Motinha e Nhá Fia

Brazilian country music duo formed by Mário Pinto da Motta and Nair de Campos Motta. In the 1940s, each of them moved to São Paulo in hopes of improving their professional careers. They met each other on radio stations in search of new opportunities while appearing in many circuses, one of which included Circo Piolin. In Motinha's early artistic career, he and his brother Silvio sang "moda de viola" (rural music) in the program Serra da Mantiqueira aired on Radio Mantiqueira in Cruzeiro, São Paulo. The program was such a success that they were invited to sing at Radio Bandeirantes in São Paulo on a nationwide program. Nair left the city of Paraguaçu Paulista to form a duo with her cousin, João Alves dos Santos, known as Nhô Pai - the author of the Brazilian hit "Beijinho Doce". Thereafter, they formed the musical duo, Nhô Pai e Nhá Fia. Mário and Nair got married and left their their former duos to create one of their own, Motinha e Nhá Fia. Becoming more popular, they took over the program "Na Serra da Mantiqueira" at Radio Bandeirantes. Soon after, they bought Circo-Teatro Recreativo, renamed Circo-Teatro Motinha e Nhá Fia and toured throughout the São Paulo neighborhoods. Their repertoire was filled with circus acts, dramas, comedies, chanchadas, and sketches without scripts. In 1952, when their first son (Marinho) was born, Motinha e Nhá Fia left Radio Bandeirantes and toured São Paulo for 15 successful years. In 1961, they decided to sell the circus to the couple Salim Miguel and Joana Maria Miguel (Nhá Fia's sister). The negociations were carried out in the city of Birigui, São Paulo, which is considered the "Pérola (pearl) of the northwest".  This is why the circus was renamed Circo-Teatro Pérola. Wanting to expand their career, they partnered up with the Beloube family - Joao and Iracema Beloube. Due to the new partnership, the circus adapted the name Circo-Teatro Romano Motinha e Nhá Fia. In 1964, they returned to perform at Perola for a short period. From Monday to Friday the first part of the repertoire included a theater play. The second had humor, ballet and a band. However, it was their son Marinho who stole the show playing a small four-bass accordion. Having success in this act, he won a star role in the film Maria 38 with Eliana Macedo in 1959. There were other attractions to be seen on the weekends such as chair balancing, rola bola, static trapeze, foot juggling, ladder acts, magic and clowns, as well as the theater plays "O céu uniu dois corações", by Antenor Pimenta, "O Ébrio" de Vicente Celestino, "Honrarás tua mãe", "O morro dos ventos uivantes", "O sinal da cruz", "O Tigre", "Maconha a erva maldita", "Mestiça", de Gilda de Abreu, "No Ceará não tem disso não" and "Creados modernos". In 1964, the couple retired and moved to Tupã, São Paulo. From there, they moved again to Santo André and finaly to Lages, in the State of Santa Catarina, where Motinha passed way in 1983. Ten years later, in 1993, Nhá Fia died in Florianópolis, survived by her sons and their families.

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