For me, at Global Ginga, Sergio Mendes is more than special. It's his version of Lua Soberana (an Ivan Lins & Victor Martins composition), that opens our show every Friday at 6 pm. I bring this song with me since my days at CMU's WRCT with Cantinho Brasileiro no Radio. I tried to use different songs for my intro at Global Ginga and at the end, Lua Soberana trumped all my other intro attempts. I just love this version by Mendes. It fits perfectly for my vision and I have been listening to this song, weekly, for over 20 years!
Mendes is also special because in my radio career than spans over two decades, over and over I hear of how people became attached to Brazilian music because they, or their parents, used to play Brazil 66, an iconic album that certainly put Brazilian music on the radar of Americans everywhere. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2011. Referring to the song "Mas que Nada," Mendes said in 2014: "It was the first time that a song in Portuguese was a hit in America and all over the world".
It's only proper that we announce this event to the community and invite fans of Brazilian music to enjoy a rare live performance by Sergio Mendes this weekend in Oakland! Please visit Yoshi's website for further information and to purchase tickets: https://yoshis.com/