"We want to restore the image of Carmen, who has had an incredible impact on Brazil," says Fabiano Canosa, the curator of a Carmen Miranda exhibit being held at the Museum of Modern Art (MAM) in Rio de Janeiro. "Carmen Miranda Forever" marks (a little belatedly) the fiftieth anniversary of Miranda's death, and is being billed as the largest Carmen Miranda exhibit ever. Included are more than 700 items, including clothing and jewelry, old records, magazines, and photographs.
Born in Portugal on February 9, 1909, but raised in Brazil, Miranda appeared in Brazilian films and onstage before heading to Broadway and then Hollywood, where she became a Fox contract player. Her first film was Down Argentine Way (1940), and she — along with the fruit salad she often wore on top of her head — stayed on at the studio until the mid-1940s.
Among her most popular films, invariably supporting American blondes Alice Faye, Betty Grable, and (reddish-blonde) Vivian Blaine, are That Night in Rio (1941), Springtime in the Rockies (1942), The Gang's All Here (1943), Something for the Boys (1944), and Greenwich Village (1944).
Miranda died of a heart attack on August 5, 1955, a day after suffering a minor attack during a taping of the Jimmy Durante Show. She was buried in Rio, where her hearse was accompanied by a crowd of 500,000.
As an aside, one interesting thing about Carmen Miranda is that her rat-a-tat Portuguese is unlike anything I've ever heard, whether spoken by Brazilians or the Portuguese.
The Carmen Miranda Museum (Museu Carmen Miranda) in the Flamengo neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro is small but curated with love. Mostly it is a gallery of her costumes. She was such a *giant* of entertainment — it is startling to see that the garments were made for a *tiny* person.
Sou familiar da carmen miranda prima em 4º grau tenho uma obsessão por sua musica e pela sua beleza!
I believe it's just click on save or save as.
I taught an Art class using my memory of Carmen Miranda and hercostume, as one I always wore as my costume for Halloween. NO one in the class knew who I was talking about ! I need a photo of her to show them , next time , just how beautiful she was ! I can't seem to download the photo that accompanies this article !…HELP?