Brazil celebrates National Choro Day

Today, April 23rd, Brazil celebrates "National Choro Day", a musical genre much loved by Brazilians. This date was chosen in honor of the musician Alfredo da Rocha Vianna Filho, our eternal Pixinguinha, the greatest of all masters of this genre. Since 2000, we celebrate National Choro Day on April 23rd because it was believed to be Pixinguinha's birthday, but recent research has proven the musician was born on May 4, 1897. Despite this discovery, the official celebration, in honor of Pixinguinha, continues to be on April 23rd.

Raised in the Catumbi neighborhood, in Rio de Janeiro, Pixinguinha earned his nickname in childhood: a mixture of "Pizindim," which means "good boy," and "Bexiguinha," due to the smallpox that affected him as a child. Pixinguinha's legacy is immeasurable. He was the first great orchestrator of our popular music, creating "Brazilianizing" arrangements for record labels and leading revolutionary groups like "Os Oito Batutas," who took our rhythm to Paris in 1922.

Discover part of Pixinguinha's story in the cultural bulletin of the International Service of Rádio Nacional da Amazônia. This content was produced and edited by journalist Ana Pimenta.