13 Facts About Cartola

Cartola composed, alone or with partners, more than 500 songs.

Cartola was the oldest of eight children of the couple Sebastiao Joaquim de Oliveira and Aida Gomes de Oliveira.

Cartola was so enthusiastic about the "Arrepiados" that later, when he participated in the foundation of the samba school Estacao Primeira de Mangueira, he suggested that the colors of this ranch - green and pink - be the same as those of the nascent organization, which would become one of the most revered symbols in the world of samba.

Soon, another resident of Mangueira, Carlos Cachaca, six years older than Cartola, would become, besides a lifelong friend, his most constant partner in dozens of sambas.

Cartola led a life of vagrancy for some time, drinking and dating, frequenting prostitution houses and contracting venereal diseases, roaming the nights and sleeping in suburban trains.

Cartola was only 18 at the time they decided to live together and Deolinda left her husband, keeping their daughter, whom the composer would raise as his own.

Cartola became popular in the 1930s, recording many sambas, but prestige didn't translate into financial reward; to support his growing family, he worked as a bricklayer, fishmonger and cheese-seller, and his wife occasionally worked as a cook.

At 38, Cartola had a long illness, and shortly after he recovered, his wife died from heart problems.

Cartola stopped playing and composing; he moved with his new wife, Donaria, into a slum in Nilopolis, where he worked as a handyman.

Porto publicized Cartola's return, inviting him to radio shows and promoting his work with new partners.

Cartola invited people such as Nelson Cavaquinho, Pixinguinha, Nara Leao, Paulinho da Viola, and Ze Keti to sing the "low-value" music, as sambistas ironically referred to their work.

Cartola released his first record at age 66, in 1974; although he had financial difficulties, he composed and sang until his death, at age 72.

Cartola's lyrics are notable for their very correct use of Portuguese, especially considering his lack of formal higher education.