Alzirinha Camargo

Alzira Camargo (São Paulo, December 10, 1915 – December 9, 1982) was a Brazilian singer. In 1935, invited by Sílvia Autuori, she went to look for an opportunity in Rio de Janeiro. She was hired by Rádio Tupi and her career began to take off. A year later, Camargo recorded her first album at Victor, with the march Fifty percent (Lamartine Babo) and the samba Você vai se Arrepender (Alberto Fadel, Germano Augusto and Kid Pepe). When she contacted Alberto Quatrini Bianchi, he invited her to perform in his chain of casinos, spread across the country. The following year, she fell out with Carmen Miranda, as she, shortly after recording the march Querido Adão (Benedito Lacerda and Oswaldo Santiago), traveled to Argentina and was unable to release the song on the radio. The composers then offered it to Alzirinha, who did the same meso style of Carmen, and she became successful. From then on, the two became rivals. Alzira traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina, alongside Benedito Lacerda's Regional band, performing on Radio El Mundo, in 1938. Back in Brazil, Benedito Lacerda composed for her the march My Dear Buenos Aires, recorded by them at Odeon. In 1939, she performed at the Cassino Atlântico with a North American orchestra conducted by Ciro Rimac. The following year, at his invitation, she traveled to the United States of America, with a signed six-month contract. Camargo remained there until 1949 and, in the following three years, toured the Iberian Peninsula, performing at the Casino Estoril, in Portugal. Back in Brazil in November 1953, she was hired by Rádio Nacional, for Paulo Roberto's program Gente que brillianta. She then returned to recording in 1955, for Polydor.