Transnational inscriptions of national music: internationalization of regionalist singers Trio Nagô

Abstract:

The article discusses the forms and effects of an international trip on the career of Brazilian popular musician group Trio Nagô. Formed in Ceará, carved out in auditoriums of radio stations and broadcasted in radio programs, live shows and album recordings, Trio Nagô was invited, in 1955, to perform a series of presentations throughout France. The short tour provides a reflection on the different inscriptions, in Brazilian commercial and symbolic spaces, of models of internationalization of national cultures, making it possible to understand them in a close, dynamic and complex articulation between local, national and international spheres. At first, the examined form showed two reaction effects: first, it fostered the circulation of a group that played a minor role in the popular music scene, easily perceived by the fact that their productions achieved a regionally situated classification, which did not prevent them from going abroad as representatives of the national culture; second, a return effect, that is, the trip metamorphosed this hierarchical arrangement, favoring the Trio’s notoriety and posterity within the national musical heritage. The analysis of the artists’ trajectory is carried out by examining Brazilian and French magazines and newspapers that publicized the events attributed to the tour.

Keywords:
Brazilian music; popular musical traditions; artists and musical groups from Ceará