National Geographic Music (National Geographic)

Regarded as a spokesman for the rural culture of his beloved northeastern desert homeland, accordionist, composer and singer Luiz Gonzaga helped to popularize the humble country music of the Northeast of Brazil. Gonzaga nearly single-handedly modernized the folkloric music of the states of Ceará and Pernambuco, and evolved a new instrumentation that would set the tone for one of Brazil's most recent dance crazes: the forró. Part historian, part composer/performer, Luiz Gonzaga initiated a new trend by revamping the country sounds of the sertão (Brazil's vast, arid desert), becoming a fixture in popular culture by the mid 20th century.

Born in the state of Pernambuco, Luiz began his rural upbringing as a farmer with his family while he developed his mastery on the button accordion. Inspired by the Robin Hood-like tales of legendary outlaw Lampião, a bandit-hero and noted accordionist who roamed and looted the sertão, Gonzaga pursued his musical career after a brief stint in the army.

In the early 1940s he played on the radio, and created a sensation upon playing the traditional music of his desert homeland, leading to the recording of two singles for RCA in 1941 that paved the way for his successful career. His 1946 recording of the seminal tune "Baião" (the actual name of a distinct northeastern folk rhythm) launched his evolutionary work in the genre and gave rise to a more urbanized form. His collaboration with co-author Humberto Teixeira took the previously folkloric style (which evolved from African-derived circle dances) and expanded it rhythmically, harmonically and instrumentally. The new baião instrumentation featured the accordion along with the zabumba bass drum and a triangle, and produced a livelier and funkier version which captivated audiences throughout Brazil. Gonzaga also popularized other folk dance rhythms including the xote, the coco and the xaxado, and over time all of these styles would come too be known as forró.

While Gonzaga's songs couldn't compete against the furor of the bossa nova era, his music and career witnessed a come-back in the 1980s as MPB artists such as Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso began recording new versions of his compositions. Approaching his 70s, Luiz Gonzaga enjoyed a resurgence of popularity while touring throughout the country as well as internationally, and was mourned by all of Brazil upon his passing in 1989. His legacy as a pioneering artist and historian of his northeastern music paved the way for many young musicians eager to share the wealth of the country's desert sound.