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Oswaldo Montenegro, born on March 15, 1956, in Rio de Janeiro, is a Brazilian musician. He is known as both a singer-songwriter in the MPB, rock, and folk genres as well as a composer of soundtracks for theater, ballet, cinema, and TV. He's also known for his partnership with Madalena Salles, who plays the flute in many of his songs. Growing up in Rio's Grajaú neighborhood, he was surrounded by music—his parents and grandparents played instruments, which sparked his interest early on. However, moving to São João del-Rei in Minas Gerais at eight years old truly shaped his musical path. The city's serenades, communal music sessions, and Baroque church music inspired him to start composing. He wrote his first song, "Lenheiro," and won a music festival in Rio at just 13 years old. Oswaldo Montenegro decided to pursue music professionally in 1971 after moving to Brasília. There, he got involved in student theater and dance, which confirmed his desire to make music his life. His career really started to take off with his participation in a major music festival on Rede Globo in 1972, his first musical theater work between 1974 and 1975, and the release of three musicals—João Sem Nome, Labirinto, and Bandolins—from 1975 to 1979. Throughout the 1980s, he won a major music festival with the song "Agonia" and produced the musical Veja Você in Brasília, introducing talents like Cássia Eller and Zélia Duncan. Over the years, he's made over 14 musical plays, some of which have been performed across Brazil for more than 15 years. Besides music, Oswaldo Montenegro has written a children's book, O Vale Encantado, and released albums that include Aos Filhos dos Hippies (1995) and Letras Brasileiras (1997). He made his directorial debut with the film Léo e Bia in 2010. In 2016, he launched a web series with Madalena Salles, celebrating their 40 years of working together, and released the film O Perfume da Memória, which won Best Original Music at the International Toronto Film Festival. Emoções Urbanas, his first collection of original songs since 2021's Canção Nua, came out in 2023 and featured contributions by Nikki Baffa.
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