Sertanejo Style Overview
Sertanejo Music Description
**Sertanejo is the main country music style in Brazil**, in of sales and reach. Born out of (what is now) called Música Caipira, it was formed by the mix of Iberian 10- string troubadour guitar traditions, Native Brazilian singing tones, African American beats (especially in sub-genre Pagode de Viola, as developed by Tião Carreiro, and southern American traditions (Fandango, Guarania, Bolero).
*The classic Caipira duo consisted of a solo viola caipira player and an acoustic guitar player. Occasionally an accordionist would guest.* Forerunners of the genre were Raul Torres & Florêncio, Alvarenga & Ranchino and Carreiro & Carreirinho. The latter one actually made the transition to the style's golden era when he briefly formed a duo with **Tião Carreiro, arguably the most innovative and important artist of the genre.** The 50s and 60s were the peak of Sertanejo Roots (Caipira), with artists such as Tonico & Tinoco, Tião Carreiro & Pardinho, Zilo & Zalo, Inezita Barroso (our Dame of Caipira Music) and Vieira & Vieirinha and composers like Teddy Vieira and Lourival dos Santos. During that period, frontier music from Paraguay (guaranias mostly) and Argentina (boleros and tangos) loomed large on Sertanejo. In the south, *vanerão*, a Habanera heavily- influenced style, played mostly with accordion and solo artists, was its own Sertanejo. **ALL SERTANEJO MUSIC RELEASED UP UNTIL THIS POINT SHOULD BE ADDED WITH CAIPIRA GENRE AS WELL**, except for vanerão. By the 70s, Sertanejo went through dramatic changes, **becoming electrified pop-based country music**, *with electric guitars, drums, and keyboards substituting the viola caipira*, even though the duo formation was mostly unchanged up until the 2010s. These changes, which marked the end of the Caipira era, were epitomized by hit-makers Leo Canhoto e Robertinho, whose dress code as "sexy long-haired cowboys" signaled the changes, the move from folk music to urban country. The apex of this pop era was during the 80s and 90s, in which the rise of Chitãozinho & Xororó, Leandro & Leonardo, and Zezé di Camargo & Luciano put Sertanejo at the top of the charts once again. Since then, **Sertanejo became even more fluid as a genre**, crossing over especially with **forró** (such as with Wesley Safadão with **forronejo**), US Pop Country Music and vanerão, as well as the rise of non-duo artists, such as Gusttavo Lima and Michel Teló. More recently, a number of female artists, led by composer and singer Marília Mendonça, also gave rise to **Sofrência**, a sub-genre that leaned into women's issues.
