Itamar Assumpção

Itamar Assumpção was born in Tietê, in inland São Paulo state, in 1949, a great-grandson of enslaved Angolans. At 12, he moved to Arapongas, Paraná, left accounting for theater and live performances in Londrina, where he met Arrigo Barnabé, and, as a self-taught guitarist, fell in love with the bass while listening to Jimi Hendrix. In 1973 he settled in São Paulo and became a regular presence at Teatro Lira Paulistana, a meeting place for the so-called Vanguarda Paulista, São Paulo's independent avant-garde scene. Beleléu, Leléu, Eu was released in 1980 on Lira's own label, with the band Isca de Polícia, combining samba, rock and funk with satirical lyrics. He always rejected the maldito label. He died in São Paulo in 2003.