Silvinho da Portela

Origin

Rio de Janeiro, RJ

Also known as

Sílvio Pereira da Silva, Silvinho do Pandeiro

Genres

samba, samba-enredo

Instruments

voice, pandeiro

Biography

Silvinho da Portela, artistic name of Sílvio Pereira da Silva, was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1935 and solidified his name as one of the great pillars of Rio de Janeiro samba. Since the age of 16, he already paraded for the Grêmio Recreativo Escola de Samba Portela, an institution he embraced and which ended up lending its name to his artistic career, being also widely recognized as Silvinho do Pandeiro.

He marked carnival history by becoming Portela's first official singer, a position he held with distinction between 1969 and 1986. In addition to his long and notable stint at the blue and white school, Silvinho lent his voice to other important samba schools, acting as the official singer for Viradouro — back when the school still paraded in Niterói — and Império Serrano, besides having been crowned Cidadão Samba in 1970 and winning the prestigious Estandarte de Ouro for Best Singer in 1983.

In his discography, the release of his only solo album, "Silvinho e suas cabrochas", in 1978 stands out, as well as memorable participations in collective recordings, such as the album "A Voz do Samba" (1973). Active in the festivities until the end of his days, Silvinho passed away on February 8, 2001, a victim of prostate cancer, shortly after participating in Viradouro's samba-enredo contest for that year's carnival, leaving an indelible legacy in the history of samba school parades alongside fundamental names of the genre such as Clara Nunes and Paulinho da Viola.

Discography

• David Correa, Dedé da Portela, Mauro Diniz, Monarco e Silvinho da Portela – Portela (1993)