Aquarela do Brasil, known in English as Brazil, is a samba written by Ary Barroso in 1939. The title, Watercolor of Brazil, reflects Barroso’s rainy night inspiration and his desire to celebrate the country’s wealth and beauty rather than its tragedies. It was first recorded and released in August 1939 by Francisco Alves with Radamés Gnattali and his orchestra for Odeon Records. The tune rose to worldwide fame after being featured in Disney’s 1942 film Saludos Amigos, sung by Aloísio de Oliveira, and it later gained an English version with lyrics by Bob Russell. Over the years it has been recorded by many artists across genres, including Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra in 1942, Xavier Cugat in 1943, Frank Sinatra in 1957, Elis Regina in 1969, and The Ritchie Family in 1975, and it is considered one of the 20 most recorded songs of all time. The song helped inaugurate the samba-exaltação movement with its patriotic tone, a development that sparked political controversy during Getúlio Vargas’s era; Barroso’s defenders point out he also wrote anti Nazi songs. Its enduring popularity extends to film and television, notably Terry Gilliam’s Brazil (1985), and the 2009 Grammy Hall of Fame induction for the 1942 Jimmy Dorsey recording.
