In 1955, São Paulo journalist Irineu Garcia started receiving records from small labels in Europe. Among them was one by the writer, André Gide, commenting on a piano lesson, and another by the poet Paul Eluard, both French, reciting his poem "Liberté."
"He asked Drummond and Bandeira if they agreed to be recorded record their own poems," said Gracita Garcia Bueno, the journalist's niece.
Thus was born the first LP of Festa, a small label that would later release dozens of essential records for Brazilian culture, both of literature and classical and popular music.
All of this content, which includes Pablo Neruda reciting "Twenty Poems of Love and a Desperate Song" on one of the first bossa nova LPs, "Canção do Amor Demais," is due to hit YouTube and the streaming platforms later this year.
The project is the result of a partnership between Gracita and Anete Rubin Mignone, daughter of the pianist and conductor Francisco Mignone, who featured in several Festa releases.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon