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Braguinha
Brazilian composer and giant of popular music
By Tom Phillips*

Despite not being able to read music or play an instrument, Carlos Alberto Ferreira Braga, "Braguinha", who has died aged 99, wrote nearly 500 compositions, mostly carnival marches, many of which are defining songs of 20th-century Brazil. A giant of popular music, his work was interpreted by singers such as Dalva de Oliveira, Carmen Miranda, Gal Costa and, most recently, Marisa Monte.

Dick Farney, a Sinatra-style crooner, brought Braguinha his greatest success, recording the definitive tribute to Copacabana in 1944. That record is considered a precursor to the bossa nova, invented by João Gilberto in the 1950s, which swept the world in the 1960s.

The son of a factory owner, Braguinha's involvement with music began, aged 16, when, inspired by a meeting with the guitarist Henrique Brito at his Baptist school in Rio de Janeiro, he penned a romantic carnival march, Vestidinho Encarnado. But in 1920s Brazil, being a "musico" was synonymous with bohemia, crime, drunkenness and womanising. Braguinha's involvement did not meet with parental approval. So he studied architecture at the National School of Fine Arts in Rio, and continued his musical career under the pseudonym of João de Barro (oven bird).

In 1928 he formed Flor do Tempo, alongside other budding giants of Brazilian popular music, including Noel Rosa, the bohemian samba composer who died at 26, and Almirante, a composer and radio host later responsible for launching dozens of Brazil's most cherished musicians.

Braguinha's career blossomed in the early 1930s as he cemented his reputation as a lyricist. His best known lyric came in 1937 when he penned words to the saxophonist Pixinguinha's Carinhoso - already established as a classic.

Braguinha turned his hand to film from 1934. He was also involved in the dubbing of the Brazilian versions of Walt Disney productions such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Bambi, Dumbo and Pinocchio.

In 1938 he married a teacher, Astrea Rabelo Cantolino. It was the inspiration provided by their only child, a daughter, which led him to work on children's stories, translating, among others, Little Red Riding Hood.

By the mid-1940s Braguinha's career as a composer was declining. With the emergence of high-adrenaline carnival samba, composers such as Braguinha were gradually squeezed out of the market. He complained bitterly - in his trademark high-pitched voice - of this exclusion.

Yet Braguinha was not forgotten. When Rio's sambodrome was inaugurated in 1984, one of the city's biggest samba schools, Mangueira, led a tribute to him with Yes, nos temos Braguinha (Yes, we have Braguinha). And this year, that same samba school will pay homage to Braguinha during its carnival parade. He was, as the journalist and music writer, Sergio Cabral, commented at his funeral, "Rio to the core".

Braguinha is survived by his wife, daughter and six grandchildren.

· Carlos Alberto Ferreira Braga (Braguinha), composer, born March 29 1907; died December 24 2006