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Brazilian Pop Culture: Learn About the Viral Video Eduardo e Mônica

Brazilian Pop Culture: Learn About the Viral Video Eduardo e Mônica

posted on June 10, 2011

—-> Legião Urbana

Twenty five years ago the song Eduardo e Mônica, by the band Legião Urbana, became an integral part of Brazilian pop culture. Now cell phone carrier Vivo partnered with O2 Filmes to recreate the story in a short movie. O2 belongs to Fernando Meirelles, director of City of God, The Constant Gardener, and Blindness. I hope that you are at least curious to learn more about Eduardo and Monica 🙂

Legião Urbana is one of the greatest Brazilian pop rock bands. The band was created in 1982 by the late Renato Russo, a talented song writer and musician who left this life too early due to AIDS. The group announced their disbandment in October 1996, one day after Renato Russo passed away.

I was a big fan of the Legião Urbana. As I write this post many songs and memories are rushing through my head leaving me with saudades of the past. Some of my favorite songs are: Será, Tempo Perdido, Pais e Filhos, Ainda é Cedo, Que País é Este?, Daniel na Cova dos Leões.

And, of course, Eduardo e Mônica. I think that every teenager and twenty-something sang along when this song came out. The short film by Vivo and O2 Productions recreates the story of Eduardo and Mônica 25 years later. In my opinion, this is a great advertising campaign. Millions of Brazilians (including me) are watching this 4-minute advertisement again and again, forwarding it to all their friends, posting on Facebook, Tweeting it, and some are even writing blog posts about it 😉

Below are the lyrics with translation. And at the end of the post you will find the new film. Enjoy!

Quem um dia irá dizer

Que existe razão

Nas coisas feitas pelo coração?

E quem irá dizer

Que não existe razão?

 

Eduardo abriu os olhos,

Mas não quis se levantar

Ficou deitado e viu que horas eram.

Enquanto Mônica tomava um conhaque

No outro canto da cidade,

Como eles disseram

 

Eduardo e Mônica um dia se encontraram sem querer

E conversaram muito mesmo pra tentar se conhecer…

Um carinha do cursinho do Eduardo que disse

“Tem uma festa legal e a gente quer se divertir!”

 

Festa estranha,

Com gente esquisita

“Eu não ‘tô’ legal,

Não agüento mais birita!”

E a Mônica riu e quis saber um pouco mais

Sobre o boyzinho que tentava impressionar

 

E o Eduardo, meio tonto, só pensava em ir pra casa

“É quase duas, eu vou me ferrar!”

 

 

Eduardo e Mônica trocaram telefone

Depois telefonaram e decidiram se encontrar.

O Eduardo sugeriu uma lanchonete,

Mas a Mônica queria ver o filme do Godard.

 

Se encontraram então no parque da cidade

A Mônica de moto e o Eduardo de camelo.

O Eduardo achou estranho e melhor não comentar,

 Mas a menina tinha tinta no cabelo.

 

Eduardo e Mônica eram nada parecidos

Ela era de Leão e ele tinha dezesseis.

Ela fazia Medicina e falava alemão

E ele ainda nas aulinhas de inglês.

 

Ela gostava do Bandeira e do Bauhaus,

De Van Gogh e dos Mutantes,

Do Caetano e de Rimbaud.

E o Eduardo gostava de novela

E jogava futebol-de-botão com seu avô.

 

 

Ela falava coisas sobre o Planalto Central,

Também magia e meditação

E o Eduardo ainda estava no esquema

“Escola, cinema, clube, televisão…”

 

 

E, mesmo com tudo diferente

Veio mesmo, de repente

Uma vontade de se ver

E os dois se encontravam todo dia

E a vontade crescia,

Como tinha de ser

 

Eduardo e Mônica fizeram natação, fotografia

 Teatro, artesanato e foram viajar.

A Mônica explicava pro Eduardo

Coisas sobre o céu, a terra, a água e o ar.

 

 Ele aprendeu a beber,

Deixou o cabelo crescer

E decidiu trabalhar.

E ela se formou no mesmo mês

Que ele passou no vestibular.

 

 

E os dois comemoraram juntos

E também brigaram juntos, muitas vezes depois

E todo mundo diz que ele completa ela

E vice-versa,

Que nem feijão com arroz.

