Francisca Edwiges Neves Gonzaga, better known as Chiquinha Gonzaga was a Brazilian composer, pianist and the first woman conductor in Brazil.
19 Facts About Chiquinha Gonzaga
2.
Chiquinha Gonzaga's plays and operettas, such as Forrobodo and Juriti, were a great success with the public because they used elements of Brazilian popular culture of the time.
3.
Chiquinha Gonzaga's godfather was Luis Alves de Lima e Silva, Duke of Caxias.
4.
Chiquinha Gonzaga learned to read and write, do maths and primarily play the piano.
5.
Unable to withstand the life on the ship where her husband served, his psychological and physical abuses and humiliation, because he did not agree that she would pursue a musical career, Chiquinha Gonzaga left her husband and asked for divorce, a scandal at the time.
6.
In 1899, after decades dedicated mainly to her music, Chiquinha Gonzaga met Joao Batista Fernandes Lage, a young Portuguese musician.
7.
Chiquinha Gonzaga was 52 years old and Joao Batista Fernandes Lage was only 16.
8.
Chiquinha Gonzaga adopted him as a son in order to be able to live this great love.
9.
Chiquinha Gonzaga never admitted publicly her relationship with Joao Batista, which was only discovered after his death, through letters and photos of the couple.
10.
Chiquinha Gonzaga died in 1935, during the beginning of a new Carnival.
11.
Chiquinha Gonzaga was buried in the cemetery of Sao Francisco de Paula, district of Catumbi, in Rio de Janeiro.
12.
Chiquinha Gonzaga gave piano lessons to support her son Joao Gualberto, regardless of society critics because she was raising a child without a husband.
13.
Chiquinha Gonzaga was devoted entirely to her music, which was very successful, as her career grew and she became very famous as a composer of polkas, waltzes, tangos and ditties.
14.
Chiquinha Gonzaga composed the costume operetta "A Corte na Roca" in 1885.
15.
In 1900, Chiquinha Gonzaga meets the irreverent artist Nair de Tefe von Hoonholtz, the first woman cartoonist in the world, a bohemian woman from noble family, and they become great friends.
16.
Between 1902 and 1910, Chiquinha Gonzaga travelled through Europe, becoming particularly famous in Portugal, where she wrote songs for various authors.
17.
Chiquinha Gonzaga was invited by Nair de Tefe a few evenings at Catete Palace, the presidential palace, even against the will of Nair's family.
18.
Chiquinha Gonzaga was already very famous but very criticized by the society of her time.
19.
Chiquinha Gonzaga was the composer of the famous operetta partition "Juriti" with Viriato Correa, in 1919.