Biography

Severino Dias de Oliveira (26 May 1930 in Itabaiana, Brazil – 14 December 2006 in João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil), popularly known as Sivuca, was a Brazilian accordionist and guitarist. In addition to his home state of Paraíba, and cities Recife and Rio de Janeiro, he worked and lived in Paris, Lisbon, and New York City on and off throughout his life. He has two daughters, Flavia de Oliveira Barreto, and Wilma Da Silva. He was an albino. He is best known internationally for his work with Scandinavian jazz musicians in the 1980s. His most famous songs are the Brazilian popular classic João e Maria with lyrics by Chico Buarque and the accordion standard "Feira de Mangaio" (named after the artisan markets of North East Brazil). He is famous for his use of makeshift instruments playing alongside conventional ones and for his versatility, fusing traditional regional styles such as forró and Chorinho with jazz, bossa, classical, and other musical forms. Sivuca and Hermeto Pascoal, both versatile multi-instrumentalists with albinism, have worked together and are sometimes confused with each other.