Friday, December 23, 2005
Aurora Miranda dies at 90
Aurora singing “Os Quindins de Iaiá” in The Three Caballeros
She was six years younger than her sister Carmen, not as brilliant but equally talented and vivacious.
She made her recording debut on 25 May 1933, at the age of 18 (Carmen had been 20 at the beginning of her career). On that day, Aurora sang Assis Valente’s marcha “Cai, Cai, Balão!” and Floriano Ribeiro de Pinho’s samba “Toque de Amor” in duo with Francisco Alves, Brazil’s greatest male singing star.
Three weeks later, she was in the studio again, recording a macumba by Pixinguinha and João da Bahiana. Another duo with Chico Alves came in July: Noel and Helio Rosa’s foxtrot “Você só... Mente.” Aurora was launched.
Her record company was Odeon, for Aurora’s principal competition—Carmen—was at Victor. During the rest of the decade, Aurora recorded 162 more sides, many of them enormous hits, such as “Cidade Maravilhosa” (André Filho) and “Se a Lua Contasse” (Custódio Mesquita), whose composers were her constant songwriters, along with Walfrido Silva and Assis Valente.
In 1936, Aurora appeared in the film Alô alô Carnaval, where she was seen with Carmen, dressed in gold-lamé top hat and tails, singing “Cantores do Rádio” (João de Barro/Alberto Ribeiro/Lamartine Babo).
In 1940, Aurora married Gabriel Richaid. Carmen gave the couple a trip to the USA as a honeymoon present, and before long, Aurora was appearing in American nightclubs and revues. During the war, when Disney was producing his Good Neighbor south-of-the-border films, he wanted to cast Carmen with Ethel Smith in Blame It on the Samba. Carmen was unavailable, and the technology wasn’t yet advanced enough for making that film, which would eventually appear in 1948 with Ethel as the only live character. But Carmen recommended her sister, and Aurora was cast in The Three Caballeros, where she shone in the Bahia sequence, dancing with Donald Duck and Zé Carioca to the tune of Ary Barroso’s “Os Quindins de Iaiá.”
Unlike her sister, Aurora preferred married life to her career. In 1951 she returned to Rio and settled down as wife and mother.
Aurora Miranda passed away at the age of 90 on Thursday, 22 December 2005.
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