Tiririca
Encyclopedia
Francisco Everardo Oliveira Silva (born May 1, 1965, in Itapipoca
, Ceará
), best known by the stage name
"Tiririca", is a Brazilian singer, composer
, actor
, clown
, comedian
, humorist and politician
. He currently represents the state of São Paulo
in the National Congress of Brazil
.
Silva went on a meteoric national success in 1997 when his first album Florentina went to top charts, breaking sales records. Being a one-hit wonder
, Tiririca went to work on the television in humor programs and returned to the Brazilian headlines in 2010, when he became the second most voted congressman in the history of Brazil.
, in the Brazilian state of Ceará
from a extremely poor family, Tiririca began working at the age of six. When he was eight years old, after seeing a circus performing in his home town, Tiririca joined then and started working as a clown
. His stage name "Tiririca" ("Coco-grass
") dates from this period; he got it from his mother because of his very strong, bitter ill-tempered personality as a child.
His humorous singing performances in small local circuses were met with great success, so the circus owner he worked for together with some local businessman sponsored the launch of the first 1,000 copies of his first album
. Soon his album became a great success in the Northeast Region of Brazil
selling about 1.5 million copies; grabbing the attention of big record companies such as Sony Music who bought the record and launched it nationally in 1997. Florentina soon became a meteoric success breaking charts sales records previous established by Mamonas Assassinas
in just a few weeks. Tiririca also broke TV audience records whenever he appeared.
His first CD also gave rise to much controversy; it contained the song Veja os cabelos dela ("Look At Her Hair"), which many branded as racist. The album's copies were seized from stores, this song banned from radio stations, and Franciso was tried for racism. In the end, he was acquitted and a second version of the album without that song was released.
Tiririca also went on to record two more albums, trying to profit from Florentina success: Tiririca (1997) and Dança da Rapadura (1999). Both of then failed to get anywhere close to Florentina sales level. From 1999 onwards, Tiririca focused on his actor
and humorist career.
. Soon after, he joined the Rede Record
network in 1999 becoming a cast member of the comedy show "Escolinha do barulho" . After the cancellation of "Escolinha do Barulho" in 2002 he transferred to SBT, where he held a segment in the show "A Praça é Nossa".
After leaving SBT in 2004, Tiririca recorded a new album called "Alegria do Forró" which was a commercial failure.
After a hiatus, he returned to Rede Record
in 2006 after being invited by his fellow comedian and personal friend Tom Cavalcante to take part in his "Show do Tom
" comedy show. Tiririca again met national success with his character 008 of the Bofe de Elite (meaning "Elite Fag", a parody of The Elite Squad movies) segment of "Show do Tom".
after being invited by the Partido da República
. He appeared on TV ads in his "Tiririca" persona and used slogans like "What does a federal congressman do? I really don't know - but if you vote for me, I'll tell ya" ("O que é que faz um deputado federal? Na realidade, eu não sei. Mas vote em mim que eu te conto") or "It can't get any worse - vote Tiririca" ("Pior que está não fica, Vote Tiririca") and even "If elected I promise I will help all Brazilian families... especially mine" ("Se eleito prometo ajudar todas as famílias brasileiras...especialmente a minha").
Such slogans moved a group of state congressional candidates to complain with the electoral attorney's office that Tiririca was insulting the National Congress and all public offices because of his lack of political projects and also his satirical approach to the traditionally corrupt Brazilian political system. The complaint, however, was filed away.
Tiririca was denounced as illiterate by Época
magazine in its September 24, 2010 edition. This statement, if true, would invalidate his candidacy. Soon after the Época edition that claimed about Tiririca illiteracy was released, prosecutor
Maurício Lopes sued Tiririca for forging his signature in his candidacy forms. Despite the trial having not yet taken place and all the negative propaganda about his alleged illiteracy, on October 3, 2010, Tiririca became the most voted-for Congressman in the 2010 Brazilian general elections
(and the second most voted-for in Brazilian history, after Enéas Carneiro
), winning his seat for São Paulo state with 1,348,295 votes (6,35%).
On October 30, 2010, Tiririca's defense team alleged that he suffered from dysgraphia
, which prevented him from holding a pen firmly. They further alleged that Tiririca's wife helped him write the literacy statement in his own hand, as demanded by Brazilian electoral law. She is said to have placed her hand over his to help him hold the pen firmly as he was writing. Also because of this condition, the defense said, Silva could not take any writing tests.
The explanation, however, runs counter to a video recorded by Época in September that gave rise to the suspicions of illiteracy. The pictures show Tiririca giving his autograph to a fan. On foot, suddenly, Tiririca secures a notebook with his left hand and scribbles a circular signature with his right hand. He further writes the letters for his name. He shows no trouble whatsoever holding the pen.
After many discussions and judicial tribulations, Tiririca underwent a simple reading and writing test and on November 11, 2010 he finally proved that he was indeed literate. Although the prosecutor appealed against this decision, claiming that his 30% score in the test was too low to prove anything, the federal judge
Walter de Almeida Guilherme rejected the appeal.
Thus, Tiririca received his federal congressman certificate under heavy applause by the people present in the ceremony on December 17, 2010. That same day Tiririca revealed his political project, focused primarily in helping circus artists, financing cultural projects, helping fight the prejudice against Northeastern people that is present in the southern regions of Brazil and increasing funds to primary education.
