Olga Praguer Coelho, Ambassador of Brazilian Folksong

Abstract

A novelty emerged in Rio de Janeiro’s cultural environment in the late 1920s, one that echoed all over the country’s main cities: young society ladies who dedicated themselves to the guitar and offered the public a repertoire of typical Brazilian songs. One of these artists, Olga Praguer Coelho, had a very prominent international career, carrying out tours in several continents. In the 1940s, she began living with Andrés Segovia, before taking up residence in the United States, where her performances were always acclaimed both by specialized critics and by the cultural and political elite. Coelho's increasingly international repertoire presented a choice of themes along the lines of folklore, songs from the oral tradition that she picked up and apprehended in a unique way. Her art was also known for the expertise with which she mastered voice and guitar in instrumental arrangements of great virtuosity. Despite standing twenty years beside and under the shadow of Andrés Segovia, Coelho managed to build a priceless musical legacy, unfortunately unknown to the general public and recognized and respected only by experts. Coelho revealed to the world the multiple voices of Brazil and Latin America.