By Lindenberg Junior
The Brazilian Carnaval in Hollywood by Ariel del Mundo makes a tribute to Carmen Miranda and has Actor Luciano Szafir as celebrity host. This year’s Brazilian Carnaval will be a mix of Drums, Music, Glamour, Dance, Celebrity, and tribute to Carmen Miranda’s 100 years of life as she was born in February 1909. Carmen Miranda was born Maria do Carmo Miranda Da Cunha on February 9, 1909, near the Portuguese city of Porto, Portugal. Not long after her birth, Carmen’s family moved to Brazil, more specifically in Rio, where her father was involved in the production business.
Just year letter after she leaves the school, she began singing on a local radio station and than wound up with a recording contract with RCA Brasil. By the year of 1928, she was already considering a genuine superstar in her adoptive country. Her cinema debut was in the Brazilian documentary “A Voz Do Carnaval” and two years later Carmen appeared in her first feature film entitled “Alo, Alo Brasil”. Carmen continued to churn out musical hits in Brazil, until 1939 when she arrived in New York City ready to capture American’s hearts with her talent.
After some musical revues on Broadway, in 1940 she signed with 20th Century Fox for the production of “Down Argentine Way with Betty Grable and Don Ameche”. In 1941, she team up again with Ameche and Alice Faye in “That Night in Rio”. It was after the film Weekend in Havana in 1941, that American cartoon artists began to cash in on Carmen’s ever-growing popularity. The cartoon version of Carmen came wriggling across the screen, complete with her trademark fruit hat and wide, toothy grin.
The success continues between the years 1942 to 1950 with “Springtime in the Rockies”, “Something for the Boys”, “Four Jills in a Jeep”, “Greenwich Village” and “Nancy Goes to Rio”. She just returns in 1953 in “Scared Stiff”, her final performance on the silver screen. On August 4, 1955, Carmen suffered a light heart attack during a segment tapping for the Jimmy Durante Show and a fatal heart attack during the day on August 5 when she was just 46 years old. Her body was flown to her adopted country of Brazil where her death was declared a period of national mourning.
The 25th Annual Brazilian Carnaval in Hollywood will have the presence of legendary members of the Guns n’ Roses band. The event is produced by Ariel del Mundo and will be held on February 21st, 2009, at 9 pm. 21 & Over with general admission $20. To be updated with Brazilian events happening in Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, and other cities in California, check our Calendar Page.
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