1 9 6 1 - January to June

Eva Wilma and John Herbert in an ad for Romi-Isetta in 1961 at Parque do Ibirapuera. 

Eva Wilma and John Herbert are enthused by their mini car... 

Mary Wynne was a journalist from Dallas, Texas who settled permanently in São Paulo, Brazil sometime in the 1940s. She landed a job as a night-club columnist at daily 'O Estado de S. Paulo'. She was a delight to read... She could express herself really well in Portuguese. 

Each year as of 1957, Ms Wynne organized the election of the best people in the night club scene in each category and granted them a trophy she called Sacizinho named after the famous Sacy statuettes given out yearly by OESP to the best performers in theatre & movies.

The yearly bash was usually held  at Danubio Hotel's night-club on Avenida Brigadeiro Luiz Antonio. And as most of the awardees worked the night-shift, the celebration started at 5:00 PM. This particular year it was on Sunday, 25 March 1962.

26 February 1961 - Mary Wynne presents the list of the winners of 1960's best performers... 

These are 1961's best night-club acts in Sao Paulo voted by the readers of Mary Wynne's daily column at 'O Estado de S. Paulo'.

Fred Aurieres - permanent foreign attraction
William Forneaud - male singer
Leny Eversong - national attraction for 1957, 1958, 1960 & 1961 - Sacizinho de Honra
Caco Velho - permanent national attraction
Robledo - pianist

Isaura Garcia - national attraction
Luiz Chaves - musician
Tristão da Silva - international attraction
Mario Tatini - personality
Elza Mayda - female singer

Carlos Pinedo - 'Chef de cousine'
Luiz Carlos Prado - male revelation
Mariá - female revelation
Andres Molinero - barman
Fritz Behr - Maitre d'Hotel
Vadeco-Odilon e seu Conjunto - musical combo:
Odilon, Duilio, J.Ordenez, J. Bilaimente, Tony Marcillo & Vadeco.

Best of the best in São Paulo's night life receive their Sacizinhos at Hotel Danubio on Sunday, 25 March 1962.

5 February 1961 - TV Record had its own year-round ice-rink build alonside its studios at the suburb called Airport.

5 March 1961 - Italian cartoonist Morales J. Morales depicts Gianfrancesco Guarnieri, Cacilda Becker, Leonardo Vilar, Cleyde Yaconis & others in an event at Teatro Brasileiro de Comedia; Teatro Cacilda Becker celebrates its 3rd year of existence...

19 March 1961 - Roberto Anderson's 1953 play 'Tea and sympathy' (Chá e simpatia) is back at Teatro Bela Vista with Nydia Licia. It tells in 3 acts a story about a male private school student, Tom Lee, who faces accusations of homosexuality. A woman, Laura, who is married to an instructor, opposes the students' shaming of Lee and romantically pursues him so he can prove that he has a masculine character. (taken from Wikipedia).

21st March 1962 - Mary Wynne shows singer-comedian Zé Fidelis' photo on the top-left-side of her column and tells the 'Number One enemy of Sadness' who worked as a public-relations person for Cia. Antarctica Paulista, a major brewery - would be a major attraction at next Sunday Sacizinho gala at the Danubio Hotel.

3 March 1961 - Teatro Cacilda Becker started in March 1958 and is 3-years-old with Abilio Pereira de Almeida's  '...Em moeda corrente do país' at Teatro Federação on Avenida Brigadeiro Luiz Antonio.

11 March 1961 - Arthur Miller's 1953 play 'The Crucible' (Feiticeiras de Salem) played at Teatro Maria Della Costa; Abilio Pereira de Almeida's 'Em moeda corrente do país' played at Teatro Cacilda Becker; José Vasconcelos's 'Eu sou o espetáculo' was playing for the 3rd year in a row at huge Teatro Paramount; Vasconcelos was so successful in his one-man-show that pantomime actor Ricardo Bandeira thought he might emulate him with his 'O show sou eu' at the much smaller Teatro de Arena. At Cine Monaco, Mexican comedian Cantinflas' 1959's 'Sube y baja' (Sobe e desce) always attracts big crowds.

19 March 1961 - At Champanhota on Rua Amaral Gurgel, singer Noite Ilustrada performed nightly; at Michel on Rua Major Sertorio, a revue with comedienne Maria Vidal, Dorinha Duval, Hugo Santana, Flavio Pedroso & Denise Dumont; at La Vie en Rose on the same rua Major Sertorio, only on Sundays, comedians Ronald Golias & Carlos Alberto de Nobrega shared the stage; at Farney's on Praça Roosevelt, Dick Farney played piano nightly. Chansonier Sacha Distel would sing at Farney's on the 21 March. Mr. Distel was actually singing nightly at Teatro Record as of the 21st through to the 27th.