 

 Construíram uma casa há uns dois anos atrás

Mais ou menos quando os gêmeos vieram.

Batalharam com grana e seguraram legal

 A barra mais pesada que tiveram.

 

Eduardo e Mônica voltaram pra Brasília

E a nossa amizade dá saudade no verão.

Só que nessas férias não vão viajar,

Porque o filhinho do Eduardo

Tá de recuperação.

 

E quem um dia irá dizer

Que existe razão

Nas coisas feitas pelo coração?

E quem irá dizer

Que não existe razão?

Who will ever say

that there is reason

to the things done by the heart?

And who will say

that there is no reason?

 

Eduardo opened up his eyes

But did not feel like getting up

He stayed in bed and checked the time

While Monica had a brandy

At the other end of town

As they said

 

One day Eduardo and Monica bumped into each other

And got into a long conversation to try and know each other better

It was a guy from Eduardo’s class who said

– There is a cool party and we want to have fun

 

Strange party,

with weird people

– I’m not feeling so good,

I can’t have another drink

Monica laughed and wanted to know a bit more

About this dude who was trying to impress her

 

And Eduardo, a bit dizzy, only thought about going home

– It’s almost two, I’m going to get screwed

 

Eduardo and Monica exchanged phone numbers

Later rang each other and decided to meet

Eduardo suggested a snack bar

but Monica wanted to see a Godard film

 

They met in the park

Monica on a motorcycle and Eduardo on a bike

Eduardo thought it was strange and better not to mention it

But the girl had dyed hair

 

Eduardo and Monica were nothing alike

She was a Leo and he was sixteen

She was in medical school and spoke German

and he was still taking basic English classes

 

She was fond of Bandeira,  Bauhaus,

Van Gogh, Os Mutantes

Caetano, and Rimbaud

And Eduardo was a fan of soap operas

and played button football with his grandpa

 

 

She talked about Planalto Central (Brazilian Federal Government)

And also mysticism and meditation

And Eduardo was still

in the “school, movie, club, television” routine

 

And even with everything different

Suddenly there was

a desire to see each other

And they met every day

And the desire grew

as it was supposed to do

 

Eduardo and Monica took swimming classes, photography

Theater, crafts, and went travelling

Monica explained to Eduardo

things about the sky, the earth, the water, and the air

 

He learned to drink,

Let his hair grow

And decided to find a job

She graduated in the same month

That he passed his college acceptance exam

 

And they celebrated together

And also quarreled together, many times

And everyone says he is her other half

and vice versa

like rice and beans

 

They built a house about two years ago

Around the time when the twins were born

They struggled with money issues and held it together

Through the hardest times that they had

 

Eduardo and Monica went back to Brasília

and during summer I miss our friendship

But they’re not going to travel this year

Because Eduardo ‘s little boy

has to go to summer school

 

And who will ever say

That there is reason

to the things done by the heart?

And who will say

That there is no reason?

 

 

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qr0378vrXA]

—————-

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Luciana Lage

About Luciana Lage

Luciana Lage founded Street Smart Brazil drawing on her passion for Brazilian Portuguese language and culture. Luciana has also taught Portuguese at University of California, Berkeley, and currently teaches at the University of San Francisco.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. AvatarVanessa Agra

    June 10, 2011 at 12:45 pm

    Oi,

    Great blog post!! Yep… I was a girl of my generation in Brazil, and as such, I went to (almost) every pop rock concert that came to my town. The ones I didn’t go it was only because my mom had certain rules about us not becoming ”bolacha de festa” (someone who goes to every single party, everytime, and consequently is never missed!  ). 

    Well, but I saw Legião Urbana more than once, and it was always such a blast! They were my favorite band along with some others like Blitz, Capital Inicial, and Titãs. (here in another nice vídeo with English subtitles with Marisa Monte singing “Comida” by Titãs).

    I think Renato Russo was one of the best Brazilian song writers, along with Cazuza. His lyrics were great, and as he became more professionally mature, he got even better, despite his such early death. It was so sad …just like Cazuza!

    If you are advanced in your Portuguese language studies, and want to know more about Renato Russo, watch this TV program that tells his story with a mix of interviews, original vídeos, and some dramatization of his life facts.

    Wow… your post made me travel through time, Luciana!!!

    Valeu!

     

    Reply

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