February 09

Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha's Birthday
 

Carmen Miranda in her tutti-frutti hat in The Gang's All Here (1943)

Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha was a Portuguese-born singer/actress. Her family emigrated to Brazil shortly after she was born. Maria started out as a radio singer taking the stage name of Carmen Miranda, and in a few years became superstar in Brazil. Accompanied by the Bando da Lua, Brazil’s greatest star left countless fans crying at her departure for the US  in 1939 where she arrived as a a complete unknown who couldn’t say a word in English. Soon she was performing songs like "Mamãe Eu Quero", "Tico-tico no Fubá", "O Que É Que a Baiana Tem?" and "South American Way" to big audiences, becoming a phenomenon also in the States as allegedly the second highest paid artist in Hollywood.

Carmen made a total of fourteen Hollywood films between 1940 and 1953 and was dubbed "The Brazilian Bombshell." Her Hollywood image was was carefully stylized and outlandishly flamboyant. She was often shown wearing platform sandals and towering headdresses made of fruit, becoming famous as "the lady in the tutti-frutti hat." In 1945, Carmen Miranda was the highest-paid woman in the US But she was also increasingly trapped, as the roles grew more caricaturish and the hats reached unparalleled heights of camp craziness in films like The Gang's All Here (1943).

During a visit to Brazil in 1940, Carmen was heavily criticized for giving in to American commercialism and projecting a false image of Brazil. She responded with the Portuguese language song "Disseram que Voltei Americanizada," or "They Say I've Come Back Americanized." Another song, "Bananas is My Business," was based on a line in one of her movies and directly addressed her image. The woman whose lyrics "Her skin is hot and dark, her heart beats for Brazil" seemed autobiographical was no longer welcome there.She was stunned and deeply hurt by the criticism and did not return to Brazil again for fourteen years.

In the later years of her life, Carmen, began drinking heavily, suffered clinical depression, overused amphetamines and barbiturates., and had electroshock therapy. On August 4, 1955, Carmen suffered a heart attack during a segment of the live TV broadcast of The Jimmy Durante Show, and nearly collapsed. She quickly pulled herself together and finished the show. Carmen died later that night after suffering a second heart attack at her home. Her body was flown back to Brazil where the Brazilian government declared a period of national mourning. Despite the controversy surrounding her career in her adopted Brazil, more than a million Brazilians stood on the funeral procession's route to mourn her death.

Visitors to Rio de Janeiro can find a museum dedicated to Carmen Miranda on Avenida Rui Barbosa. The museum includes several original costumes, and shows clips from her filmography. There is also a museum dedicated to her in Marco de Canaveses, Portugal called "Museu Municipal Carmen Miranda", with various photos and one of the famous hats. Outside the museum there is a statue of Carmen Miranda.

On the birthday of "the lady in the tutti-frutti hat," we suggest renting a copy of The Gang's All Here and enjoying a dish of tutti frutti ice cream.
 

Tutti Frutti Ice Cream

© 2011 Gordon Nary and Tyler Stokes