7 sounds that many Brazilians recognize from afar

Brazilians are known for being a cheerful and extroverted people. Although we live in a giant and therefore plural country, the common traits of our culture are reflected in the streets: there are neighbors talking, loud music, sound car, creaking carburetor and other urban noises that give life to cities and show a little our way of being.

O awesome.club made a list of songs, vignettes and other sounds that make us feel at home and awaken emotions. Check out what we know about each of them.

We couldn’t choose another example to start this list other than the gas truck song! It is present in a large part of our territory and has even become funk.

Its creation was in 1989, in an attempt to put an end to the “honking horn” and the shouting “O gas” from gas sellers, when Ultragaz hired the composer Hélio Ziskind to develop a theme for the company.

Ziskind used the notes of For Eliseby Ludwig van Beethoven, to compose street bellswhich mixes the sound produced by gas cylinders hitting with violin and flute.

The city government of São Paulo liked the idea and decided to prohibit the use of horns by gas trucks to announce their passage through the streets of the city, forcing competitors from Ultragaz to seek a solution. At first, other classical notes could be heard, but For Elise it soon became unanimous.

What would Beethoven think about this? The fact is that his erudite work became very popular around here. That’s good, isn’t it?

“Look there, look there, parish. They are the delicious pamonhas from Piracicaba. Fresh pamonhas, homemade pamonhas. It is the pure cream of green corn.”

Despite not being present in all locations in Brazil, the pamonha jingle from Piracicaba, a city in the interior of São Paulo, spread throughout the country and became so popular that it can also be considered a classic of Brazilian streets.

Consumption of sweets is a centuries-old tradition in the region, which is a producer of corn. Pamonha began to be sold on the streets of Piracicaba in the 1950s by the Rodrigues family and soon became a success.

In the 1970s, thousands of units were produced a day and distributed to vendors, who announced their arrival using a microphone connected to a loudspeaker or in other ways.

To speed up sales and rest the voice, the jingle was recorded by Dirceu Bigelli, a vendor from the city of Piracicaba, who, in addition to selling pamonhas, started selling his jingle, which is still used today.

“Attention: this vehicle is being stolen and is monitored by Carsystem. Call 0800 772 72 71. Thank you!” The noisy alarm from the vehicle monitoring and recovery company, Carsystem, is a trademark on the streets of some regions of the country.

The anti-theft warning was created by its founder Graça Costa in 2001 and can still be heard in some cities today. In the early 2000s, he was very present, evidencing the accelerated growth of the company in that decade.

In addition to warning of robberies, the alarm also serves as a marketing tool, because, for better or worse, it doesn’t leave people’s minds, so much so that it became a meme (as you can see above).

Who has never heard the characteristic whistle of the pan flute (or pan flute), which announces the arrival of the sharpener of knives, scissors and pliers? Increasingly rare, it even gives a nostalgia when it passes.

Usually they come on an adapted bicycle, or even on foot, carrying their work tool, which looks like a bicycle and sharpens blades guided by the agility of the sharpener’s hands.

These professionals are not exclusive to Brazilian streets, quite the contrary. It is believed that the craft emerged in Galicia, a region of Spain, spread to Portugal, other countries in Europe and the rest of the world, also arriving in Brazil.

A little different from the previous examples, Rede Globo’s on-duty vignette is not on the streets, but in the homes of all Brazilians who have access to free-to-air TV.

On the air since 1991, the call brings urgent and important news, whether good or bad. Over time, the vignette naturally became the cause of a certain apprehension and a little butterflies in the stomach of many people:

Before that, when the broadcaster wanted to pass on important information, it put the stamp referring to the television news in that time slot on the air. For example, if the report happened in the afternoon, the news was attributed to the newspaper today🇧🇷 When night fell, it was the turn of the National Newspaper and so on.

For the creation of the vignette, Rede Globo held an internal competition, which had the musician João Nabuco as the winner. Since then, the music is the same. The animation, by Hans Donner, is changed according to the visual changes in the brand identity.

Me: “Collect call: state your name and the city you are calling from”.
My friend: “Collect call: to accept it, stay on the line after identification.”

Until the early 2000s, the world was divided between two types of people: those who used the obsolete pay phone or a cell phone without credit to make a collect call and those who received those calls.

With smartphones, these calls are increasingly uncommon, but they’re still available and we won’t soon forget the melody followed by the voice that introduced the call.

The song was created in 1987 by sound engineer Carlos Freitas, at the request of the director of the company Telepar. The voice belongs to the announcer Patrícia Godoy (pictured above). The vignette was aired for the first time in 1988 and remains unchanged.

Finally, the song of bem-te-vi, which gives rise to its name, could not be missing from this list. The bem-te-vi is one of the most popular birds in Brazil, so much so that it has inspired popular poems and songs.

Very adaptable, this bird can be found throughout Latin America, both in urban and rural areas, woods and forests. When in cities, the Bem-te-vi can use paper, plastic and wires to make its nest. If he is in the woods, he opts for the traditional way, with branches and leaves.

Another curiosity is the fact that the well-te-vi is quarrelsome. Despite its cute and harmless appearance, it is common to see it facing vultures, hawks and even humans when it feels threatened.

Which sound that is very present in Brazil can you recognize from afar, awakens emotions and makes you feel at home? Count in the comments.