In Praise of Mulatas

The military persecution that forbade Oswaldo Sargentelli
from working as a journalist was decisive to his new
vocation of mulatólogo. In the 80s, however, he was accused
of racism and exploitation of black women.

Alessandra Dalevi

It was a fitting death for one of Brazil's most celebrated bohemians and womanizers. Sambista Oswaldo Sargentelli, 78, had to be taken in a rush to the hospital Barra D'Or in Rio's west side, April 12, a Friday night, while taping a scene in front of Dona Jura's Bar, a setting of O Clone (The Clone), Brazil's most popular soap opera at the moment. Dona Jura, interpreted by actress Solange Couto, pay homage to the man who gave her the first chance in show biz when she was 17.

The reencounter with the mulata (mulatto girl) whom he made famous was too much for his feeble heart. Sargentelli died Saturday morning from an acute myocardial infarction, after doctors tried to implant a pacemaker. The heart was giving him trouble for some time. In 1998 he had three bypasses implanted. At that time he commented in his musical-irreverent style: "The bass drum is failing." But he did not slow down.

In the 70s, the promoter who used to call himself mulatólogo (mulattologist) had up to 40 mulatas working for him. Also known as Voz do Trovão (Voice of Thunder), Sargentelli made a career in radio and TV, interviewing personalities. Between 1957 and 1964, he hosted the show O Preto no Branco (Black on White) at extinct TV Tupi. He didn't appear on stage. The spectators could only see the interviewee and hear the presenter's booming voice. The questions were often polemical or embarrassing for the guest. Another famous show he hosted was Advogado do Diabo (The Devil's Attorney). At the time of his death, Sargentelli, also known as Sargento (Sergeant), was still hosting A Verdade de… (The Truth of…), a late-night show at Rede Brasil TV in which he interviewed personalities.

Born in Lapa, a Rio neighborhood famous for its bohemian mores, Sargentelli was raised by his mother, Maria Amélia Sargentelli. The father, Leopoldo de Azeredo Babo, abandoned his family when Oswald was still an infant and never even give him his name. Sargentelli would only meet his famous composer uncle Lamartine Babo, in 1948, when he landed a job as radio announcer at Rádio Clube do Brasil.

Sargentelli has been single since 1978 when he left his third wife, Almary, after a 13-year marriage. As for the number of children he fathered he was never quiet sure. "Inside the house," he told an interviewer from Gente magazine, "I had seven. But I have 21 children spread around." His first marriage, to Lúcia, lasted eight years; the second, to Vera, resisted 11.

His house was always full of people. He used to say that he hated to be alone. Some days, up to 11 people would sleep in his one-bedroom apartment in Copacabana. During a visit of a reporter in 1999 there were six friends living there: singer Miguel França, mulatas Aline Barreto and Renata Santana and three more people.

Memórias de um Sargento de Mulatas (Memories of Sergeant of Mulatto Girls), written by Fernando Costa and released in 1999, tells about little-known facts on his life, like the times he went to jail during the military regime for speaking his mind as a political reporter at TV Rio. The military persecution that in 1964 forbade him from working as a journalist was decisive to his new vocation of mulatólogo. His first show of mulatas happened in 1969 in Copacabana's O Sambão. The next year, he opened Sucata and then, in 1973, Oba Oba, with a show that would tour the whole world in the 70s and 80s. He made a big splash presenting Sargentelli e as Mulatas Que Não Estão no Mapa (Sargentelli and the Out-of-this-world Mulatas). This year he was working on plans to open a new nightclub in the same place Sucata once was.

In 1985, the Commission for the Valorization and Political Integration of the Black from Rio Grande do Sul accused him of racism and of exploiting black women. The charges were later dropped, however.

Some have credited him with the creation of words that have entered the Brazilian entertainment world like telecoteco, ziriguidum and borogodó. In an interview with Rio Grande do Sul daily newspaper Zero Hora, in February, he explained how these expressions came to light, "I didn't invent anything, just spread them. Time and again, radio announcers created these terms. Ziriguidum, for example, I took it from Monsueto Menezes and Ary Barroso always said telecoteco. I've also incorporated popular expressions. Balacobaco was the way to say "let's go to a ball." Borogodó, on the other hand, meant that someone was pretty. These words show the African influence in Brazil.

In the same interview, Sargentelli talked about his lifelong love for the mulata. "No one convinces me that white TV beauties know more about samba than a mulata. And I'm blond with blue eyes. I adore white women, even those American ones with
their amazing mammaries, but the mulata has no match when she sambas. She kills."

Recently, Sargentelli interviewed himself in his Rede Brazil TV show.

"Do your consider yourself generous?," he asked. And answered: "If I passed the limit of generosity, I'm sorry. Now I'm in the diminutive phase: I'm the little old man, the little fluffy guy, the little sergeant. I pay neither the bus fare nor the restaurant. Ah, Christ in Heavens, how good it's to live!"

At almost 80, are you still dealing with mulatas?

I don't deal anymore because I reached my limit. Today I only think about them. Ah, how good it is to think.

Where did you get so many pretty women?

Brazil is a factory of pretty women.

Did you romance Dercy Gonçalves (a vaudeville and TV comedian)?

Of course! I saw her body going upstairs and became hallucinated. I'm from the time when boys would become hallucinated by the sight of a girl going upstairs.

In which measure is God part of your life?

God is my friend. If the heavenly father is Brazilian, He likes samba, pop music and mulata.

That's the way he defined the women he loved the most: `'Mulatas have thin waist, thick thighs, naughty little-girl face, good teeth, wide laugh, and very good smell; they shake and jiggle, making everyone's mouth water."

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