The clothes and shoes to be worn on Sunday afternoon and evening were chosen the day before. Parties were a safe bet in schools, colleges, and workplaces. In the early 1990s, in the metropolitan area of Recife, nothing was talked about other than forró bands from Ceará. They filled concert halls in the capital of Pernambuco and in the neighboring town of Jaboatão dos Guararapes.
Among the attractions are Mastruz com Leite, Cavalo de Pau, Mel com Terra, Rabo de Saia, Capital do Sol, Banda Aquarius, Catuaba com Amendoim, Calango Aceso and many other bands who have made a forró that differs from the traditional “Pé de Serra” to which the Northeast was accustomed. What many people didn’t know was that behind the success of all these groups was a single person who was responsible for writing almost all of the songs.
Rita with accordion player Dominguinhos and her brother Redondo (with hat): partnership
Image: Reproduction/Social Networks
Shy and talented, Rita de Cássia composed more than 500 Forró lyrics, which were recorded by the most important bands and singers of the time. He also composed some melodies. The girl, born in Alto Santo, inland Ceará, was the 11th child of a teacher and an illiterate farmer who had twelve children. The one who would become known as the country’s greatest forró composer, Rita de Cássia, died last Tuesday (3) of pulmonary fibrosis at the age of 50.
The disease, chronic and still incurable, causes scarring in the lungs, causing tissue stiffness and difficulty breathing. Rita had been diagnosed about a year ago. According to the Ministry of Health, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis can be defined as a specific chronic form of pneumonia. Doctors assume that smoking, chronic viral infections or even exposure to harmful substances are among the causes, although it can be a hereditary disease.
News of the composer and singer’s death has left fans of the genre in the country in mourning. Social networks were deluged with tributes and messages of affection. Rita was admitted to the intensive care unit of a private hospital in Fortaleza. His body was buried in his hometown on Wednesday.
Alongside an unparalleled talent for updating the romantic soul of the Northeast in lyrics, Rita sang and played guitar.
Image: Reproduction/Social Networks
First hit, ‘Moonlight’
The daughter and granddaughter of accordion players, Rita grew up with Luiz Gonzaga and Dominguinhos. At home he watched his brother Redondo play the accordion at his father’s and he began to develop a taste for music. At the age of 7 her mother took her to the church choir and as a teenager she began to write her first lyrics. The works were kept in a notebook for a long time.
“Rita de Cássia is the greatest forró composer in Brazil,” says Emanoel Gurgel, entrepreneur and owner of the SomZoom Group, responsible for a long partnership with the author. “She had a tremendous talent for talking about love and telling people what they wanted to hear,” says Gurgel, who recalls that the composer initially thought no one would believe she wrote these lyrics.
Rita de Cássia’s first successful forró was “Brilho da Lua”. The song had already been sung by Rita herself, without claiming authorship, until she decided in 1991 to offer it to the singer Eliane, now known as the Queen of Forró. Success came the following year.
The singer Eliane recorded the first forró by Rita de Cássia that burst: ‘Brilho da Lua’
Image: Reproduction/Social Networks
sing on the phone
Eliane herself reports in a social network: “The year was 1991, the shy girl who came to me in Messejana to introduce me to some compositions. Ritinha spent the afternoon at my house with her guitar and presented her hits Lima to me and my beloved father Zé. She introduced me to ‘Brilho da Lua’, ‘Meu nego’, ‘Meu cowboy, my farmhand’ and ‘Sonho real’. I chose ‘Meu nego’ and ‘Brilho da Lua’. From ’91 onwards, every album has had classics from this star.”
After “Brilho da Lua” won the award for Most Played Song in Fortaleza, Rita saw another of her lyrics on the radio. At that time the band Mastruz com Leite recorded “Sonho real”. But it wasn’t until 1993 that she became nationally known with Mastruz’s version of “My cowboy, my pawn.”
Before Rita became known as a composer, she was asked by her brother Redondo to sing in the band Som do Norte. In an interview with the Mastruz com Leite YouTube channel, she explained why her parents didn’t want to let her sing: “The priest told Mama not to let me go because I’m very smart and I’d get lost in Forró. I went and started singing, including the songs I wrote, without saying I owned them.”
After the success of “Sonho real” and “Meu vaqueiro, meu peão”, Emanoel Gurgel asked Rita de Cássia for new lyrics for the next CD by Mastruz with Leite. “I didn’t know her personally, we just spoke on the phone and she sang me the songs of approval during the calls,” the businessman recalls. “One day Rita presented me with five songs and I recorded four. They have all been very successful.”
“Rita revolutionized Forró with romantic songs and a young language,” says singer Bete Nascimento
Image: Personal archive
“Greater in Talent and Size”
The owner of SomZoom says that the band Matruz com Leite alone recorded about a hundred songs composed by Rita. And that the production was such that there are still unreleased lyrics by the artist to be recorded, including a song that pays homage to Luiz Gonzaga. “Rita is the tallest forró composer in this country in terms of talent and height, as she was 1.85 m tall. I’m very sorry Brazil didn’t do that [em vida] the value it deserves.”
Rita amassed many friends and a legion of fans throughout her career. All lovers of the songs she wrote with mastery and simplicity. Singers, musicians and artists from all walks of life mourned his departure. The singers who, like Leite, Bete Nascimento and Kátia Cilene, spent most of their time singing Mastruz paid tribute to the author on their social networks.
“Rita was the first woman who revolutionized Forró with her songs with romantic lyrics and a young language,” says Bete in an interview tab. “He was not only a great composer, but also a great person. A friendly, happy and funny person. I feel honored to have interpreted some of his songs. They are eternal songs that cannot be missing from my repertoire.”
Culture Minister Margareth Menezes wrote that the artist’s death leaves the Brazilian Forró in mourning: “Rita de Cássia was one of the greatest composers of the genre. Her expressive contribution to our country’s culture will always be remembered.”
Federal MP and former candidate for the government of Pernambuco in the last elections, Marília Arraes, posted a photo with the artist in Recife. and explained about it tab: “I was very saddened by the departure of Rita de Cássia, one of the greatest forró composers and one of my favourites. I’ve been to many of their concerts. As a forró singer that I am, I know the vacuum of her departure will be filled.”
“As the Forrozeira that I am, I know the vacuum that your departure will leave,” says MP Marília Arraes
Image: Personal archive
series of achievements
Love, poetry, the cowboy, the fisherman, the sertão and the power of the sertanejos have been the inspiration for almost all of the compositions signed by Rita de Cássia. Among other Cearense hits are “Tatuagem”, “Barreiras”, “Eu, você eo amor”, “Steps in the sand”, “To live forever” and “Where the wise man sings” the one he considers his favourite denoted .
Even while singing with her brother in Banda Som do Norte, Rita continued to write lyrics for other SomZoom bands. The partnership with Redondo lasted 25 years and produced 16 CDs. The artist then launched a solo career, during which she recorded six CDs, some with vocals and guitar, an instrument she also played.
The artist, who lives separately, leaves behind two children.