Brazilian Bombshell: The Biography of Carmen Miranda.

• Author: Mujica, Barbara

Brazilian Bombshell The Biography of Carmen Miranda, by Martha Gil Montero (New York: Donald 1. Fine, 1989). In the 1930's, Carmen Miranda was the most popular radio star in Brazil, and by the end of the decade she had taken Broadway by storm. She intrigued Americans with her fashion, style and songs. Walter Winchell praised her in his columns. In 1939, the press dubbed her "the girl who saved Broadway from the World's Fair," when she lured crowds back to the theater district from the fair grounds not far away. During the forties and early fifties, Carmen Miranda became one of the most beloved and imitated international stars, appearing in clubs, on television and in films. Even after her star began to dim, she continued to inspire styles in clothes and music, and even today, writes Martha Gil-Montero, "Carmen is profoundly embedded in America's subconsciousness."

In her sensitive, well-researched book, Gil-Montero reveals the real woman behind the icon. Carmen Miranda's flamboyant, sexy, naughty style camouflaged pain and insecurity. The "lady in the tutti-frutti hat" was born Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha in a small town in Portugal in 1909. Her father was a poor barber and her mother, an unschooled weaver. For economic reasons the family immigrated to Brazil when Carmen was a baby. They settled in a slum area that was a meeting place for sailors and prostitutes. However, Maria do Carmo attended a convent school that provided the neighborhood children with the opportunity to escape from the mean streets. The Sister Superior raised funds by featuring her students on radio programs, thereby giving Maria do Carmo her first taste of show business. Curiously, the nun did not find her to be particularly talented at singing, although years later Carmen boasted that her own "little voice" always stood out from the rest.

The sisters did not encourage Maria do Carmo to go into entertainment, a profession they considered sinful. However, from a young age, she felt that show business was her calling. At fourteen she left school to help her mother in the boarding house that the family ran. She also helped her older sister, a seamstress, sew and make hats. Maria do Carmo soon made her professional debut as a singer on radio, and in 1928 was introduced to Josue de Barros, a composer and guitar player who was instrumental in her rise to success. Despite her father's violent opposition, she went from audition to audition, taking the stage name Carmen...