Aurora Miranda

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Miranda and the second or paternal family name is Cunha.

Aurora Miranda
Miranda in the 1940s
Born	Aurora Miranda da Cunha (1915-04-20)20 April 1915 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Died	22 December 2005(2005-12-22) (aged 90) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Resting place	São João Batista Cemetery, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Occupation(s)	Singer, dancer, actress
Years active	1933–1990
Spouse	Gabriel Richaid ​ ​ (m. 1940; died 1990)​
Children	2
Relatives	Amaro da Cunha (brother) Carmen Miranda (sister) Cecilia Miranda de Carvalho (sister)

Aurora Miranda da Cunha Richaid (20 April 1915 – 22 December 2005) was a Brazilian singer and actress. She began her career at the age of 18 in 1933. Miranda appeared in several films, including The Three Caballeros, where she danced with Donald Duck and José Carioca, singing the song, "Os Quindins de Yayá". Her sisters were Carmen Miranda and Cecilia Miranda.

Career

Carmen Miranda (center) and Aurora in São Paulo (1934)

Aurora Miranda with Walt Disney (1943).

Aurora Miranda had a successful career in Brazil and the US, perhaps overshadowed by that of her sister, Carmen Miranda. Aurora was six years younger than her sister.

Miranda in The Three Caballeros (1944)

In 1932, aged 18, she was asked to perform on the Mayrink Veiga radio station by Josué de Barros, the same composer who had launched her sister's career three years earlier. Soon she was snapped up by a rival station and within 12 months she had released her first record, Cai, Cai, Balão ("Drop, Drop Balloon") alongside the crooner then considered Brazil's rei da voz or "king of the voice", Francisco Alves. Alves was known for supporting up-and-coming artists such as Miranda.

Years later, she appeared in the documentaries Once Upon a Mouse and Carmen Miranda: Bananas is My Business.

Miranda died at the age of 90 on 22 December 2005.

Personal life

In 1940 she married Gabriel Richaid clad in a gold-embroidered wedding dress shipped from the US by Carmen.

Unlike her sister, Aurora preferred married life to her career. In 1951 she returned to Rio and settled down as wife and mother. She often spoke of her sister Carmen and appeared in many documentaries.

Legacy

Aurora Miranda carved out her own niche, first as a pioneering singer and later as one of the first human beings to interact with cartoons in a sound movie. She appeared in the Walt Disney production The Three Caballeros, a mix of cinema and animation in which Aurora starred alongside Donald Duck.

But perhaps her greatest legacy was the first recording of Rio de Janeiro's unofficial anthem, Cidade Maravilhosa (Marvellous City), in 1934.

Tom Philips wrote in The Guardian that Aurora Miranda "personified the spirit of Rio."

Filmography

Aurora with Carmen Miranda in Alô, Alô Carnaval (1936).

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1935	Alô, Alô, Brasil!		Performer: "Cidade Maravilhosa" and "Ladrãozinho"
	Estudantes	Herself	Performer: "Onde Está o Seu Carneirinho?" and "Linda Ninon"
1936	Hello, Hello, Carnival!		Performer: "Cantores do Rádio" and "Molha o Pano"
1939	Banana da Terra	Herself	Performer: "Menina do Regimento"
1944	Phantom Lady	Estela Monteiro
	The Conspirators	Fado Singer	Uncredited
	Brazil	Bailarina, Specialty Dancer
	The Three Caballeros	Yaya	(as Aurora Miranda of Brazil)
1945	Tell It to a Star	Specialty Act
1954	Disneyland	Brazilian Girl	Voice, A Present for Donald (archive footage)
1978	Mulheres de Cinema	Herself	(archive footage) (Documentary short)
1981	Once Upon a Mouse
1989	Dias Melhores Virão		(final film role)
1995	Carmen Miranda: Bananas is my Business		Documentary
2009	Cantoras do Rádio - O Filme		(archive footage)

See also

• Carioca

External links

• Aurora Miranda at IMDb
• Aurora Miranda at AllMovie
• Aurora Miranda at the TCM Movie Database
• Aurora Miranda at Find a Grave