Luiz Gonzaga
Luiz Gonzaga do Nascimento (standard orthography 'Luís'; ; December 13, 1912 – August 2, 1989) was a Brazilian singer, songwriter, musician and poet and one of the most influential figures of Brazilian popular music in the twentieth century. He has been credited with having presented the rich universe of Northeastern musical genres to all of Brazil, having popularized the musical genre
baião and has been called a "revolutionary" by
Antônio Carlos Jobim. According to
Caetano Veloso, he was the first significant cultural event with mass appeal in
Brazil. Luiz Gonzaga received the Shell prize for
Brazilian Popular Music in 1984 and was only the fourth artist to receive this prize after
Pixinguinha,
Antônio Carlos Jobim and
Dorival Caymmi. The
Luiz Gonzaga Dam was named in his honor.
Gonzaga's son, Luiz Gonzaga do Nascimento Jr, known as
Gonzaguinha (1945–91), was also a noted Brazilian singer and composer.
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