26 March 1961 - The very best of S.Paulo's night life in 1960 chosen by columnist Mary Wynne: Leny Eversong (internacional act); Robledo (pianist); Uccio Gaeta (musician); suave Dick Farney (male singer); Fred Feld  being the best pianist of 1957, 1958 & 1959 will be granted a 'Sacizinho de Honra' (a Little Sacy Honours).

4 April 1961 - Horn-player & band-leader Ray Anthony performed nightly at Teatro Record; on Thursday, 6 April Anthony his band and his singers would play at ball at Club Pinheiros; Carolina Maria de Jesus's 'Quarto de despejo' with Ruth de Souza playing the squatter & author at Teatro Bela Vista; Colé & his company opened at Teatro Natal with 'Mulher só à francesa' (Women only the French way) with Lilian Fernandes as a star on Thursday too.

13 April 1961 - Premiere of Roberto Freire's 'Sem entrada e sem mais nada' with great cast: Eva Wilma, Liana Duval, Mauro Mendonça, Elias Gleiser directed by vanguardist Antunes Filho.

19 April 1961 – Mary Wynne writes: Old time singer Caco Velho and his friend Edy own the Brazilian’s Bar on Rua Peixoto Gomide.  The place is small and it seems like the smaller it is the more people want to get in. It’s standing room only every night.  

I met charming Caterina Valente at the bar two nights ago just when she was saying good-bye to S.Paulo after performing a whole week at Teatro Record on Rua da Consolação. The international singer conquered a lot of hearts; you should have seen all the gifts she got and everyone trying to greet her. Caco Velho with his Olga and Chininha and his combo did one of the best performances I’ve seen.

Agostinho dos Santos whom I haven’t seen for a long time sang some of his best songs especially to Miss Valente. They have actually belonged to the same label Polydor some time in the past. What a voice, what heart felt delivery! I don’t know anybody who can evoke the late Dolores Duran so well as Agostinho.  

Caterina listened attentively to each song, following the beat with her head and her expressive hands softly trying to memorize each word for future recordings in Europe.

The Brazilian’s Bar has been chosen as the hang-out of International stars that visit São Paulo like Sacha Distel, Ray Anthony and now Caterina Valente. 

19 April 1961 - show-girl Marly Marley & friends strutted their thing at Boite Oasis; Geraldo Cunha played his guitar and sang at Bon Soir on Praça Franklin Roosevelt; pianist Robledo & his combo played at Bon Voyage on Estrada São Paulo-Paraná (future Via Raposo Tavares); organist Walter Wanderley played at Hotel Comodoro's Captain Bar; Dick Farney played piano and sang at Farney's his own night-club on Praça Roosevelt; Alda Perdigão sang at La Vie en Rose on Rua Major Sertório; Barbara Ardauney sang at Moleque Bar on Alameda Nothmann; The Avalons, Brazil's very first rock'n'roll combo played at Noubar on Rua João Dias in Santo Amaro every Sunday in a 'chá dançante' followed with 'jantar dançante'; Moacyr Peixoto (Cauby's brother) and his Quintet played 'jantar dançante' from 10:00 PM to 3:AM every night at Hotel Jaragua's Studium.

26 May 1961 - São Paulo was such a cosmopolitan city where one could go and watch a whole play acted in the French languaga like Molière's 'Les précieuses ridicules', Eugene Ionesco's 'Rhinoceros', Marivaux's 'Les fausses confidences' etc. 

25 June 1961 - TV Excelsior, Channel 9 could be seen now in Santos-SP as long as one directed its aerial towards Morro Santa Terezinha... 

25 June 1961 -  Believe it or not, great song-writer, pianist and band leader Ary Barroso was conducting his full orchestra at Theatro Paramount in São Paulo less than 3 years prior to his death (early 1964); grandiose Russian ballet was more popular than ever with Stanislavski at Ibirapuera arena; Russians were popular as space-travellers too; Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin visited Brazil wowing the crowds with his good looks; the local burlesque Teatro Natal could not ignore him - 'Gagarin na lua' (Gagarin in the Moon) with voluptous show girls Celia Coutinho & Eloina; at MacKenzie University a Bossa Nova recital with Vinicius de Moraes, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Alaide Costa, Agostinho dos Santos, Carlos Lyra, Caetano Zamma, Ana Lucia etc.

25 June 1961 - actress Bibi Ferreira MCs 'Brazil '61', the best variety show on Brazilian TV.