Amácio Mazzaropi's 109th Birthday

Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Brazilian guest artist Arthur Vergani, celebrates Brazilian actor, screenwriter, producer, and director Amácio Mazzaropi on his 109th birthday. Through his signature role as the beloved character “Jeca Tatu,” Mazzaropi used humor to address serious topics and became a fixture of Brazilian cinema.

Born on this day in São Paulo in 1912, Mazzaropi spent time as a child visiting his grandfather’s country home, which influenced the on-screen persona he later developed. As a teenager, the future icon of Brazilian comedy left home to work for Circo La Paz, a traveling circus. There he came up with the idea to perform as a hillbilly, embodied in Marazzaropi’s future performance as Monteiro Lobato’s character Jeca Tatu.

Mazzaropi produced content for radio and television for many years before appearing in his first film, “Sai da Frente” (“Get Out of the Way,” 1952). With his film career off the ground, and after several other roles, Mazzaropi bought Fazenda Santa, a farm turned studio that also served as the location for many of his films. It was here that Mazzaropi opened his own production company in 1958. Mazzaropi wove social commentary into simple language and covered important subjects to great effect, which caused audiences to flock to his productions for over 20 years. 

Interestingly, while Mazzaropi became one of Brazil’s most acclaimed comedic actors, he was also a major supplier of milk to Leites Paulista. Today, Fazenda Santa is Hotel Fazenda Mazzaropi, home to the Mazzaropi Museum, which has a collection of over 20,000 items.

Happy birthday, Amácio Mazzaropi!

Guest Artist Q&A with Arthur Vergani

Today’s Doodle was illustrated by Brazilian guest artist Arthur Vergani. Below, he shares his thoughts behind the making of this Doodle:

Q: Why was this topic meaningful to you personally? 

A: Growing up, I’d always heard Mazzaropi’s name here and there in conversations about Brazilian movies and comedy. As an artist myself, I look up to Mazzaropi’s work - in particular how he approached the public and how he dealt with critics.

Q: Did you draw inspiration from anything in particular for this Doodle? 

A: In the process of researching for this Doodle, I had the opportunity to watch a couple of his movies! It was impressive learning about his career, including his humble beginnings as part of a circus crew, and how he later created a big studio to produce his own work. It is inspiring to see an artist develop his work independently, while opening doors for other directors, writers, and actors to express their craft alongside him.

I was fortunate enough to also stumble upon the online archives of ‘Museu Mazzaropi’ (Mazzaropi Museum). They have a great selection of items, such as movie cameras he used, clothing, and many other objects. It was great getting a glimpse of his production equipment.

Q: What message do you hope people take away from your Doodle?

A: I hope people become curious about who Mazzaropi was - curious enough to read about him and watch some of his movies. It is always fun to understand where our ways of making movies and TV shows came from.

I also hope that today’s artists become inspired to keep pursuing their dreams and creating work that fills people’s lives with laughter and joy.

Early concepts and sketches of the Doodle