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A Brazilian samba star says goodbye: ‘I’ve fought a lot, but I also think we need to live’
Neguinho da Beija-Flor, 75, is the most recognisable voice in Rio de Janeiro’s elite carnival league and has led 50 consecutive parades for the same school
Photograph: Ian Cheibub/GuardianDuring the 70–80 minutes of a school’s parade, it is the singer’s job to maintain the energy of the massive audience – which can be almost twice the size of the crowd at Maracanã soccer stadium – repeatedly chanting the year’s samba-enredo theme song in an endless loop. Born Luiz Antônio Feliciano in Nova Iguaçu, a poverty-stricken city in the greater Rio area, he started singing for a local samba bloco at age 22 when he was a member of the air force. Throughout his half-century career, Neguinho has only ever sung for one school, a consistency nearly unthinkable in today’s increasingly professionalised carnival, where artists switch groups as quickly as football players change clubs.
Or read this on The Guardian