Manaceia

Origin

Rio de Janeiro, RJ

Also known as

Manacé José de Andrade

Genres

samba, samba de terreiro

Instruments

tamborim

Biography

Manacé José de Andrade, known artistically as Manaceia, was born in Rio de Janeiro on August 26, 1921, and passed away in the same city on November 10, 1995. He was an important Brazilian composer and instrumentalist, revered as one of the great pillars of the Portela samba school and a historic member of its traditional Velha Guarda. He grew up in the cultural environment of the Oswaldo Cruz neighborhood, experiencing the beginnings of Rio's carnival from an early age alongside his brothers, fellow composers Mijinha and Aniceto da Portela.

His musical journey in Portela began playing the tamborim before joining the school's composers' wing in 1939, where he contributed several samba de terreiro songs essential to the school's parades. Later, he joined the original lineup of Portela's Velha Guarda, a group famous for preserving and spreading the repertoire of Portela's patriarchs. His artistic work left deep marks on samba, being recorded and reinterpreted by major names in Brazilian popular music, such as Zeca Pagodinho and the unforgettable Clara Nunes.

Manaceia's legacy has been immortalized both by his songs and by posthumous tributes paid by the public authorities in Rio de Janeiro. His name is given to a street in the neighborhood of Madureira, a BRT station, and a state public school. Striking songs like "Manhã Brasileira" and "Quantas Lágrimas" cemented his prominent place in the history of national culture and traditional samba.