Diva. Di-va n. pl. divas [It, lit., goddess, fr. L, fem. of divus, divine, god—more at DEITY] (1883): Prima Donna. Thus, the dictionary describes what we know as the great female singer who dominates our culture. Brazil has had her share of these goddesses, and Brazzil is taking this opportunity to take a closer look at these ladies. A new generation of these great ladies of song is growing up, but we would be doing an immense disservice to the listeners of today, if we left out those that came before and created the tradition of the Brazilian DIVA.
CARMEN MIRANDA (1909-1955)
The Lady with the Tutti Frutti Hat.
Carmen was born Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha on February 9, 1909 in Marco de Canavezes, Província de Beira-Alta in Portugal. Thus, she was not born Brazilian as many think. She was still a toddler when her family moved to Rio de Janeiro, where she was raised in the carioca Bohemian environment. She loved to sing, something that cost her a job as a necktie saleslady. The manager of the establishment fired her for distracting her co-workers, who stopped working to listen to her sing.
Her début on the carioca stages was a success. Josué de Barros, well known composer of that era, perceived her potential when he first saw her. He resolved to invest in her career, paying for singing and diction lessons and even accompanying her to radio shows and record companies. This effort was not in vain. Soon she recorded her first record.
Carmen Miranda was a petite woman, somewhere around 153 cm (just over 5 feet). Consequently, she liked to wear very high-heeled platform shoes. For this reason, radio personality César Ladeira baptized her "The notable little one."

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