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The Anthem of Rio Branco is not just a song, it is an ode that whispers the mysteries of the forest, the echoes of the rivers and the pulse of the earth that intertwine with the stories that merge with the soil.
Composed by Chico Chagas, Paulo Arantes and Graça Gomes, the melody is like a gentle breeze that runs through the fields and mixes with the fragrance of the trees and the sound of the waters, reflecting the spirit of the capital of Acre.
In the first lines of the hymn, the river – the one that is the mirror of the city – is personified as the great testimony of the birth of a village, which germinates in the womb of the forest.
“Embraced by the forest”, the river is more than a source of life; he is what reveals, what nourishes, what creates. He was the first to see the land form, people emerge, roots take hold.
With him, Rio Branco was born, and from his arms sprouted dreams, smiles, and the constant pulse of a city that, little by little, became the jewel that it is.
And while the river extends, the land also becomes rich in poetry. Every drop that falls from the sky, every ray of sun that touches the ground, is a promise of life that sprouts and blossoms.
The hymn takes us through the journey of a city that is like the touch of a motherly hand: “Light, to those who are coming / Rain, for the ground to sprout.”
The metaphor of the blessing sky is like the mantle of divinity that covers the city with an aura of protection, as if every corner of Rio Branco was a sacred space of birth and rebirth. Every dawn is a silent celebration of this gift.
The city is more than a geographic place; it is the beating heart of the state, surrounded by beauty and guardian of a unique history. “Capital of nature”, the anthem presents Rio Branco as the point of convergence between the elements – air, water, earth – that form the invisible bond that keeps the city alive and vibrant.
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by Pitter Lucena. Photo: ContilNet
The anthem not only sings of the city, but reveres it as a unique being, as a muse that inspires its people, with “a sign of charm and seduction.”
And the forest people? They are the protagonists of this story, the lifeblood that nourishes the soul of the city. The hymn is a tribute to these beings who belong to the earth, who are part of the sky and the water, who live between myth and reality.
The hymn describes them as part of the “sap, life to win”, and there is a depth to the image of the accordion playing in the middle of a party, like an eternal cycle of joy and work, which only those who understand the heat of the forest really know how. celebrate.
The beauty of the people who build Rio Branco is visible in the verses: “Our people mix colors / Always such a kind people.” Here, the city is not just a mixture of races, but a “bouquet of many flowers”, a living watercolor that carries the colors of Brazil.
The anthem celebrates this diversity as a force that generates, creates, loves and does. The city is not made of walls, but of encounters, of shared experiences.
And then, the city reveals itself in its purest essence: “We are history / Legends, songs and passion.” The past and present intertwine, like a tapestry that never loses its threads, always renewed and enriched.
Rio Branco is not just a city; it is the inspiration of poets, the cradle of stories that never die, the legends that live in the hearts of those who inhabit it. And like every city that has a soul, Rio Branco celebrates its life.
The celebration of “joy”, the “brightness in the tropical Hileia”, tells us about the vitality that the city possesses. A place where, in the “western Amazon”, celebration is constant and never silent.
It is a land of infinite possibilities, where life sings loud and strong. “Gameleira is poetry” becomes a symbol of the love that grows in the city, a tree that is at the same time shelter, protection and poetry.
Each branch that extends is like a melody that reverberates in the soul of whoever passes by, and the city becomes a great poem, where each leaf is a word, each branch a line, and each flower, a stanza of love for life. .
And then comes the chorus – a cry, a hymn of war and love at the same time: “Seringueiros go to war / Brazilians with weapons in their hands.” It is the story of a people who, with courage, defended their piece of land, their sacred ground.
Rio Branco is the testimony of this struggle, this strength, this resistance that runs through the veins of the city, which built its identity between struggles and dreams. The chorus echoes like an oath of belonging, a reminder that the land is sacred, that every piece of ground you step on is more than just soil: it’s history, it’s love, it’s struggle.
