Daniela Mercury

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Lore & Background

Daniela Mercuri de Almeida was born on July 28, 1965, in the Portuguese Hospital in Salvador, Bahia. Her mother Liliana Mercuri is a social worker of Italian ancestry; her father António Fernando de Abreu Ferreira de Almeida is a Portuguese emigrant industrial mechanic. She grew up in the Brotas neighborhood with four siblings—Tom, Cristiana, Vânia (later singer Vânia Abreu), and Marcos—and was nicknamed 'drip-fire' as a troublemaking child. At eight, she began dance lessons in classical ballet, jazz, and African dances. At 13, inspired by Elis Regina, she decided to become a singer, building a repertoire of bossa nova and songs by Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, and Chico Buarque. She started singing in local bars in 1980 and made her trio elétrico debut during the 1981 carnival. In 1984 she enrolled in the Dance School at the Federal University of Bahia. A year later she married electronic engineer Zalther Póvoas and gave birth to Gabriel Almeida Póvoas, followed by daughter Giovana Almeida Póvoas in 1986.

Reader's Guide

Mercury's career took off with her 1991 self-titled debut album, whose lead single 'Swing da Cor' (featuring Olodum) became a number-one hit in Brazil. Her 1992 album *O Canto da Cidade* is recognized as the album responsible for taking axé music to mainstream audiences in Brazil; it produced four number-one songs: 'O Canto da Cidade', 'O Mais Belo dos Belos', 'Batuque', and 'Você Não Entende Nada/Cotidiano'. In July 1993 she performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Her later albums include *Feijão com Arroz* (1996), which produced number-one hits 'À Primeira Vista', 'Nobre Vagabundo', and 'Rapunzel', and *Sol da Liberdade* (2000), which yielded two number-one singles. She recorded a commemorative DVD for Cirque du Soleil's 25th anniversary, performed at the Montreal Jazz Festival, sang with Paul McCartney in Oslo during the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, and participated in Alejandro Sanz's DVD. In 2009 she released *Canibália*, which spawned singles 'Preta' with Seu Jorge, 'Oyá Por Nós' with Margareth Menezes, and 'Sol do Sul'. That same year, Camille Paglia said Mercury is the artist Madonna would like to be. In 2011, CBS named her the 'Carmen Miranda of the new times', and *The New York Times* praised *Canibália* for embracing Brazil's ethnic and cultural diversity.

Did You Know?

• Mercury was nicknamed 'drip-fire' as a child for being a troublemaker.
• She made her trio elétrico debut during the 1981 carnival in Salvador.
• Her 1992 album *O Canto da Cidade* is credited with bringing axé music to mainstream audiences in Brazil.
• She sang with Paul McCartney in Oslo, Norway, during the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony.
• In 2011, CBS named her the 'Carmen Miranda of the new times'.