Dominguinhos

In July 2013, Brazilian accordion virtuoso, composer and singer Dominguinhos died at the age of 72. Dominguinhos, who early in his career was known as Neném do acordion (son of the accordion), was an ardent advocate of traditional Brazilian music. Alongside popular rhythms such as samba, conga, chachacha and beguine, he also played less widespread musical styles such as choro. His great passion was baião, from the region where he was born – a style born of native and colonial influences from the turbulent history of Brazil. In a dreamlike, impressionist montage of archive footage, concert recordings and interviews, we get an impression of a man whose life was dominated by music from start to finish. The soundtrack features cheerful, narrative, at times highly poetic and melancholic songs that cover every possible facet of life. Starting out as a performer mainly in nightclubs, as his fame grew he became a well-loved figure on the bigger stages as well. He played with Brazilian greats such as Luiz Gonzaga, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, Zé Ramalho, Toquinho and Maria Bethânia. Although his star also rose outside of Brazil and he was asked to perform in Europe, his international career was limited: his fear of flying meant he performed only on the continent of South America.