Heitor Villa-Lobos

Foreground photograph of Heitor Villa-Lobos, seated, leaning on a piano. In the photograph, there is a dedication: “To my Mindinha from Benzinho. Rio, 11-11-40. Flag Day [drawing of the flag of Brazil] ”. Mindinha was the nickname of the composer's second wife, Arminda Villa-Lobos, to whom the musician dedicated several works. In 1960, Mindinha was responsible for the creation of the Villa-Lobos Museum in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The date recorded in the dedication refers to the flag day (November 19), a Brazilian commemorative date created after the proclamation of the republic in 1889 and reminiscent of the first public presentation of the flag.