Rio Branco is a place where every verse, every note, and every soul meets. In its anthem, the city is more than just a name on the map: it is the celebration of a people, a history, a land that is eternalized in song. It is the living memory of everything that was and everything that will be, an eternal song of love for life.
The composition of Rio Branco’s anthem was not just an artistic work; it was a true odyssey of heart and mind, a profound journey to capture the soul of the city in a few words and notes.
The city, which grew up embraced by the green immensity of the Amazon, needed a song that, when sounded, carried in its timbre the memories of the struggle, the perfume of flowers and the roar of the river that surrounds it. But how can you build something so vast in such a short time?
The notice imposed a melody and lyrics that, although simple, needed to speak of a complex place, where yesterday and today intertwine in the paths of the present.
Chico Chagas, with his genius and musical sensitivity, charted the path with a melody that pulsed like the city’s own blood.
His choice of a doudo, a form traditionally used in hymns, was an anchor in time, while his arrangement became a bridge to the future. The double, with its strong and solemn cadence, sounded like the firm steps of the city that rose between the jungle and progress. In each chord, it was possible to hear the murmur of the river, the rustling of the leaves and the pulsation of the streets that testified to the lives of those who live there.
The lyrics had to be more than words. It was necessary to penetrate the fibers of history, capture the spirit of the land, the color of the people. Paulo Arantes and Graça Gomes, with the clarity of poets and the wisdom of masters, drew a timeline that began in the sigh of the forest and extended to the fields and squares of Rio Branco.
In just a few verses, they had to delve into the founding of the city, its geopolitics, the richness of its waters, the struggle of its people. The task seemed impossible: how to fit all the grandeur of a story into a melody lasting just three minutes?
It was a work of rewriting time, of condensing centuries of life into a hymn capable of being remembered by everyone. It was not just the city that rose to the melody, but also those who built it.
The anthem had to carry the strength of the rubber machine, the struggle of the rubber tappers, the courage of the first residents, and also the freshness of modern life, of the city that, every year, was renewed like a flower that opens at dawn.
And then, Graça Gomes, with her sharp gaze and her singer’s soul, completed the work with the chorus, the soul of the song. It was as if Paulo’s words took on wings, turned into a celebration each time the carefully formed choir sang them.
The choir, composed of Graça Gomes, Hedhaida, Lourdes, Gorette, Maria Rita, Paulo Arantes, Sávio and Franklin Pinheiro, was the voice that echoed the city, the heart that beat in the tuned notes. Each of them, as part of a collective body, brought with them the passion and love for the city, becoming the resonance of the land, the river, the forest and the people.
The adaptation didn’t stop there. The voices needed to unite like rivers that meet at the confluence, and for this, the Military Police Band brought the breath of discipline and the strength of tradition. His notes were the firmament that supported Chico Chagas’ words and chords.
Like an orchestra playing the symphony of a nation, the musicians took the anthem and elevated it, making it more than just a song. It has become a link, a connection between the past and the future, between wild nature and the city that pulses with life.
And then, when the anthem was performed, the moment was magical. Each verse sounded like a bow to the land and the people. The sky that blesses, the river that unites, the forest that sustains, and the city that grows — all of this was there, in the notes that spread through the air. It was as if Rio Branco was more than a city: it was a living being, breathing and singing its own story, and the anthem was its voice.
The hard work of everyone involved was not just an effort to win a contest. It was a feat that engraved the city in the memory of those who live there, and, in some way, in the hearts of everyone who listens to its music. The hymn became part of everyday life, no longer just a song, but a living memory that would echo through all generations.
And so, Rio Branco, the city that is born from the jungle and grows under the sky of the Amazon, now has its voice. A voice that sings your story, your struggles, your glories. The hymn, with its soft and firm melody at the same time, is more than a composition. It is the soul of the city, the strength of its people, and the certainty that, even in difficulties, the beauty of life will always find its way, like the waters that run free through the rivers of the Amazon.
