Cazuza

Crazy Life Life, 1988.

Vida louca vida Vida breve Já que eu não posso te levar Quero que você me leve Vida louca vida Vida imensa

Image description: The image is a black-and-white photograph. In the center, we see an individual with short, disheveled hair, looking directly at the camera. He is bare from the chest down, with his arms extended in front of him, forming a pose with his hands. The hands are open, with fingers extended. The background is light-colored, with small dark spots scattered throughout the image.

Immense, crazy, brief life... As he couldn't take it with him, it took him instead, at just 32 years old, a victim of AIDS. He was Agenor de Miranda Araújo Neto, known as Cazuza - poet, singer, songwriter, quintessentially carioca. His father, João Araújo, was founder and president, for almost four decades, of the important record label Som Livre. His home was frequented by the biggest names in Brazilian music, music was in the air everywhere. Born and raised in the heart of the bourgeoisie, Cazuza referred to his class with cutting words:

"A burguesia fede A burguesia quer ficar rica Enquanto houver burguesia Não vai haver poesia" He was a rebel with a cause, a bohemian, a regular at Baixo Leblon, defying standards, daring, inventing loves and pains. He didn't last more than a month in the communications program at college. He found his path in the theater course he took with Perfeito Fortuna and the troupe "Asdrúbal Trouxe o Trombone," at Circo Voador (back when it was still in Arpoador), where he raised his voice in public for the first time and never stopped.

Image description: This is a black-and-white photograph of two men in a setting with an audience. On the left side, we see a man with short hair, wearing a white shirt. He is smiling and looking at the camera. Next to him, further to the right, is another man with long, wavy hair, wearing a white headband. He is raising his right hand and appears to be speaking or singing. Both are standing in front of a banner with black lettering. The background shows a crowd of people, suggesting that this is a public event, possibly a musical concert.

In 1982, Leo Jaime recommended him to take part in the rehearsals of the future hit band Barão Vermelho with Roberto Frejat, Maurício Barros, Dé, and Guto. In the summer of 1985, after the band's historic performance at Rock in Rio, Cazuza decided to leave and pursue a solo career. He recorded his first solo album, Exagerado, which was a huge success. That same year, he discovered he was HIV-positive.

Breaking several taboos, Cazuza was the first Brazilian public figure to openly admit having AIDS and became a symbol of the fight against the disease.

The tour directed by Ney Matogrosso resulted in the album O Tempo Não Para, recorded live at Canecão. It was his greatest success, surpassing the 500,000 copies sold mark.

In 1990, Cazuza saw "the face of death, it was alive." He passed away in July and left his name deeply etched in the generation of young people of the 1980s and 1990s.

After his death, his mother Lucinha Araújo created Sociedade Viva Cazuza, which supports children and adolescents living with HIV. In 2016, he was honored in the neighborhood of Leblon, where he lived for much of his life, with a statue and a square named after him.

Image description: This is a photograph of two people smiling for the camera. The person on the left has short, curly hair and is wearing a shirt with floral patterns in shades of red, yellow, and green. The person on the right also has short, curly hair, wearing a similar floral headscarf. Both are standing in front of a background with floral patterns in shades of red and white.