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Camelô is a Brazilian Portuguese name given to street vendors in major Brazilian cities.

Camelô stand in Porto Alegre

Law enforcement often enters into conflict - sometimes physical - with camelôs, for selling low-quality products (often imported from Asia), making improper use of public space (blocking sidewalks and pedestrian traffic), and for not paying the same taxes that licensed retailers pay. Their presence is considered to be a result of the alarming rise in unemployment, although their lifestyle might be better referred to as "subemployment." Many people who work as camelôs sell their products knowing that they are of low quality, and charge high prices nonetheless.

The word is borrowed from the French camelot, meaning "merchant of low-quality goods," and the term marreteiro is also sometimes used. The difference between camelôs and so-called "ambulantes" is that camelôs have fixed "storefronts" on a particular sidewalk, whereas "ambulantes" sell their wares throughout an area.

Marcelo Camelo
Marcelo Camelo e Mallu Magalhães, Recife, 2009
Background information
Birth name	Marcelo de Souza Camelo
Born	(1978-04-02) April 2, 1978 (age 34)
Origin	Rio de Janeiro, RJ - Brazil
Genres	Alternative rock
Instruments	Vocals Electric guitar Acoustic Guitar Bass
Years active	1997-present
Labels	Abril Music, Sony BMG
Associated acts	Los Hermanos, Mallu Magalhães, Rodrigo Amarante
Website	marcelocamelo.com

Marcelo de Sousa Camelo (Rio de Janeiro, February 4, 1978) is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, and poet. He is best known as composer and lead guitarist of the Brazilian band Los Hermanos. Since the end of the band, he continues composing for many interpreters, mainly Maria Rita and Ivete Sangalo. In 2008, was released his first solo CD, Sou.

Biography[link]

Son of Ernesto Camelo and naïve painter Ana Camelo, Marcelo was born in Rio de Janeiro, having grown up in Jacarepaguá, west of the city. He had his first contact with rock when he became a fan of American hard-rock Bon Jovi. His contact with the rock would take his time in college, while participating actively in a fanzine focused on the music scene in Rio, where he interviewed, including, Alexandre Kassin, at the time, a member of the Band Acabou la Tequila, one of the major musical influences of Camelo. When studying journalism at the PUC-Rio, Marcelo had the first contacts with the stage, having formed the bands Drive By, Barnabé and Minanina's Popcorn before create Los Hermanos.

In 1999, Marcelo Camelo released the first album of Los Hermanos. Later released Bloco do Eu Sozinho and Ventura, respectively, in 2001 and 2003. These two are listed in the 100 greatest albums of Brazilian music by Rolling Stone (Brazilian edition).^[1]

In 2008, after the announcement of the band gap, the composer released his first album entitled Sou. The album, which features a cover-poem artist Rodrigo Linares, was first launched on the Internet, through the Sonora site at Terra Networks portal. The album features 14 tracks composed by Marcelo Camelo, two performed exclusively by pianist Clara Sverner, a guest in the disk. Beyond that, Mallu Magalhães and accordion player Dominguinhos are present on the album. The song Janta, which has the participation of Mallu, was listed by Brazilian Rolling Stone as the best track of 2008.^[2]

Anna Julia[link]

Marcelo is the composer, singer and solo player of the biggest hit of Los Hermanos, the song Anna Julia, which became a world hit with Jim Capaldi's english version, featuring himself in vocals, Deep Purple's Ian Pace in drums, The Jam's Paul Weller in bass and the beatle George Harrison in guitar (playing the solo).^[3] The song also received Spanish version by Los Hermanos, Italian version by Daniele Groff, among others.

Discography[link]

With Los Hermanos[link]

• Los Hermanos (1999)
• Bloco do Eu Sozinho (2001)
• Ventura (2003)
• 4 (2005)

As a solo artist[link]

• Sou (2008)
• MTV ao Vivo: Marcelo Camelo (2010)
• Toque Dela (2011)

See also[link]

• Los Hermanos
• Mallu Magalhães

References[link]

External links[link]

• MySpace (Portuguese)
• Last.fm