Pedro Oliveira(I)
- Actor
Pedro Oliveira was born blind, in a poor family in the poor Ceará
region, Brazil. He had to beg for a living.
When he was already in his late teens, his uncle gave him a fiddle, which he learned to play by himself - so that he would forever hold it in a peculiar position. With his older brother, who read poems to him, he learned popular poems by heart, some long enough to tell biographical stories in a popular way. He also created quatrains. He traveled through country markets and popular fairs and parties, singing his poems and stories, and playing his fiddle taking all the alms people would give him - small coins mostly, for his audiences was made of workers and jobless people themselves.
The 'Blind Oliveira' became well known in Ceará, and his repertory grew to 75 "rumances" (mispronounced romances), among which "Romance do Pavão Misterioso" (story of the mysterious peacock) and "A verdadeira história de João de Calais" (the true story of Jean de Calais).
As radio penetrated his backwoods country, his cultural services became less and less appreciated, but he was still welcome to anniversary parties, baptisms, and funerals.
His work was included in a long play disc, "Nordeste: Cordel, Repente e Canção" (1975), a digest of music from similar popular artists, and a volume of the Brazilean musical collection "Memória do Povo Cearense" (1999).
He was included in a 1975 documentary on Brazilean folklore, but possibly his largest audience out of Brazil was achieved with the feature film Cobra Verde (1987). Werner Herzog went to Ceará during research for his film, and was so impressed with the artist that he decided to start the film with introductory quatrains and fiddle music played on camera by Pedro Oliveira.
When he was already in his late teens, his uncle gave him a fiddle, which he learned to play by himself - so that he would forever hold it in a peculiar position. With his older brother, who read poems to him, he learned popular poems by heart, some long enough to tell biographical stories in a popular way. He also created quatrains. He traveled through country markets and popular fairs and parties, singing his poems and stories, and playing his fiddle taking all the alms people would give him - small coins mostly, for his audiences was made of workers and jobless people themselves.
The 'Blind Oliveira' became well known in Ceará, and his repertory grew to 75 "rumances" (mispronounced romances), among which "Romance do Pavão Misterioso" (story of the mysterious peacock) and "A verdadeira história de João de Calais" (the true story of Jean de Calais).
As radio penetrated his backwoods country, his cultural services became less and less appreciated, but he was still welcome to anniversary parties, baptisms, and funerals.
His work was included in a long play disc, "Nordeste: Cordel, Repente e Canção" (1975), a digest of music from similar popular artists, and a volume of the Brazilean musical collection "Memória do Povo Cearense" (1999).
He was included in a 1975 documentary on Brazilean folklore, but possibly his largest audience out of Brazil was achieved with the feature film Cobra Verde (1987). Werner Herzog went to Ceará during research for his film, and was so impressed with the artist that he decided to start the film with introductory quatrains and fiddle music played on camera by Pedro Oliveira.
