Banda Calypso
Banda Calypso was a Brazilian brega pop band, with influences of regional rhythms of the state of Pará. The band was formed in Belém, the state capital, in 1999 by singer/dancer Joelma da Silva Mendes and guitarist/producer Cledivan Almeida Farias, better known as Mestre Ximbinha. Early exposure of their work was restricted to only the North and Northeast regions of Brazil. The band now enjoys success throughout Brazil and has begun to establish its career abroad with tours to the United States, Europe and Angola.
Despite initial resistance by music distributors because of its genre and origins, the band became a leader in CD and DVD sales in the 2000s, with over 10 million albums, and over 5 million DVDs distributed in Brazil, making it one of the record-breaking bands of the country in sales. The band plays an engaging rhythm known as Brega pop and Calypso. Banda Calypso also plays a mixture of several Pará rhythms as well as Cumbia, Merengtheue and Carimbó.
In 2011, development began on the feature film This is Calypso – The Movie, which will recount how Joelma and Ximbinha met, the band's formation in 1999 and its recognition in Brazil and abroad. The film is being directed by Caco Souza and will star Deborah Secco as Joelma; the actor who will play Ximbinha has not yet been named.
On 19 August 2015 the couple announced their separation. The announcement stated that the band would honor its current commitments until the end of its performance calendar in December 2015.
Biographies
Cledivan Almeida Farias, better known as Chimbinha and today as Ximbinha, was born in Pará. He began playing the flute at age 12. He reinvented the rhythm 'Brega pop'. At just 18 he was already among the best known of Belém music producers.Joelma da Silva Mendes was born in Almeirim in Pará. She began singing at the age of 19 in local nightclubs. She became well-known after singing at the Art and Culture Fair of the city. She sang for six years in the band Fazendo Arte, until she decided to record her first solo CD. At a dinner at the home of Pará singer Kim Marques, Joelma met Ximbinha. Known for his arrangements, he agreed to produce her solo album under the stage name Joelma Lins.
The singer and the guitarist began dating and decided to come together to form the band. Initially, they expected to sell ten thousand disks, which was then considered a success. Thirteen years after the release of their first album, Banda Calypso had surpassed 14 million albums sold.
Separation Of The Couple – Joelma & Ximbinha
On 19 August 2015 the official social network of the band on Facebook declared the separation of the couple. According to the advisory they did not report the reason for the separation, only that "the marriage of Joelma and Ximbinha has come to an end." The advisory declared: "A union of 18 years bore the fruit of two wonderful children, and many projects and partnerships and...we want to emphasize that our respect, gratitude, friendship, admiration and partnership remain mutual." The advisory also stated that the performance commitments of Banda Calypso will continue with its calendar throughout Brazil until December, 2015. "We rely on the kindness and understanding of all so that this moment is privately maintained."History of the band
1999–2001: Start of the band and ''Volume 1''
The band was created in 1999 with the transformation of the solo album Joelma into Banda Calypso, Volume 1. The beginning of the band was difficult because, even with many contacts and the influence that Ximbinha exerted in the Pará music scene, music producers were reluctant to sponsor the CD of this new band. Therefore, Ximbinha put together a partnership that cut a limited edition of 1000 discs, which sold out within one week. Today many fans consider it a collector's item. With this result, Ximbinha obtained contracts for concerts and the band played throughout Pará.Though limited in exposure to the Northern and Northeast regions of Brazil, the re-released disc surpassed 750,000 in sales. The only change made in the re-release was the introduction of three bonus tracks: 'Loirinha', 'Rubi' and 'Brega Fo'. In the song 'Loirinha', there is another singer, Dinho. Nowadays, this is the version found for sales and to download the album. With the success of the single 'Vendaval' in Belém, the band's songs became known throughout the Northeast. When they played concerts in the region they were very successful, especially with the songs 'Dois Corações' and 'Disse Adeus'.
