Germano Mathias and a legacy of our malandragem

Abstract

This article recovers the trajectory of the singer Germano Mathias, who became an exponent of samba malandro between the late 1950s and the 1970s. By focusing on his career, it is possible to advance in the understanding of the place of samba malandro in the cultural industry. In addition, the study of the singer work, from a perspective based on materialist cultural criticism, allows the discussion of the malandro represantations in Brazilian society, highlighting its violent character, and also points out the transformations of the idea of malandragem, considering changes in brazilian urban reality throughout the twentieth century, in regard to the local development of the capitalism. This last point is discussed based on the analysis of the lyric “Jerônimo”, by Eduardo Gudin and Carlos Mello, recorded by Germano Mathias in 1986, for the soundtrack of the soap opera Cambalacho, by Rede Globo.