Hasta La Ideas

At nearly 103 years old, legendary architect Oscar Niemeyer is still going strong, though this time in a completely different direction. The Brazilian newspaper O Globo has reported that Niemeyer has composed a samba called “Tranquilo con la Vida” or “Feeling Good About Life.” Working with two musicians, the architect penned the lyrics to the song late last year, when he was undergoing a series of operations to combat some health issues. While earlier this year found him back in the hospital and feeling gloomy about portions of his career, hopefully his recent Order of Arts and Letters medal win will perk him back up and he’ll keep writing music. Here’s a bit about the song itself:

The samba begins with a verse meaning “Now my life will be different. Pajama pants, striped shirt, sandals on my feet, just about every morning I’ll go walking on the beach, and there a pretty woman, God willing, I will find…”

In the last verse, a poor man says: “From my shantytown I see the most elegant people on the beach, by the sea, but let’s not blame them. They have their prestige and, some day, they’ll be living among us once more.”

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