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Cazuza

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Vocalist

The Resume

    (April 4, 1958-July 7, 1990)
    Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
    Birth name was Agenor Miranda Araújo Neto
    Brazilian rock star and songwriter
    Leader of the Barão Vermelho ('Red Baron') group, along with guitarist Roberto Frejat
    Popular singles include 'Down Em Mim,' 'Todo Amor Que Houver Nessa Vida,' 'Pro Dia Nascer Feliz,,' and 'Menina Mimanda'
    Albums include 'Exagerado,' 'Codinome Beija-Flor,' 'Ideologia,' 'Brasil,' 'Faz Parte Do Meu Show,' 'O Tempo Não Para,' and 'O Nosso Amor a Gente Inventa'
    Publicly acknowledged to be suffering from AIDS, releasing his final album, 'Burguesia' (1989); Died in Rio de Janeiro at the age of 32
    Namesake for the Viva Cazuza Society ('Sociedade Viva Cazuza'), founded by his mother to raise funds for AIDS patients.

Why he might be annoying:

    He was a Bruce Springsteen wannabe.
    He claimed to have read Clarice Lispector's 'Agua Viva' 128 times.
    He was infamous for his pranks and wild lifestyle.
    He was known for cursing at his audiences onstage during concerts.
    He had a reputation for being chronically late for appointments and bookings.
    He drank profusely through his rehearsals (and was said to have been abusing drugs on the side).
    He sponged off of his parents and squandered their money.
    He took a college entrance exam because his father offered him a car, but he dropped out three weeks into the semester.
    His Bohemian lifestyle got to be so bad that his father had to create a position for him in his company to get him work.
    His band's album also was only successful in getting released because his father was talked into releasing it through his phonograph company (his mother also had a great deal of influence in the Brazilian music industry as a vocalist in her own right).
    He wore the same loud colored muscle shirts, vests, headbands, and bandanas throughout his career.
    He had a falling out with his Barao Vermelho bandmates over his antics (likewise, he was frustrated with what he perceived as their limited 'artistic vision'). He soon after left them to pursue a solo career.

Why he might not be annoying:

    Caetano Veloso called him 'the best poet of his generation.'
    He nursed a passionate love for Beat culture, which he picked up during his time as a student in San Francisco.
    He sold more than 5 million albums over the course of nine years.
    He achieved 11 number one singles and 18 Top 10 singles in Brazil.
    He took the hitherto unheard of step of announcing his HIV-positive diagnosis, helping to ease the stigma towards AIDS patients and the LGBT community in Latin America.
    He continued to perform in concert despite being terminally ill with AIDS.
    A period of national mourning took place when his death was announced, with thousands lining the streets to see his funeral procession.
    He won the Sharp Prize posthumously for Best Song with 'Guinea Pigs of God.'
    He was the subject of a high-quality Spanish-language biopic starring Marieta Severo, 'Time Doesn't Stop' (2004).
    He ranked #34 in Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Artists of Brazilian music (Oct. 2008).
    He's been called a Brazilian pop counterpart to Queen lead singer, Freddie Mercury, who would die from AIDS only a year after he did.
    One crucial difference between the two, however, was that unlike Cazuza, Mercury did not admit to being HIV-positive until the day before his death.

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 66 Votes: 45.45% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 32 Votes: 53.12% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 3 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 37 Votes: 83.78% Annoying