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LOS INDIOS TABAJARAS
“MARIA ELENA”
(Lorenzo Barcelata)
RCA 8216
No. 6 November 16, 1963
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Surely one of the most unpredictable hits and strangest yarns to arrive in the land of rock’n’roll is this
tale of two Brazilian Indians named Natalicio and Antenor Lima. These brothers, born the sons of a
Tabajaras Indian chieftain in the far-out jungles of Ceara, were said to have found a guitar laying about in
the wild. The boys touched the strings and felt their bodies fill with a mighty, mighty magic.
They trained themselves in the ways of this strange object, and traveled 1,200 miles to Rio de Janeiro
to play their tribal folk songs for patrons and alcohol drinkers. A man calling himself an agent detected
their presence, sized up their potential, and shipped them to Mexico to become schooled in the ways of
Bach, Beethoven, and Latin American soul. The Lima brothers, who speak five languages in addition to
their native Tupi, gave concerts in South America and began to pick up a following. RCA Records signed
these keepers of the guitars to a contract, reasoning that the Lima brothers’ tunes would sell well in their
homeland. To everyone’s surprise, someone at RCA ordered “Maria Elena,” a remake of the 1941 Jimmy
Dorsey hit, released in the U.S.
Most astonishing about this disk is neither the level of musicianship nor its melody, but the ability of two
dudes with no electric guitars, drums, bass, yells, overdubbing, feedback, or echo chambers to secure a
stateside hit.