Until today, many female Brazilian singers have entertained us with their energy, personality and high-leveled technique. I am very satisfied with their performances. It's rare, however, to encounter with a voice which works directly on our imagination.

Here in Italy, you have a very unique voice: Maruca Rodrigues de Lima. A voice from Fortaleza (north of Brasil) , which directly influences on our imagination. Once I attended to her show with Banda Favela. After the show, I felt as if I had returned from a long voyage. The voice of Maruca was a guide to the virtual voyage. She sings with energy, techniques and original style, but she has more: absolute expressiveness, which stimulates our imagination. Her voice matches perfectly with all styles of music -jazz, funk, techno, samba, forro, baiao, old African songs. And it expresses everything - not limited to emotions like love or nostalgia - body, spirit, nature, space, passage of time and artificial materials. It is a messenger of universe - just like a modern Orixa.

Talking about Orixas, Maruca put the symbols of Orixas on the cover of her album "UTUKUTU". Is this just a coincidence? 
(Mariko Shiba- Japan



Biography Maruça Rodrigues was born in the city of Fortaleza, which is located in the state of Ceará, at north-east of Brazil, from a family with native-brazilian origins. Since her childhood, Maruça was devoted to music. Thanks to her unmistakable voice, she created an ecliptic and interesting combination of sounds able to involve and fascinate the most heterogeneous audience. Her musical way is influenced by sounds originated from the meeting of different ethnical traditions and cultures of her vast country. In 1977 she begun the study of the viola instrument and she started singing in choral music co-operating with many artists and musicians from all over Brazil. In 1991 she takes up her career as a solo singer with the concert "Mundana", achieving immediately a successful result from critics and public in Brazil. After15-year study of vocal techniques, camparing her style with various musical languages, passing by afro-Brazilian rhythms getting to classical and contemporary sounds, Maruça arrived in Italy in 1992. In1998 her first CD titled "UTUKUTU" was produced by Mr. Valeria Semplici (also producer of the Black Box group) and distributed by Materiali Sonori – Italy. In 2001 came out "VIA JANEIRO CARLINHA" in two different compilations ( HAFA CAFE Compiled & Mixed by DJ Marco "Polo" Cecere, produced & Distributed by Family Affair Distributions Srl, and GLOBAL HOUSE distributed by Self - Italy). The solo "VIA JANEIRO CARLINHA" is produced by Marco "Polo" Cecere for Jet Lag production. In 2002, the record company IRMA RECORDS has produced and distributed the new CD "O RITMO MISTURADO" where Maruça and her musicians (BANDA FAVELA) are collaborating with artists who are very well experienced and very well known in the world of Brazilian music. Through her way of singing and dancing during concerts and performances she is able to transmit to people the colours and traditions of her beautiful Brazil. You must experience. Banda Favela Great success in Japan; in their 1st tour, A Banda Favela filled Motion Blue in Yokohama with pure Brazilian sound from Minas, percussive Samba beats and a new approach from Italy. One of the highlights of their live performance is improvisation using many kinds of percussions from all over the world, heavy drums, guitar and bass, female and male unison vocals and melodious accordion. At the end of their shows, they played covers of Brazilian classics like Tristeza. Their performance made promoters and punters very much satisfied. From dance floors in Tokyo, the “Banda Favela fever” was transmitted to Europe, England, U.S.A., countries of Asia and came back to Italy. Now the tunes in Banda Favela’s album became repertories of DJs. Following this movement, compilation albums have taken up their tunes and remixed all over the world.

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Fiquem atentos às plataformas digitais!!!!
Em breve, nossos discos Expresso Gil e Um Gosto de Sol, com músicas de Gil e Milton, respectivamente, estarão por lá.

Formado na década de 1990, o Equale se destacou pela originalidade na interpretação da MPB, se apresentou em importantes palcos e registrou ótimos resultados em concursos vocais. 
Em 2000, o Equale lançou o CD Expresso Gil (Albatroz), com músicas de Gilberto Gil. O segundo CD do grupo Um gosto de sol (2004) homenageou Milton Nascimento. O álbum contou com participações especiais de Danilo Caymmi e do próprio Milton, que declarou: "É o melhor CD de música vocal que eu já ouvi". O CD obteve cotação máxima da crítica do Jornal O Globo.
Arranjos exclusivos e movimentação cênica são características que tornaram o Equale importante referência no meio vocal. Com Na Praia de Caymmi (2017) foi vencedor do 29º Prêmio da Música Brasileira (2018), na categoria Melhor Grupo de MPB.  O Equale é finalista na categoria Grupo Vocal no Prêmio Profissionais da Música, que acontecerá em novembro 2019 e inicia as comemorações de seus 30 anos relançando seus dois primeiros CDs nas plataformas digitais.

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