Manduka

The son of Thiago de Mello, a poet from Amazonas, Alexandre Manuel Thiago de Mello was born in 1952 in the state of Rio de Janeiro and, at the age of 18, moved to Chile, during a period when many Brazilian artists were in exile. In Santiago, he composed with Geraldo Vandré; he was also an actor and composer in a film by Glauber Rocha and, in 1972, released his first LP, listed as Brasil 1500 in some sources and Manduka in others. He continued through Argentina, Venezuela, and Europe, recording albums such as Caravana, and worked with the Chilean group Los Jaivas. Back in Brazil in 1979, he released through CBS the first album he made in his home country and, the following year, won the TV Tupi festival with "Quem Me Levará Sou Eu", written with Dominguinhos. He was also a visual artist. He died in 2004.