Aldo Sena

Origin

Igarapé-Miri, PA

Years active

1970s

Genres

guitarrada, lambada, carimbó

Instruments

guitar, electric guitar, acoustic guitar

Biography

Aldo Alves de Sena is a renowned Brazilian musician and composer, celebrated as one of the foremost exponents of guitarrada, a vibrant genre originating from Pará that fuses local rhythms like carimbó with Caribbean styles such as mambo and merengue. Alongside esteemed contemporaries like Mestre Vieira and Mestre Curica, he forms the essential triad of this regional guitar-driven music. His musical journey began in his hometown of Igarapé-Miri, eventually leading him to professional stages in Belém during the 1970s and a successful solo career starting in the 1980s.

Throughout a career spanning over four decades and more than twenty albums, Sena has released influential works such as Solo de Craque, Lambada Classe A, and Guitarra Tropical. His classic 1980s recordings and contributions to the seminal "Guitarradas" series helped cement the genre and significantly shaped the development of instrumental lambada. His distinctive style, influenced by northern Brazilian sounds, Caribbean music, and rock from the Jovem Guarda movement, has left a lasting legacy on subsequent generations of artists.

Sena's impact extends far beyond his extensive solo discography, earning recognition as a vital influence on prominent musicians such as Ximbinha and groups like Farofa Tropikal, Cravo Carbono, and Descendentes da Índia Piaba. In 2003, his participation in the Mestres da Guitarrada project, spearheaded by Pio Lobato, introduced the infectious rhythms of Pará to new audiences both across Brazil and internationally, including performances in Germany and Italy.