Chiquinha Gonzaga’s 171st Birthday

Born on this day in Rio de Janeiro in, 1847, Francisca Edwiges Neves Gonzaga (famously known as Chiquinha Gonzaga) showed an affinity for music from childhood. Playing the piano by age 11, she studied music with the maestro Elias Álvares Lobo. When she was 16, her parents insisted she enter an arranged marriage, which ended after her husband insisted she devote herself either to him or to music. At a time when independent women faced major social pressure, Gonzaga sacrificed everything to follow her musical ambitions. She would go on to become the first female conductor in South America and one of the most important figures in Brazilian music history.

For a woman to make a living as a professional musician in nineteenth-century Brazil was unheard of, but Gonzaga persisted, composing 77 operettas and more than 2,000 songs. “Atraente,” published in 1881, may be her best-loved composition, ushering in a sound that would come to be known as “choro.” With her peerless piano skills and gift for improvisation, Gonzaga pioneered this upbeat blend of jazz, waltz, polka, and Afro-Brazilian beats.

On January 17, 1885, Gonzaga made her debut as a conductor with her piece, “Palhares Ribeiro, A Corte na Roça.” Despite the popularity of her music, Gonzaga faced resistance as a woman in a male-dominated business. Often performing with a group headed by her close friend, the flutist Joaquim Antônio da Silva Callado Jr., and including her son João Gualberto on clarinet, Gonzaga managed to thrive in the face of adversity, inspiring others to follow in her footsteps.

During the late 1880s Gonzaga threw her support behind the abolitionist movement, selling her sheet music to raise funds, she paid for the freedom of the enslaved musician Zé Flauta. Her 1899 Carnival march “O abre alas!” (Open Wings) was an homage to freedom. In 1917 she co-founded the artists’ rights society SBAT to ensure that songwriters received a fair share of income from their compositions.

Gonzaga’s legacy lives on as one of Brazil’s most celebrated musical legends. She broke down barriers and directly impacted the development of music in her homeland. Fittingly, Gonzaga’s birthday is now the official National Day of Brazilian Popular Music (Dia da Música Popular Brasileira).

Feliz aniversário Chiquinha Gonzaga!