In 1939, Broadway producer Lee Shubert offered Miranda an eight-week contract to perform in The Streets of Paris after seeing her at Cassino da Urca in Rio de Janeiro. The 1939 musical Banana da Terra (directed by Ruy Costa) gave the world her 'Baiana' image, inspired by Afro-Brazilians from the north-eastern state of Bahia. Hello, Hello Brazil! and Hello, Hello, Carnival! embodied the spirit of these early Miranda films.
Miranda's 1930 recording of 'Taí (Pra Você Gostar de Mim)', written by Joubert de Carvalho, catapulted her to stardom in Brazil as the foremost interpreter of samba.ĭuring the 1930s, Miranda performed on Brazilian radio and appeared in five Brazilian chanchadas, films celebrating Brazilian music, dance and the country's carnival culture. As a young woman, she designed hats in a boutique before making her first recordings with composer Josué de Barros in 1929. Nicknamed 'The Brazilian Bombshell', she was known for her signature fruit hat outfit that she wore in her American films. Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha GCIH, OMC (9 February 1909 – 5 August 1955), known professionally as Carmen Miranda ( Portuguese pronunciation: ), was a Portuguese-born Brazilian singer, dancer and actress.
