The Guarani: Brazilian Novel (Portuguese: O Guarani: Romance Brasileiro) is a 1857 Brazilian novel written by José de Alencar. It first came out as a feuilleton in the newspaper Diário do Rio de Janeiro, but due to its enormous success Alencar decided to compile his writing in a volume. A plausible explanation for this success might be in the fact that novel spoke of freedom and independence, arguing for a nativeness that could be found in tropical Nature and in the indigenous people of Brazil.

Years later the novel was turned into an opera performed in Italian and called Il Guarany (1870), by Carlos Gomes, among other places it was presented in Milan and New York (it is a known fact^{[citation needed]} that the author did not appreciate the final result).O Guarani is regarded a foundational text of Brazilian Romanticism, but it gained international projection by being translated into Spanish, German (Der Guarany, Brasilianischer Roman, Maximillian Emerich, 1876) and English (The Guarany, Brazilian novel, James W. Hawes, 1893).

Elis Regina Carvalho Costa, known simply as Elis Regina (Portuguese pronunciation: [eˈlis ʁeˈʒinɐ]; Porto Alegre, March 17, 1945 – São Paulo, January 19, 1982) was an important singer of Brazilian popular music. She became nationally renowned in 1965, after singing "Arrastão" (composed by Edu Lobo and Vinícius de Moraes) in the first edition of TV Excelsior festival song contest, and soon joined O Fino da Bossa, a television program on TV Record. Elis was noted for her perfect vocalization, as well as for her personal interpretation and outstanding performances in shows. She recorded several successful compositions, such as "Como nossos pais" (Belchior), "Upa Neguinho" (E. Lobo and Gianfrancesco Guarnieri), "Madalena" (Ivan Lins), "Casa no Campo" (Zé Rodrix and Tavito), "Águas de Março" (Tom Jobim), "Atrás da porta" (Chico Buarque and Francis Hime), "O bêbado e a equilibrista" (Aldir Blanc and João Bosco), "Conversando no bar" (Milton Nascimento), etc. Her premature death, at the age of 36, shocked Brazil. Elis Regina is widely regarded as the best Brazilian singer of all times by many critics, musicians, and commentators.

Antônio Carlos Gomes (July 11, 1836 — September 16, 1896) was the first New World composer whose work was accepted by Europe. The only non-European who was successful as an opera composer in Italy, during the "golden age of opera," contemporary to Verdi and Puccini.

He was born in Campinas, Brazil, son of Maestro Manuel José Gomes and Fabiana Maria Jaguari Cardoso.

His childhood's musical tendencies were soon stimulated by his father and by his older brother José Pedro de Sant'Ana Gomes, also a Conductor. José Pedro was the most dedicated guide and adviser in his brother's artistic career. He convinced Antônio to visit the Court where he became a protégé of Emperor Dom Pedro II, who, being notoriously interested in the careers of Brazilian artists and intellectuals, made possible for Antônio Carlos to study at the Musical Conservatory of Rio de Janeiro.

After having graduated with honors, Carlos produced his first opera, A noite do castelo (September 1861). It was a big success. Two years later, he repeated it with his second opera, Joana De Flandres, which was considered superior to the first. These two pieces convinced the Emperor to offer him a Royal scholarship to study in Italy in 1864. He studied in Milan at the local Conservatory with Lauro Rossi and Alberto Mazzucato and completed in three years a course which was normally completed in four years, obtaining the title of Maestro Composer.