all basic knowledge. But for someone who has never listened to Chico or even Brasilian music at all, this is a good introduction. Thank you Clara.
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... written by Guest,
June 15, 2005
I agree with you. Clara gave an excellent introduction of Chico Buarque, making readers (at least she made me) interested in getting to know the artist. I love Brazilian music, but have been introduced only to the bossa nova team and I see there is much more to explore. So thank you Clara for your sensitive and touching piece on Chico Buarque.
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Chico is great written by Guest,
June 15, 2005
I know nothing about Chico Buarque's lyrics but I certainly know about the beauty of his songs. They are quite amazing and so is his book Budapest. I'm looking forward to his CD with Enlgish lyrics, then I'll be able to fully appreciate what I already love. I love all the information on Chico in the article, what a great introduction. Now I know so much more about him! Thanks.
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Amazing Chico written by Guest,
June 15, 2005
Just going through these comments after reading Chico's article. I think that person up there doesn't really know chico's work. Anyway, it's a matter of taste. But I enjoyed the article very much, a light piece with great information on this amazing Brazilian artist.
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Wonderful news written by Guest,
June 16, 2005
What a great introduction to Chico Buarque. I read his book Budapest and knew nothing about him. Your article kind of introduced me to a new world, Chico's world and I'm introducing myself to his music. Thank you, Clara.
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A songwriter, not a singer written by Guest,
June 16, 2005
I was surprised with the quality of Chico buarque's Budapest. I have apprciated his songwriting for a while, although i don't think much of him as a singer. The article illustrates traces of the artist's personality, life style and politics. Now I feel I know Chico a little better. Do you know if/when he is coming to the US, New York more precisely?
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... written by Guest,
June 21, 2005
Hey everybody, thanks for the feedback and support. As for when Chico will be in New York, I have no idea now, but his CD in English shoud be here by the end of the year. If I hear anything, I'll write about it. Clara
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Great Chico written by Guest,
June 24, 2005
I loved reading all these little details about Chico. Thank you for introducing me to so many different aspects of his personality.
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A chance for renewed inspiration written by Guest,
July 23, 2005
When will Chico write a decent song again? Maybe all that he needs is some renewed inspiration... Just right now he has his window of opportunity: a song about the "Partido dos Trambiqueiros (PT)" would do fine! For ol' time sake, let's chant the corrupts out of office, once again!
Chico Buarque de Hollanda was born in Rio, but spent part of his childhood in São Paulo. Born to a family of intellectuals - his father and uncle were writers - Chico belongs to the generation of artists who exploded in the 60s in Brazil, together with Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, a decade later than Tom Jobim and João Gilberto. 
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A pity he is not so well known in the U.S (even tough he is worshipped in Europe). However, unfortunately, we can pretty much say the same for all the Brazilian culture in general, which is seen, by Americans, just as an appendix of the HispanicMexican culture.