In recent months, Samba-Chula has been rediscovered in all its beauty. Clapped with the palms of the hands, this magic rhythm echoes in the innermost recesses of this new 'old Bahia'. One of the authentic masters of this loved music is Raimundo Sodré, an artist born with the shula in his blood. Born in the hinterland of Bahia, he is the son of a train driver of the company Leste brasileiro and of an embroiderer who taught him to play his first shulas on the guitar. When he was a child, he went to live in Salvador, the capital of the State of Bahia, and each year, he would come back to spend the holidays in the house of his aunt Tia Isaura, a woman with very special training. She was 'Mae de Santo' (priest in the candomblé), and she led a 'terreiro de Candomblé' (community of candomblé) of the Angola nation. The atmosphere was very festive, and for the Santos Reis festival, the commemoration sometimes lasted up to several days. The house was enormous: forró filled one of the rooms, and in the house of candomblé, shula reigned. During one of these holidays, young Raimundo started to play atabaques (specific congas used in the candomblé rituals) to which he was introduced by Ogã Augusto Carixá of the famous terreiro of Bate Folhas, of Mata Escura, in Salvador.

At the beginning of the 70s, Raimundo Sodré went to live with his father in the town called Santo Amaro da Purificação. There, he met Roberto Mendes and Jorge Portugal and they created Sangue e Raça, a group which mixes music and theatre. In 1978, Sangue e Raça, joined the group Teatro Livre da Bahia to produce "Oxente Gente, Cordel", a play which received the best play of the year prize by the Serviço Nacional de Teatro. After this, Roberto Menescal, musical production consultant for Polygram, invited Raimundo Sodré to record seven songs, including 'A Massa'. Soon after, the larger and newer: 'A Massa' was chosen to participate in the 1980 MPB festival.

This song won third prize, which led to Raimundo Sodré's fame throughout the entire country. Because of the song's great success, Polygram decided to launch the A Massa LP, Raimundo Sodré's first record, just after the festival. In the beginning of 1981, Polygram set him up in a studio to record his second LP, 'Coisa de nego'. And two years later, in 1983, he launched the third record of his contract with Polygram, 'Beijo Moreno'. In 1990, Raimundo Sodré was invited to give a concert in the Cirque d'Hiver in Paris. He was fascinated by the city, and decided to live in Paris for a few years. When he arrived there, he was contracted for other shows in London at the Subterranean Club and the Africa Centre. In the following years, he traveled all over Europe and played in festivals in Germany, Switzerland and Denmark. In 1993, he went to Brazil to record his fourth record, a CD called 'Real', which was launched in 1994 by the German producer Tropical Music, later edited in Brazil by RGE.

While he lived in France, he often returned to Brazil, and in 1999, he gave a concert in the Concha Acústica of the Castro Alves Theatre. He then returned to live permanently in Brazil where he has been since 2000. He contributed to the CD Do Lundu ao Axé - Bahia de Todas as Músicas, in which he sang "Filho da Bahia" from the bahianese samba player Walter Queiroz, with Luis Caldas.

Now Raimundo Sodré is launching his fifth record, a CD called 'Dengo', which marks a new stage in his career. In this record, Sodré shows that he is in great shape. He's composing, playing and singing better than ever. Dengo marks his return to the position that was always his: that of being one of the most authentic popular artists of his time. And this is not a little feat.

Axé, Raimundo Sodré!

Roberto Torres