Buarque was born in
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 19 June 1944. He came from an intellectually privileged family background—his father
Sérgio Buarque de Holanda was a well-known historian, sociologist and journalist, and his mother
Maria Amélia Cesário Alvim was a painter and pianist. He is also the brother of the singers
Miúcha,
Cristina Buarque, and politician
Ana de Hollanda. As a child, he was impressed by the musical style of
bossa nova, specifically the work of
Tom Jobim and
João Gilberto. He was also interested in writing, composing his first short story at 18 years old and studying European literature, also at a young age. One of his most consuming interests, however, was playing football, beginning at the age of four, and he still played regularly in his 60s. Before becoming a musician, Buarque decided at one point to study architecture at the
University of São Paulo, but this choice did not lead to a career in that field; Buarque often skipped classes. , 1967.
National Archives of Brazil He made his public debut as a musician and composer in 1964, rapidly building his reputation at music festivals and television variety shows when
bossa nova came to light and
Nara Leão recorded three of his songs. "Apesar de Você" was overlooked by the military censors, becoming an important anthem in the democratic movement. After selling more than 100,000 copies, the single was eventually censored and removed from the market. At one point in 1974, the censors banned any song authored by Chico Buarque. Then, he created a pseudonym, naming himself "Julinho de Adelaide", complete with a life history and interviews with newspapers. "Julinho de Adelaide" authored songs such as "Jorge Maravilha" ("Wonder Jorge") and "Acorda Amor" ("Wake Up Love" as in a lover) before he was outed in a
Jornal do Brasil news story. Buarque also wrote a play named
Calabar, about the
Dutch invasion of Brazil in the seventeenth century, drawing parallels with the military regime. Despite the censorship, songs such as "Samba de Orly" (1970), "Acorda amor" (1974, as "Julinho da Adelaide") manifested Buarque's continuing opposition to the military regime. During the 1970s and 1980s, he collaborated with filmmakers, playwrights, and musicians in further protest works against the dictatorship. Buarque approached the 1983 Concert for Peace in Nicaragua as a valid forum to vocalise his strong political views. Throughout the decade, he crafted many of his songs as vehicles to describe the re-democratisation of Brazil. The Concert for Peace in Nicaragua was one in a concert series known as the "Central American Peace Concerts." These concerts featured various
Latin American artists. The political turmoil that plagued this era was expressed in many of Buarque's songs. He later wrote
Budapeste, a novel that achieved critical national acclaim and won the
Prêmio Jabuti, a Brazilian literary award comparable to the
Booker Prize. His 2017 album
Caravanas was named the third best Brazilian album of that year by the Brazilian edition of
Rolling Stone. ==Awards and recognitions==