Belchior is a composer/singer with a successful career in Brazil. With more than 300 recorded compositions by himself on 15 solo albums, and artists such as Roberto Carlos, Elis Regina, Erasmo Carlos, Vanusa, Jair Rodrigues, Ney Matogrosso, Fagner, Ednardo, and Jessé, among others, his lyrics deal with social and existential problems while his music has very little of his northeast origins, being based mostly on pop/rock grooves. His father was a flutist and his mother, who taught his first musical lessons, sang at the church's choir. His home was also frequented by his uncles, who were very fond of Brazilian poetry. Since an early age, he was a "poeta repentista" (poets who create improvised verses, in the region of the northeast) and a "cantador de feira" (a singer of the popular fairs of the northeast). He studied choral music and piano with Acacy Halley, and was a radio programmer in his hometown. At 16, he moved to Fortaleza CE, where he completed college studies of philosophy and the humanities. In that period, he began to present himself on amateur TV, theater, and radio shows, becoming friends with Fagner and Ednardo, two other amateur artists who would become pop stars. Enrolling in medical school, in his fourth year (1971) he departed for Rio, abandoning the course. He became acquainted with Sérgio Ricardo and had his composition "Mucuripe" (with Raimundo Fagner) recorded by Fagner for the Disco de Bolso series, idealized and realized by Sérgio in the fundamental tabloid O Pasquim. The song brought them to the attention of important artists and would be re-recorded in the next year by Elis Regina (together with Fagner). Still in 1971, Belchior won the IV Festival Universitário de MPB with "Na Hora do Almoço," interpreted by Jorge Teles and Jorge Neri, which granted him the recording of the single through the label Copacabana. In 1974, he recorded the LP A Palo Seco (Continental). The consecration came with the second album, Alucinação (1976), which presented "Como Nossos Pais," "Velha Roupa Colorida" (later recorded by Elis Regina), and "Apenas Um Rapaz Latino Americano." In 1977, he moved to São Paulo to write the soundtrack for an ecological movie against the killing of whales, and released a third LP, Coração Selvagem, which had the hits "Paralelas" (re-recorded by Wanderléa) and "Galos, Noites e Quintais" (re-recorded by Jair Rodrigues). Still in the '70s, his show together with Simone brought 100,000 people to the Teatro João Caetano. In 1982, his album Paraíso (Warner) supported several rising stars like Guilherme Arantes, Jorge Mautner, Ednardo, and Arnaldo Antunes. In 1983, he founded his own label, Paradiso Discos, becoming partner with the label Camerati in 1997. His 1984 show Cenas do Próximo Capítulo broke new records of attendance while touring Brazil. In 1999, he released the double album Auto-Retrato (BMG), a retrospective of his career with 25 of his hits arranged by Rogério Duprat, among others. ~ Alvaro Neder