{"id":101,"date":"2007-10-11T09:22:13","date_gmt":"2007-10-11T13:22:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/portuguese\/?p=101"},"modified":"2014-07-18T16:14:54","modified_gmt":"2014-07-18T16:14:54","slug":"asa-branca","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/portuguese\/asa-branca\/","title":{"rendered":"Asa Branca"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 1947, amidst a devastating drought in the Brazilian Sert\u00e3o<\/a><\/b>, two men wrote a song that has become a national epic. Many people consider this work, Asa Branca<\/b> to be much more than a song; it is a poem, an emotion, a history and a destiny.<\/p>\n

The cyclical droughts of the Sert\u00e3o have driven hundreds of thousands from their homes over the decades, most in search of work in the cities. The rapid urbanization of Brazil over the last century is in large part due to such circumstances. These droughts are so severe that farming becomes impossible; families starve and misery dominates the landscape – and the horizon.<\/p>\n

It is in exactly this context that Asa Branca<\/b> describes a young man, preparing to leave the Sert\u00e3o and telling his beloved wife Rosinha that his heart will stay with her, and that he shall return with the rain, whenever that may be. It is a heart-wrenching image.<\/p>\n

Asa Branca<\/b> refers to a bird, specifically the picazuro pigeon<\/em>, whose white wing<\/b>s spread during flight, contrasting against the empty, blue sky of the desert. The melody of the song imitates the flying of the bird on its uncertain journey, swooping and lifting, not knowing if it will ever return home. This is real Brazilian saudade<\/b><\/a> at its most intense.<\/p>\n

Luiz Gonzaga<\/b> and Humberto Teixeira<\/b> penned this classic in the bai\u00e3o<\/b> style of music, a popular subset of which today is forr\u00f3<\/b>. Gonzaga was the master of the accordion in this style of music and a true pioneer. His son, Dominguinhos<\/b> carries on the tradition; he is a virtuoso accordion player with a huge trademark smile.<\/p>\n

Without further ado, here are some engaging videos so you can get to know the song: 1) a video commemorating the history of the song<\/a>, with original performances by Luiz Gonzaga and in-depth explanations of the song’s concept by co-author Humberto Teixeira. 2) David Byrne and Forro in the Dark<\/a> made this music video of their interpretation of the song. David Byrne (Talking Heads) is a renowned Brasil-ophile, and loves Brazilian music!<\/p>\n


\nAnd of course…. the letra<\/b> (lyrics<\/em>) to the song…<\/p>\n

Composi\u00e7\u00e3o: Luiz Gonzaga \/ Humberto Teixeira<\/em><\/p>\n

Quando olhei a terra ardendo
\nQual fogueira de S\u00e3o Jo\u00e3o
\nEu perguntei a Deus do c\u00e9u, ai
\nPor que tamanha judia\u00e7\u00e3o 2x<\/p>\n

Que braseiro, que fornalha
\nNem um p\u00e9 de planta\u00e7\u00e3o
\nPor falta d’\u00e1gua perdi meu gado
\nMorreu de sede meu alaz\u00e3o 2x<\/p>\n

At\u00e9 mesmo o asa branca
\nBateu asas do sert\u00e3o<\/p>\n

Ent\u00e3o eu disse adeus Rosinha
\nGuarda contigo meu cora\u00e7\u00e3o 2x<\/p>\n

Hoje longe muitas l\u00e9guas,
\nnessa triste solid\u00e3o,
\nespero a chuva cair de novo,
\npra eu voltar pro meu sert\u00e3o. 2x<\/p>\n

Quando o verde dos teus olhos,
\nse espalha na planta\u00e7\u00e3o, eu te
\nasseguro, n\u00e3o chores na\u00f5, viu
\neu voltarei meu cora\u00e7\u00e3o. 2x<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 1947, amidst a devastating drought in the Brazilian Sert\u00e3o, two men wrote a song that has become a national epic. Many people consider this work, Asa Branca to be much more than a song; it is a poem, an emotion, a history and a destiny. The cyclical droughts of the Sert\u00e3o have driven hundreds…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[108],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-music"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/portuguese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/portuguese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/portuguese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/portuguese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/portuguese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/portuguese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5369,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/portuguese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101\/revisions\/5369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/portuguese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/portuguese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/portuguese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}