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CAZUZA: A LITERARY CELEBRATION OF HIS LIFE AND WORKS
Lucinha Araújo releases, in Brazil, a book that compiles the full works of her late son, Brazilian rock poet Cazuza, who died in consequence of AIDS in 1990. Readers will probably remember that not long ago, this writer published a long article here on the late Cazuza, who was the poet of the eighties for the young people of Brazil, his native land.
His music is still celebrated today . All of his records are still available everywhere in Brazil. He was a tireless poet, and never stopped writing from the moment he discovered his muse at the early age of seventeen. Such an inability to stop was what motivated his last work, the double LP "Burguesia"(Burgeoise), released shortly before his demise, at the untimely age of 34. Some of his previously unreleased poems were later put into music by his longtime musical partner Frejat, and recorded by reputable Brazilian performers, such Ney Matogrosso and Cassia Eller. This week, all those unreleased poems will be made public. His mother, with the collaboration of journalists Regina Echeverria(who also co-wrote Cazuza's bio with Lucia Araujo) and Mauro Ferreira, painstakingly compiled every single one of Cazuza's writings – including over 78 that had never been released before - spanning from his teenage works to his deathbed texts, interviews that he gave nationwide and statements from his friends and musical partners, such as Frejat(who played with Cazuza in Barão Vermelho, the rock band he joined in 1981 and left four years later), Rita Lee(who put music to his last composition) and record producer and journalist Ezequiel Neves. The book, named Eu Preciso Dizer Que Te Amo (I Need To Say I Love You, after a song written with Bebel Gilberto and Dé) is, in Lucia Araújo's words, "a definitive release, " She also stated that there was nothing left to print, since she had already scavenged all of Cazuza's writings, which were scattered among his personal files. She also performed an extensive research of all of her son's statements to the Brazilian press, leaving no stone unturned and no file unopened until she was sure she had everything. Eu Preciso Dizer Que Te Amo was scheduled for release on April 04, 2001 in Rio de Janeiro. On that date, Cazuza would have turned 43 years old were he alive. Sadly, no one knows if the book will ever see international release. After all, Só As Mães São Felizes was never published outside Brazil, in spite of the efforts to do so. Editora Globo, the editorial company that is part of the huge Globo Network in Brazil, released ,on their website (http://www.globo.com), some of Cazuza's previously unseen poems that will be in the book. One of them, Brazilian Prayer, was written in English, shortly after his illness got into its final stages. We reproduce it below: Brazilian Prayer (Cazuza – 1989) I've been following you Since I was Born Counting my fingers Facing the fears I've been so anxious And sad You must believe, it's serious All my days are like Cruel rainy days in the hot summer And it hurts me, baby Hurts like a knife in my eyes Like a shot of sadness I'm really crazy Living without tenderness Nobody even looks at me I've been following you, baby Since I was born In this fucking world I come to know you Understand me Trust me Project me Have pity on me (Ed. Warner Chappell) Lucia Araújo still has one more project on the way. It will be a CD with a selection of some of those poems put into music by his old song writing partners and sung by Ney Matogrosso, who was for some time Cazuza's male lover and later musically directed most of his live shows. All proceeds of the sale of Eu Preciso Dizer Que Te Amo, as well as all rights from Cazuza's songs and also of Mrs. Araujo's book fund, along with private donations, the programs of The Viva Cazuza Society. Information about how to help the society is available at their website, at http://www.vivacazuza.org.br Ernest Barteldes Staten Island, NY A writer needs feedback in order to write properly.
Please send feedback to: ebarteldes@nycny.net
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richard e. schiff,
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At that time, I was
fortunate enough to interview (online) his mother, Lucinha Araújo, who
founded and runs the Viva Cazuza Society, which is dedicated to helping
HIV-Positive individuals and increasing AIDS awareness not only in Rio
de Janeiro, but nationally . She also published, in 1997, a biography of
her son entitled Só As Mães São Felizes (Only Mothers Are Happy) , which
reached the top of the bestseller lists in Brazil. Cazuza, whose birth
name was Agenor de Miranda Araújo, passed away in 1990 from AIDS-
related causes(a passing that saddened the nation) after releasing five
solo albums in addition to three others with the band he started his
career in, Barão Vermelho(Red Baron). 
