Brazzil

Carmen miranda was not Brasilian
"The most celebrated Brazilian of all times"
Carmen miranda was born in Portugal

She was portuguese, but portrayed herself as brazilian, used the brazilian accent, and of course had a brazilian heart! Sho is IS brazilian. And you shutup!

Very few people under the age of 50 outside Latin America know who she is - there are many more celebrated Brazilians such as Pele, Ronaldo and a dozen other footballers. Most people wouldn't know Carmen Miranda from Carmina Burana!

I have just finished watching the DVD "Bananas Is My Business" and feel very sad about the way Carmen was treated. Her Portuguese heritage was always acknowledged but she was a Brasilian and never denied that.

The critical Brasilian journalists of her time were just whingers and represented the sentiments of the wealthy who despised the samba and other musical influences of the poor.

Recently Ivete Sangalo sang a Carmen Miranda song in her Bahia concert (recorded on DVD) and I doubt if more than a handful of the youth in the audience of thousands that night knew who she was even talking about as she introduced "Chica Chica Boom Chic".
Pele, Ronaldo, Ronalinho? Yes - all famous. But great footballers are a dime a dozen in Brasil and Brasil will always churn out these sport stars in the future.

But only one Brasilian entertained was courageous enough to conquer the western world with her unique talents and enthusiasm. She was also a great ambassador for Brasil and brought Brasil and Latin America to the attention and interest of the western world at a time when it was virtually unknown.

Famous Brasilian artists are famous only within Brasil and virtually unknown outside of Brasil. I have tried in vain to describe to my english-speaking friends the incredible musicians of Brasil. "I have never heard of them" is a standard response. Ivete Sangalo, Ana Carolina and others could never do what Carmen did. Caetano Veloso, brilliant as he is, has had limited appeal in the west and has succeeded in upsetting foreign audiences with his song choices and languages he sings in. Carmen enthralled American audiences who loved the portuguese language in her songs - even though they could not understand a word. Ask any foreigner who the famous Brasilian singers or actors are? You will get a blank look in reply. This tells you much about the Brasilian mentality about other countries. Brasil is so large that it is a world within itself. Why would I ever need to learn English? Why would I eever need to travel to another country. I have all I need in Brasil. Such isolationist thinking! Yet Brasilians are critical of their own who succeed overseas if they fail to acknowledge Brasil publically each day and periodically with return visits! My goodness! Poor Carmen had hope of pleasing only one sector of Brasilian society - the poorer sector. The arrogant upper class and the intellectual journalists were to too snobbish and committed to journalistic criticism.

The history of Carmen needs to be re-written for this generations of Brasilians to appreciate the truth of Carmen´s life. Wonderful, Incredible, Adventurous and Tragic are just a few words to describe her life.

Her personality portrayed the true Brasilian - one who has a life of constant inner suffering - but who resolutely maintains a smile and positive thinking through songs and friendship.

I agree with a lot of what you say, but not to know how much Brazilian music is appreciated all over the world is very surprising to say the least. New York's background music is bossa nova and everybody loves Tom, Joao Gilberto and all the bossa icons. Many people today know Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil and Milton Nascimento. Anyone with a minimal knowledge of music will agree that American and Brazilian are the most sophisticated and appreciated music in the world today, maybe because of the similar multicultural heritage and the predominant African influence.

I am a 45 year old African American woman who grew up watching Carmen Miranda in films and think that the Chiquita Banana slogan was based on her persona. I even have a vintage ceramic vase of Carmen Miranda that I purchased for $250.00 in 1989 from some guys in San Francisco who design movie sets. Carmen was a wonderful performer and person and she had a tragic life as did most minority performers during her time such as Dorothy Dandridge,Lena Horne,Sammy Davis Jr.,Harry Belafonte and Sidney Poitier. White audiences didn't always know how to respond to non-white characters in cinema and often relagated them to maids or entertainment figures that were written out of the script. Of course a lot of white actresses weren't appreciated either and a lot of them like Marilyn Monroe burned out before even Dorothy Dandrige did.

I think the younger generation needs to know more about performers like Carmen Miranda who opened doors in Hollywood and made it possible for other Latin or South American actors to have more opportunities than she herself did due to the fact that she came along at a much racist time. Halle Berry did a great job in bringing the accomplishments of Dorothy Dandrige to a younger Black audience so that they could know who she was and appreciate Dorothy's talents. Also, a lot of African American performers and Latin performers formed close bonds and friendships with each other in racist Hollywood. Carmen,herself always loved and visited the Nicholas brothers frequently as she stated in her biography that she could share a good meal and discuss the racism that existed in Hollywood since they could relate to her. Desi Arnaz often had Dorothy Dandrige sing in his band when his own singer got sick paving the way for Dorothy to perform in posh nightclubs like the Wardolf Astoria and the Mocambo.