Berenice Azambuja

Origin

Porto Alegre, RS

Years Active

1963–2021

Genres

música nativista gaúcha, música regionalista, jovem guarda

Instruments

acordeão, voz

Biography

Berenice da Conceição Azambuja was born in Porto Alegre in 1952 and built a remarkable career in Rio Grande do Sul's nativist music as a singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist. The daughter of a circus artist mother and a violinist father, she had early contact with music and received her first accordion in childhood, graduating in music theory and solfège at eleven years of age. In her youth, she broke patterns by adopting the chiripá — a traditionally male attire — as her stage clothing, facilitating her movements while playing the instrument and creating a unique visual identity that inspired future generations of traditionalist women.

Throughout her prolific career, she released dozens of records including vinyl, CDs, and a DVD, earning three Gold Records and national projection. Her biggest and most memorable hit was the song "É Disto Que o Velho Gosta", released on the album Romance de Terra e Pampa in 1980 and composed in partnership with Gildo Campos. The track became an anthem of the regional music of the country's south and was re-recorded by big names in Brazilian music, such as Sérgio Reis and Chitãozinho & Xororó. In addition to her work in regionalist music, she also joined the Jovem Guarda group As Brasas, As Carecas, alongside artists like Yoli Planagumá.

Berenice passed away in June 2021, in the city of Passo Fundo, after bravely facing a battle against pancreatic cancer and suffering cardiac arrest. Her legacy remains alive in southern culture, having paved the way for many female instrumentalists and singers within gaucho traditionalism, alongside icons like Elis Regina herself, with whom she even played in her childhood.

Discography

• Berenice Azambuja e os os Açorianos – Fogo de Chão (1975)
• Gauchinha Faceira (1977)
• É o Sucesso (1978)
• Canto para Mil Querências (1979)
• Romance de Terra e Pampa (1980)
• Tropeada da Vida (1981)
• Canto da Terra (1983)
• Vol 08 (1984)
• Achando que a Vida É Bela (1984)
• Xote Largado (1986)
• No Jeitinho Brasileiro (1989)
• Berenice Azambuja (1992)
• De Rédeas Soltas (1992)
• Um Pedaço do Meu Pago (1995)
• Mpb Regionais Gaúchas (1998)
• Quem Tá Mandando É a Muherada (2001)
• Dose Dupla, Vol. 1 (2001)
• DANÇANDO NUM SARAVA (2017)
• Chimarrão e Água de Côco (2018)
• Mulher Quartuda (2018)