“Rio” sung by Luíza Brito, Jana Vasconcelos on guitar.
The influences on the early work of Roberto Menescal are clear. The sea, the bright Rio de Janeiro sky, and Rio’s South neighborhood in the 1960s. Born in a middle-class family in Espirito Santo state, he raised himself to be an architect. Still, he found music a lot more fun: music and the sea. I’m not sure how good he was at scuba diving, but for sure, he is an amazing music professional. Composer, musician, arranger, you name it. As a long time producer, he helped many young musicians. There’s one of his songs with explicit references to the sea and to his beloved city: “Rio”. In fact, this is the definitive description of Rio de Janeiro’s mood in the 1960s and, if one’s not suspicious, even today.
“Rio” had its lyrics written by Ronaldo Boscoli. Boscoli was a journalist, “bon vivant,” and somehow representative of the mood of that time in Rio de Janeiro: Everybody had to earn life, but this included having a lot of fun. It is difficult to figure out when these guys slept. Boscoli was an excellent journalist, but he was better at song lyrics. Besides that, due to his work as a music critic in newspapers and producer, Boscoli disseminated Bossa Nova in Brazil and later internationally. Boscoli and Menescal composed other relevant songs, such as “O Barquinho” and “Você.” As myself a “carioca” (people born in Rio de Janeiro), “Rio” is my favorite.
In this video, Luiza Britto sings “Rio.” She is not a well-known singer, at least as I’m writing. But I believe it’s a matter of time. She has a powerful voice, knows what is she’s doing, and has an amazing stage presence.
Enjoy…
Brazil Drops 