A book on the works of Cazuza
Lucinha Araújo gathers all of her son's lyrics and stories on the book Preciso Dizer Que Te Amo
Rodrigo Faour
02/04/2001
Over 100 thousand people purchased copies of Só As Mães São Felizes (or Only Mothers Are Happy), the book written in 1997 by journalist Regina Echeverria, which brought Lucinha Araújo's testimony of the relationship with her son Cazuza. Now, his fans have a new opportunity to know a bit more about their idol. Echeverria and Lucinha will put out a book that gathers all of his poetry on April 4th, when Cazuza would be turning 43 years-old. The book also features testimonies given by partners like Roberto Frejat, Ezequiel Neves, Lobão, Rita Lee, Arnaldo Brandão, Ângela Ro Ro, Gilberto Gil, Bebel Gilberto, João Donato, Dé, George Israel, Nilo Romero and Orlando Morais, besides photos, discography, awards and a brief summary on the NGO Sociedade Viva Cazuza - a house for HIV + children that Lucinha has run for ten years -, which will receive the full income from the book's sales.
Until last year, the book was supposed to be named O Poeta Está Vivo (or The Poet is Alive) - a reference to the beautiful song about Cazuza written by Frejat (his most constant music partner) and Dulce Quental
. "But I figured it was too obvious. Then I picked Preciso Dizer que Te Amo (I Need to Say that I Love You ), because it's about his parents proving their love to him", explains the energetic Lucinha, who managed to make music producer João Araújo, her husband and father of Cazuza, write a text about his son for the first time. He wrote the introduction of the book that features 205 lyrics and poems by Cazuza, among which 78 have never been released. "The goal is to make Cazuza's work immortal", states Lucinha.
One year ago she was promising 72 new lyrics, so she herself was surprised to find other six. All because she decided to open her son's wardrobe, which had been untouched since he passed on, on July 7th, 1990. "There was this wardrobe of his that I'd never touched. I would have to sit down and organize it, but I had never had the guts to do it. So one day, I wanted to give Regina a few manuscripts and she had to open it. Such a surprise to find new things", she says. Among the unreleased ones, Lucinha's favorite is called Tópicos de uma Semana Utópica (or Topics of a Utopian Week): "Ler da tua boca as palavras como fazem os surdos/ Sorrir com os olhos e com as mãos como fazem os mudos". ("To read the words from your mouth like the deaf /To smile with the eyes and the hands like the dumb").
But there are more surprises. When she was contacting editors to learn about Cazuza's royalties, Lucinha discovered re-recordings of his songs. "Codinome Beija-Flor alone had 22 versions. One of which is instrumental, made by pianist Richard Clayderman, and another in Italian, Soprennome Colibri", she cheers. "At the bottom of each lyric, I have included a list with all the people who have recorded it".
Paranormal contacts have never worked out
Mad about her son, Lucinha admits to having tried to communicate with him after his death. "I have yelled and screamed, asking him to appear for me. He's probably tired of it, already! (laughs) I have consulted people who claim to have paranormal powers, but I didn't believe in any of them. One of these people came up to me claiming to be bringing a message from him: 'I regret everything I have done!'. And then I know it is not him. With all due respect, my son was not the kind of man who would regret doing things! I would only believe if he called me a name that only him and I knew. But what I have experienced, so far, hasn't convinced me. Some people even send me lyrics, claiming to have received them from him".
One of the treats on the book is the introduction, written by João Araújo, who has written a text on his son's work for the first time. "My next challege is to make him write down his memories. Because João has been working since he was 14 years-old, and he's 65, now. That's a record. No other music producer in Brazil has enjoyed such a lengthy career", Lucinha says. After reading Cazuza's writings over and over again, Lucinha claims that her admiration is still growing. "I'm not ashamed to say that if he had lived a little longer, he would have turned into one of the greatest songwriters in Brazil. If he wrote 250 lyrics in seven years... what could have happened if he'd had a little more time?"
Until last year, the book was supposed to be named O Poeta Está Vivo (or The Poet is Alive) - a reference to the beautiful song about Cazuza written by Frejat (his most constant music partner) and Dulce Quental
. "But I figured it was too obvious. Then I picked Preciso Dizer que Te Amo (I Need to Say that I Love You ), because it's about his parents proving their love to him", explains the energetic Lucinha, who managed to make music producer João Araújo, her husband and father of Cazuza, write a text about his son for the first time. He wrote the introduction of the book that features 205 lyrics and poems by Cazuza, among which 78 have never been released. "The goal is to make Cazuza's work immortal", states Lucinha.One year ago she was promising 72 new lyrics, so she herself was surprised to find other six. All because she decided to open her son's wardrobe, which had been untouched since he passed on, on July 7th, 1990. "There was this wardrobe of his that I'd never touched. I would have to sit down and organize it, but I had never had the guts to do it. So one day, I wanted to give Regina a few manuscripts and she had to open it. Such a surprise to find new things", she says. Among the unreleased ones, Lucinha's favorite is called Tópicos de uma Semana Utópica (or Topics of a Utopian Week): "Ler da tua boca as palavras como fazem os surdos/ Sorrir com os olhos e com as mãos como fazem os mudos". ("To read the words from your mouth like the deaf /To smile with the eyes and the hands like the dumb").
But there are more surprises. When she was contacting editors to learn about Cazuza's royalties, Lucinha discovered re-recordings of his songs. "Codinome Beija-Flor
alone had 22 versions. One of which is instrumental, made by pianist Richard Clayderman, and another in Italian, Soprennome Colibri", she cheers. "At the bottom of each lyric, I have included a list with all the people who have recorded it". Paranormal contacts have never worked out
Mad about her son, Lucinha admits to having tried to communicate with him after his death. "I have yelled and screamed, asking him to appear for me. He's probably tired of it, already! (laughs) I have consulted people who claim to have paranormal powers, but I didn't believe in any of them. One of these people came up to me claiming to be bringing a message from him: 'I regret everything I have done!'. And then I know it is not him. With all due respect, my son was not the kind of man who would regret doing things! I would only believe if he called me a name that only him and I knew. But what I have experienced, so far, hasn't convinced me. Some people even send me lyrics, claiming to have received them from him".
One of the treats on the book is the introduction, written by João Araújo, who has written a text on his son's work for the first time. "My next challege is to make him write down his memories. Because João has been working since he was 14 years-old, and he's 65, now. That's a record. No other music producer in Brazil has enjoyed such a lengthy career", Lucinha says. After reading Cazuza's writings over and over again, Lucinha claims that her admiration is still growing. "I'm not ashamed to say that if he had lived a little longer, he would have turned into one of the greatest songwriters in Brazil. If he wrote 250 lyrics in seven years... what could have happened if he'd had a little more time?"