2001–2002: '' Ao Vivo '' ('Live')
After the single 'Vendaval' along with other songs were published in an album and distributed in the Northeast, the band played several concerts in the region that featured the singer, Dinho, in addition to starring Joelma. Among many shows, a special in Recife, capital of the State of Pernambuco, gave rise to a second album, Banda Calypso Live that was recorded in the Lamb's Exhibition Park in Recife in 2000 and released in 2001. With this recording there was a great increase in the band's exposure in the Northeast and in other Brazilian regions. The album sold over 1.2 million copies and established Banda Calypso on the national scene.The disc was released without edits and included the tracks 'Loirinha' and two sets of carimbó, both sung by Dinho. The singer was on stage when Joelma was changing dance costumes, thus lending continuity to the show. The concert was hosted by Gilberto Barros, better known as Lion, who presented the program. In this show, and with the release of the album, the band displayed their work to a wider audience and earned a reputation in parts of the country where they had not yet had the opportunity to play in concert.
2002–2003: ''The Rhythm That Won Brazil!''
After the release of the album Live, in 2002 the band recorded its third album titled The Rhythm That Won Brazil!. The songs that were most prominent in this collection, where they played with several bands, were the ballads Maridos e Esposas and Desfaz as Malas. But the dancing hits were of greatest importance, among them Temporal, Só Vai Dar Eu e Você and Zouk Love, Príncipe Encantado and Chamo Por Você. In 2003 the band went back to Recife to attend the 1ª Festa do São João da Capitá, which was broadcast by TV network Rede Globo. With songs from all three albums having been released, the audience participated by dancing and singing in the show from beginning to end.2003–2004: ''Volume 4 and Ao Vivo em São Paulo''
The band recorded their fourth album: Banda Calypso, Volume 4, which was completed in less than a week, with lead single Pra Te Esquecer, and the ballads Imagino and Tic Tac, among others. This album also contained a variety of rhythms that the band always uses, but now with more experimentation, better sound quality and a wider audience. Unlike previous albums, singing with Joelma was not Dinho but Edu Luppa, a songwriter partner who sang tracks Uma Rosa and Maria.When the album was released it was pirated by a group in Pará, so Joelma and Ximbinha filed a lawsuit; but despite this problem they still released the disc which surpassed 900,000 copies in sales.
Also in 2003 they recorded and released their first DVD of a show in São Paulo at the venue Patativa, with an audience of more than 30,000. The show was released on CD and DVD with the title Banda Calypso Ao Vivo em São Paulo. This project received considerable attention nationally, and though recorded as a single house show the disk had sales of over 700,000 and DVD sales of over 600,000.
2004–2005: ''Volume 6 and Na Amazônia''
In November 2004 the band released the CD Banda Calypso, Volume 6. This album featured sentimental content with many ballads, and did not have rhythms like Cumbia or Merengue but did not lose the danceable rhythms that had been the hallmark of the band previously. The disk is considered one of the classics of the band and features the song highlights: A Lua Me Traiu, Ainda Te Amo, Pra Todo Mundo Ver and Minha Princesa. The latter was dedicated to Yasmin, the daughter of Joelma and Ximbinha, who was born shortly before the recording and who cries just before the last refrain. While promoting the album, at a show in Goiânia the heel of Joelma's shoe broke during a dance routine and she fell heavily to the stage floor, hit her head and became unconscious.Even though two previous albums had been recently released, Volume 6 was among the 10 best selling albums for several weeks in various regions of the country, with more than 950,000 copies sold at the end of 2005, thus receiving Gold, Platinum, Diamond and Double Diamond status.
Continuing to tour under contracts arranged in 2004, the band recorded their second DVD called Calypso na Amazônia. The show was held on November 14, 2004 at the Convention Center of the Amazon in Manaus with more than 50,000 in attendance. One show was a tribute to singer Gilberto Barros who had helped the band when he presented them as a preview in his live show where, when he saw the audience reaction, he could not contain his tears.
The show was also a reminder of Joelma's time in the band 'Fazendo Arte' reprising Brincou Comigo, a song she had sung alongside Kim Marques. The show ended with the song Paquera, which gave the presentation a simple but emotional ending. The DVD became the best seller of the year, even before being released nationwide, and earned the Triple Diamond. Its lead single was Pra Te Esquecer, which was an even greater success than its original release. But the entire disc was an extraordinary success, with highlights from dance songs to romantic ballads.
The band began its first international tour at the beginning of 2005, playing in the USA, Italy, Portugal and Sweden. When they returned to Brazil they were invited for the first time to be the guests of the TV show Domingão do Faustão on the TV network Rede Globo. Later in the year The band had four albums in the top 50 bestseller list in Brazil, and two DVDs in the top 20 list.