Zé do Caroço [English translation]

On the local loudspeaker service

of the Morro do Pau da Bandeira1

It's Zé do Caroço2 who issues the warning

that there will be a shake up tomorrow

And the whole favela3 needs to be made aware of it

Oh how I wish there was someone like Zé do Caroço

in the Mangueira4 neighborhood where I grew up

So he could let people know once and for all

that Carnaval is not that kind of showbusiness

We're schooled in raiz, we're Madeira5

But it's in the Morro do Pau da Bandeira

In the real Vila Isabel6

that Zé do Caroço works

that Zé do Caroço struggles

And where he tries to make ends meet

And it’s at that hour when Brazilian TV

Destroys everyone with its novelas7

That’s when Zé puts his voice out to the world

He makes a profound speech

He wants the best for the favela

A new leader is being born

In the Morro do Pau da Bandeira

A new leader is being born

In the Morro do Pau da Bandeira

In the Morro do Pau da Bandeira

In the Morro do Pau da Bandeira

Lelelelê Lelelelelelelelelê

Lelelelê Lelelelelelelelelê

1. a favela, or shantytown, in Rio de Janeiro, that started to be populated in the 1950’s2. Zé do Caroço was the nickname of José Mendes da Silva, an inhabitant of a community in Rio (the Morro do Pau da Bandeira) who was dedicated to social causes in the favela. After retiring from his job as a police officer, he installed a loudspeaker to give news to the residents of his favela, since television was known to be an unreliable source with manipulated facts meant to delude the population3. shantytown. More than one million people, or 20% of Rio’s population, lives in favelas. Their population is increasing at a rate of 2.5% per year, compared with growth of less than 0.5% for the rest of Rio.4. another famous favela in Rio5. there are many different kinds of samba styles, of which samba de raiz or Madeira is considered by many to be the purest form of Brazilian music, and also the least commercial6. Vila Isabel is the Rio district in which the Morro do Pau da Bandeira is found7. Novelas are the famous Brazilian epic soap operas that are now commonly translated and shown all over the world… the reference here seems to be to how TV in general, and no doubt the news, spins tales that have little connection to the life on the favela.