Tocando em Frente

Almir Sater / Renato Teixeira

Veja também:

Pé de Cedro

Milonga tres nações

Estrangeiro

Batendo água

Each of us writes our own story, carrying within ourselves the gift of being capable and happy...

Tocando em Frente translated as "Moving forwards," is one of the songs that introduced viola caipira player, singer, actor, and composer Almir Sater to large-scale audiences in Brazil.

Almir was born in Mato Grosso do Sul, a Brazilian state bordering Paraguay. He composed the song in partnership with Renato Teixeira as part of the soundtrack for the soap opera Pantanal, aired by TV Manchete in 1990. The song quickly gained popularity and is now considered a classic of Brazilian music.

In addition to Almir Sater and Renato Teixeira, Tocando em Frente has been recorded by several artists from the sertaneja music scene (a Brazilian music style similar to country music), including the duo César Menotti & Fabiano, Victor & Leo, as well as Sérgio Reis and Daniel. The song has also been performed by renowned artists from MPB (Brazilian Popular Music) such as Maria Bethânia and Ana Carolina.

Almir Sater, born in Campo Grande, the capital of Mato Grosso do Sul, was part of the Geração Prata da Casa ("The House’s Silver Generation"), a musical movement that emerged in the city in the 1980s. This movement sought to create a regional musical identity by blending sertaneja music with an urban perspective, drawing inspiration from the music of neighboring countries and Latin American popular music, while also incorporating influences from MPB and international rock music.

Based in São Paulo since the 1980s, Almir Sater has become one of the most popular and important Brazilian artists, building a sophisticated body of work connected to an idyllic and idealized rural life.

In most available recordings, including Almir Sater’s own albums, Tocando em Frente reflects the bi-rhythmic characteristic of the Paraguayan guarania, with melodies in 6/8 time accompanied by the rasgueio — the rhythmic strumming pattern for harmonic instruments played in quarter notes. Additionally, the distinctive syncopation, especially in the chorus, evokes the sincopado paraguayo, a specific type of syncopation found in Paraguayan popular music.

This structure is commonly found in much of the musical production from Mato Grosso do Sul, whose border with Paraguay has long been a fertile space for intense cultural exchange, contributing to a unique identity within the broad landscape of Brazilian popular music.

*Located across Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia, 'Pantanal' is the largest tropical wetland in the world

Text by Dr. Evandro Higa, Brazilian ethnomusicologist. University of Mato Grosso do Sul - Campo Grande.