Viva Villa!

A major new exhibition on Villa-Lobos has just opened in Rio de Janeiro. Viva Villa! is organized by the Arquivo Nacional, and runs from Oct. 12, 2009, to Jan. 5, 2010. The exhibit has an impressive list of partners, incuding the Museu Villa-Lobos (RJ), Library of Congress (Washington), Richard Rodgers Library, Spanish Institute, New York Public Library (New York), Bibliotheque Nationale (Paris), the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecília, and more.

Besides the exhibition of audio-visual materials relating to Villa's life and music, Viva Villa! will include concerts and film presentations.

The film component of the exhibition looks really interesting. Films include Humberto Mauro's "Descobrimento do Brasil", along with films from Brasil's Cinema Novo which feature Villa-Lobos music: "Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol" and "Terra em Transe" by Glauber Rocha; "Macunaíma" by Joaquim Pedro de Andrade; “Arraial do Cabo” by Paulo Cesar Sarraceni; and "Menino de Engenho" by Walter Lima Jr. Of course, Zelito Vianna's important biopic "Villa-Lobos: Uma Vida de Paixao" wll be featured as well.