Singer, composer, and musician João do Vale is one of the three great figures of Brazil's Northwestern popular music community (along with Luíz Gonzaga and Jackson do Pandeiro), even though he only recorded two albums. Born in 1934, Vale wanted to pursue an education, but being Black and poor, he suffered the consequences of racial and social prejudice and had to abandon his studies very early. When he was 12, he joined a bumba-meu-boi group, writing lyrics for their songs. Dreaming about living in Rio, he finally reached his destination in 1950 at the age of 17. After Zé Gonzaga had a hit with his "Cesário Pinto" and a successful engagement at the club ZiCartola caught the attention of the press, he became a star on the rise, and his first album, Poeta Do Povo, arrived in 1965.