Heitor Villa-Lobos Website

Manuel Bandeira was a Brazilian poet whose lyrics were the basis of many of Villa-Lobos's best vocal works.  He was called "the John the Baptist of Brazilian modernism."

"The musical quality of his work led composers such as Villa-Lobos to set his work to music; its simplicity guaranteed for him a special place in Brazil, influencing many other poets."

- D. Balderston, Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century Latin American and Caribbean Literature, p. 52.