Carmen Miranda

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Carmen Miranda

Carmen Miranda on the cover of the documentary Bananas are my business
Birth name Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha
Born February 9, 1909
Marco de Canaveses, Portugal
Died August 5, 1955
Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California
Other name(s) The Brazilian Bombshell
Official site Official site

Carmen Miranda, pron. IPA: ['kaɾme͂j mi'rɐ͂dɐ], (February 9, 1909 – August 5, 1955); birth name Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha, GCIH) was a Portuguese-Brazilian samba singer and motion picture star most active in the 1940s.

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[edit] Life and career

Miranda was born in the small northern Portuguese town of Marco de Canaveses. Her family moved to Brazil when she was one year old. She went to school at the Convent of Saint Teresinha. Her very Catholic parents did not approve of her dreams of pursuing show business, so she kept them secret for years. In her spare time, she often sang at parties and festivals around town. To help pay for medical treatment for her sister, Olinda, who had contracted tuberculosis, Carmen worked in a tie shop and later in a boutique, La Femme Chic, where she learned to make hats. In no time, she started her own small hat business which became quite profitable.

She was eventually discovered and given the chance to perform on a local radio station. One thing led to another, and she pursued a career as a samba singer for 10 years before she was invited to New York City to perform in a show on Broadway. In Brazil, she was noted as a musical innovator, and was one of the first samba superstars long before her arrival in the United States. She also made six films during her career in Brazil.

Miranda arrived in the United States in 1939 with her band, the Bando da Lua, and achieved stardom in the early 1940s. She was encouraged by the United States government in her United States career as part of President Roosevelt’s Good Neighbor Policy, designed to strengthen links with Latin America and Europe; it was believed that in delivering content like hers, the policy would be better received by the American public. She was the country's highest-paid entertainer for several years in the 1940s, and in 1945 was the highest-paid woman in the United States, bar none, earning more than $200,000 that year, according to IRS records.

Miranda made a total of 14 Hollywood films between 1940 and 1953. As a singer, she sold more than 10 million copies worldwide [citation needed]. She was given the nickname "The Brazilian Bombshell".

Miranda’s Hollywood image was one of a generic Latinness that blurred the distinctions between Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico as well as between samba, tango and habanera. It was carefully stylized and outlandishly flamboyant. She was often shown wearing platform sandals and towering headdresses made of fruit, becoming famous as "the lady in the tutti-frutti hat." At only 5 feet tall (152 cm), these accoutrements made her appear almost larger-than-life on screen.

She was well aware of the tensions in her career. During a visit to Brazil in 1940 she was heavily criticized for giving in to American commercialism and projecting a false image of Brazil. She responded with the Portuguese language song "Disseram Que Eu Voltei Americanizada," or "They Say I've Come Back Americanized." Another song, "Bananas Is My Business," was based on a line in one of her movies and directly addressed her image. She was mightily upset by the criticism and did not return to Brazil again for 14 years.

Miranda did not drink or smoke until her late 30s.[citation needed] In addition to her addiction to alcohol and tobacco, Miranda regularly used amphetamines and barbiturates, all of which weakened her heart.[citation needed]

She died of a heart attack following an appearance on The Jimmy Durante Show. The A&E Network Biography episode featuring Miranda contained the tragic kinescope footage from her August 4 appearance. After completing a dance number, Miranda unknowingly suffered a mild heart attack, and nearly collapsed. Durante was at her side, and helped keep her on her feet. Miranda then smiled, waved to the crowd, and walked offstage for the last time. "The Brazilian Bombshell" was gone by the next morning; she was just 46.

Although she was addicted to prescription medications, Miranda did not use cocaine nor carry the drug in her platform shoes as documented in the controversial book, Hollywood Babylon.[citation needed] The official cause of death given on her death certificate was from untreated toxemia (later known as pre-eclampsia), and heart failure stemming from a pregnancy. Her body was flown back to Brazil soon afterwards and the Brazilian government declared a period of national mourning. She was interred in the Cemitério São João Batista in Rio de Janeiro.

[edit] Tributes

For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Carmen Miranda has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6262 Hollywood Boulevard.

Helena Solberg made a documentary of her life, Carmen Miranda: Bananas Is My Business in 1995.

Carmen's enormous, fruit-laden hats are iconic visual recognized around the world. Her image was much satirized and taken up as camp, and today, the "Carmen Miranda" persona is popular among female impersonators and drag performers. The style was even emulated in animated cartoon shorts. The animation department at Warner Brothers seemed to be especially fond of the actress's image; animator Virgil Ross used it in his short Slick Hare, featuring Bugs Bunny, who escapes from Elmer Fudd by hiding in the fruit hat.

Serious musical tributes and references are relatively infrequent. Brazilian singer Ney Matogrosso's album Batuque brings the period and several of Carmen's great early hits back to life in faithful style. Caetano Veloso paid tribute to Carmen out of love for her early samba recordings made in Rio when he recorded Disseram que eu voltei americanizada on the live album Circuladô Vivo in 1992. He also examined her iconic legacy of both kitsch and sincere samba artistry in an essay in the New York Times.

Brazilian author Ruy Castro wrote a monumental biography of Carmen Miranda entitled "Carmen after four years of interviews" , published in 2005 in Brazil. This book has yet to appear in English.

Visitors to Rio de Janeiro can find a museum dedicated to Carmen Miranda in the Flamengo neighborhood on Avenida Rui Barbosa. The museum includes several original costumes, and shows clips from her filmography. There is also a museum dedicated to her in Marco de Canaveses, Portugal called "Museu Municipal Carmen Miranda", with various photos and one of the famous hats. Outside the museum there is a statue of Carmen Miranda.

[edit] Carmen Miranda Square

On September 25, 1998, a city square in Hollywood was named Carmen Miranda Square in a ceremony headed by longtime honorary Hollywood mayor Johnny Grant, who was also one of the singer's personal friends dating back to World War II. The effort was spearheaded by concert promoter Jean Chakanaka and Carmen Miranda's grandniece, Cheryl Cunha, herself a songwriter, singer and performer who adopted the stage name "Miranda" and performs many of her aunt's songs in tribute. Brazil's Consul General Jorió Gama was on hand for opening remarks, as were members of Bando da Lua, Carmen Miranda's original band.

Carmen Miranda Square is only one of about a dozen Los Angeles city intersections named for historic performers. The square is located at the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Orange Drive across from Grauman's Chinese Theater. The location is especially noteworthy not only since Carmen Miranda's footprints are preserved in concrete at the Chinese Theater's famous collection, but in remembrance of an impromptu performance at a nearby Hollywood Boulevard intersection on V-J Day where she was joined by a throng of servicemen from the nearby USO.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] References

  • Tobar, Hector. Los Angeles Times, September 26, 1998. "City Squares Bring Lives Full Circle"

[edit] External links

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