Hermínio Bello de Carvalho has had a multifaceted influence on the musical scene. A renowned lyricist and composer, he has written Brazilian classics via partnerships with illustrious personalities like Cartola and Carlos Cachaça ("Alvorada no Morro"), Chico Buarque ("Chão de Esmeraldas," Prêmio Sharp of 1997 as best samba), Maurício Tapajós ("Deixe Estar," "Mudando de Conversa"), Pixinguinha ("Deixe Estar," "A Harmonia das Flores," "Isso É Que É Viver," "Isto Não Se Faz"), Elton Medeiros ("Pressentimento"), and Paulinho da Viola ("Sei Lá, Mangueira" and "Rosa de Ouro," the latter also with Elton Medeiros). Carvalho also wrote more than 20 books, discovered talents like former maid Clementina de Jesus, Paulinho da Viola, Elton Medeiros, João Nogueira, Candeia, João de Aquino, and Vital Lima, and gave lectures about Brazilian music in several countries. He produced over 100 albums, including some by Radamés Gnattali, Dalva de Oliveira, Pixinguinha, and Elizeth Cardoso, and was the first to produce records by Cartola, Nelson Cavaquinho, and Carlos Cachaça.nnSince he was a child, Carvalho admired popular and classical music. He debuted his career at the state Radio MEC (Rio de Janeiro), writing educational musical shows. He published the first of more than 20 books in 1962. Two years later, with the opening of Cartola's bar Zicartola, which became a meeting point of the most important sambistas of Rio de Janeiro, he met several of his future partners, like Paulinho da Viola, Elton Medeiros, and Mauricio Tapajós (with whom he made his first song, "Mudando de Conversa"). Also in 1964, he started promoting concerts bridging the gap between classical and popular music, like the one in which he presented an until-then maid, Clementina de Jesus, accompanied by consecrated classical guitarist Turíbio Santos. In 1965, he produced the historic show Rosa de Ouro, which had the famous Araci Cortes together with de Jesus and other unknown (until then) artists, Paulinho da Viola, Elton Medeiros, and Nelson Sargento. The show was recorded live and yielded the anthological album Rosa de Ouro I. With Edu Lobo, Carvalho organized the show Feira de Música Popular, with Nara Leão, Paulinho da Viola, Caetano Veloso, and Torquato Neto. That same year, he gave lectures about Villa-Lobos in Portugal, Spain, and France. As director of the Funarte foundation, he implemented important musical projects like the Pixinguinha, which consisted of shows all around Brazil presenting new talents under the auspices of consecrated ones. ~ Alvaro Neder