Original composer Cátia de França has had her compositions recorded by artists like Elba Ramalho, Chico César and Xangai. As an instrumentalist, she has worked with Sivuca, Zé Ramalho, Amelinha, and others. She began to studying music very early, at 12 she was already performing piano recitals with pieces by Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven at the Teatro Santa Roza. She also studied singing, theory, and solfeggio, and was a choir member. With lyrics by Diógenes Brayner, she participated in her first popular music festival as a songwriter. In 1967, she became a professional composer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist. She followed a European tour with the folkloric group of the Manoel Bandeira Foundation. Returning to Brazil, she moved to Rio de Janeiro and worked with other Northeastern artists like Zé Ramalho, Amelinha, and Sivuca. In 1970, she recorded, for the first time, a double single with four songs which won a music festival in that year. In 1997, she released her first CD Avatar, with partnerships with the renowned poet Manoel de Barros. ~ Alvaro Neder