Río de Janeiro (Brasil), 1913 – 1980
By José Chrispiniano
Career diplomat, one of the most talented and popular poets of the Portuguese language in the 20th century, and a fundamental composer in the history of Brazilian popular music, Marcus Vinicius da Cruz de Mello Moraes wrote songs, poems, plays, musicals, film critiques, and chronicles. He recorded albums, married nine times, and became a symbol of Rio de Janeiro’s bohemian life.
A law graduate, he published his first book of poetry, O Caminho para a Distância, in 1933. Two years later, he wrote Forma e Exegese and won the Felipe d’Oliveira Prize. In 1938, he received a scholarship to study English literature at Oxford. In 1939, he married for the first time and returned to Brazil as World War II began.
According to literary critic Antonio Candido, his poetic work, despite adhering to formal structures of meter and rhyme—especially sonnets—was aligned with the ideals of Brazilian modernism through its colloquial tone, its connection to popular culture, and its thematic diversity, with love being the central theme. Among his published works are Novos Poemas (1938), Pátria Minha (1949), and Livro de Sonetos (1957). He wrote some of the most popular Latin American poems, such as Soneto da Fidelidade, which includes the famous verses:
“Eu possa lhe dizer do amor (que tive):
Que não seja imortal, posto que é chama
Mas que seja infinito enquanto dure.”
In 1943, he entered the diplomatic service. Three years later, he assumed his first post as vice-consul in Los Angeles, where he lived for five years and studied film. In 1954, he wrote the play Orfeu da Conceição, adapting the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice to the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. Two years later, he invited Tom Jobim to compose the music for Orfeu, initiating one of Brazil’s richest musical partnerships. Together, they were later joined by musician João Gilberto on the albums Canção de Amor Demais and Chega de Saudade, both from 1958. Jobim’s harmonies, João Gilberto’s singing and guitar rhythm, and Vinicius’ lyrics revolutionized Brazilian popular music, giving birth to bossa nova, a movement that blended samba with jazz, expanded the themes of Brazilian songs, and captured the modernization of an industrializing Brazil. “Garota de Ipanema,” composed by Vinicius and Tom Jobim, became an international hit and one of the most performed songs of all time. In 1959, Vinicius’ play was adapted into the film Black Orpheus, directed by French filmmaker Marcel Camus, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes and the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.
After the rise of bossa nova, Vinicius intensified his career as a composer and journalist, contributing to various publications, recording albums, and collaborating with Carlos Lyra, Pixinguinha, Chico Buarque, and Edu Lobo. In 1962, he composed a series of songs with guitarist Baden Powell, known as the Afro-Sambas, deeply inspired by the rhythms and themes of candomblé. He performed with João Gilberto, Tom Jobim, and later with Dorival Caymmi.
In 1969, the military dictatorship dismissed him from the Itamaraty (Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs). His popularity and bohemian lifestyle were frowned upon in diplomatic circles and among some literary elites, earning him the affectionate yet somewhat dismissive nickname “Poetinha” (“little poet”). In 1971, he moved to Bahia, where he composed Tarde em Itapuã with his new musical partner, Toquinho. Throughout the decade, the duo toured Europe and Latin America, and in 1977, Vinicius performed in Rio de Janeiro alongside Tom Jobim and Miúcha. In 1979, he suffered a stroke and passed away in July 1980.
In 1998, Alexei Bueno compiled all his poems in the book Poesia Completa e Prosa (Nova Aguilar). In 2001, a box set with 27 albums, Vinicius de Moraes – Como Dizia o Poeta, was released, bringing together most of his musical work. In 2005, filmmaker Miguel Faria Jr. directed the documentary Vinicius, chronicling the life and work of one of Brazil’s greatest poets.