A curious fact is that two days before he received his certificate (December 15, 2010), during his first visit to the Brazilian Congress building, the Brazilian congressesmen had approved a salary raise of 60% for themselves. When asked about the fact by a news reporter, Tiririca said "I guess I'm lucky... on my first day I got a raise!!" ("Dei sorte...no meu primeiro dia ganhei um aumento!!")
Itapipoca
Itapipoca is a city in Ceará, Brazil. It is located at around . It was founded in 1823. It is far from Fortaleza about 130 km.Probably the most known Itapipoca citizen is the entertainer and politician Tiririca....
, Ceará
Ceará
Ceará is one of the 27 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is currently the 8th largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the main touristic destinations in Brazil. The state capital is the city of...
), best known by the stage name
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
"Tiririca", is a Brazilian singer, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, clown
Clown
Clowns are comic performers stereotypically characterized by the grotesque image of the circus clown's colored wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, unusually large footwear, and red nose, which evolved to project their actions to large audiences. Other less grotesque styles have also...
, comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
, humorist and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. He currently represents the state of São Paulo
São Paulo (state)
São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...
in the National Congress of Brazil
National Congress of Brazil
The National Congress of Brazil is the legislative body of Brazil's federal government.Unlike regional legislative bodies – Legislative Assemblies and City Councils -, the Congress is bicameral, composed of the Federal Senate and the Chamber of Deputies .The Senate represents the 26 states and...
.
Silva went on a meteoric national success in 1997 when his first album Florentina went to top charts, breaking sales records. Being a one-hit wonder
One-hit wonder
A one-hit wonder is a person or act known mainly for only a single success. The term is most often used to describe music performers with only one hit single.-Characteristics:...
, Tiririca went to work on the television in humor programs and returned to the Brazilian headlines in 2010, when he became the second most voted congressman in the history of Brazil.
Early life and career
Born in ItapipocaItapipoca
Itapipoca is a city in Ceará, Brazil. It is located at around . It was founded in 1823. It is far from Fortaleza about 130 km.Probably the most known Itapipoca citizen is the entertainer and politician Tiririca....
, in the Brazilian state of Ceará
Ceará
Ceará is one of the 27 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is currently the 8th largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the main touristic destinations in Brazil. The state capital is the city of...
from a extremely poor family, Tiririca began working at the age of six. When he was eight years old, after seeing a circus performing in his home town, Tiririca joined then and started working as a clown
Clown
Clowns are comic performers stereotypically characterized by the grotesque image of the circus clown's colored wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, unusually large footwear, and red nose, which evolved to project their actions to large audiences. Other less grotesque styles have also...
. His stage name "Tiririca" ("Coco-grass
Cyperus rotundus
Cyperus rotundus is a species of sedge native to Africa, southern and central Europe , and southern Asia. The word cyperus derives from the Greek "κύπερος" and rotundus is from Latin, meaning "round"...
") dates from this period; he got it from his mother because of his very strong, bitter ill-tempered personality as a child.
His humorous singing performances in small local circuses were met with great success, so the circus owner he worked for together with some local businessman sponsored the launch of the first 1,000 copies of his first album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
. Soon his album became a great success in the Northeast Region of Brazil
Northeast Region, Brazil
The Northeast Region of Brazil is composed of the following states: Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe and Bahia, and it represents 18.26% of the Brazilian territory....
selling about 1.5 million copies; grabbing the attention of big record companies such as Sony Music who bought the record and launched it nationally in 1997. Florentina soon became a meteoric success breaking charts sales records previous established by Mamonas Assassinas
Mamonas Assassinas
Mamonas Assassinas was a satirical Brazilian rock band. Their lyrics, music and live performances were as famous as their tragical end: on March 2, 1996, the plane in which they were crashed into the Cantareira mountain range, near São Paulo, killing all band members.The band's name carries a...
in just a few weeks. Tiririca also broke TV audience records whenever he appeared.
His first CD also gave rise to much controversy; it contained the song Veja os cabelos dela ("Look At Her Hair"), which many branded as racist. The album's copies were seized from stores, this song banned from radio stations, and Franciso was tried for racism. In the end, he was acquitted and a second version of the album without that song was released.
Tiririca also went on to record two more albums, trying to profit from Florentina success: Tiririca (1997) and Dança da Rapadura (1999). Both of then failed to get anywhere close to Florentina sales level. From 1999 onwards, Tiririca focused on his actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and humorist career.
On TV
As his musical career was on decline, Tiririca went on a stint in a show for children on the now defunct Rede MancheteRede Manchete
Rede Manchete was a television network from Brazil. It first aired on June 5, 1983 in Rio de Janeiro and simultaneously in other 5 Brazilian cities, like São Paulo on Rede Exclesior's old channel 9 frequency...
. Soon after, he joined the Rede Record
Rede Record
Rede Record de Televisão is a Brazilian television network, founded in 1953 by Paulo Machado de Carvalho, also founder of Rádio Record. Currently it is owned by businessman Edir Macedo, founder and bishop of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God. Since 2007 it is Brazil's second largest...
network in 1999 becoming a cast member of the comedy show "Escolinha do barulho" . After the cancellation of "Escolinha do Barulho" in 2002 he transferred to SBT, where he held a segment in the show "A Praça é Nossa".
After leaving SBT in 2004, Tiririca recorded a new album called "Alegria do Forró" which was a commercial failure.
After a hiatus, he returned to Rede Record
Rede Record
Rede Record de Televisão is a Brazilian television network, founded in 1953 by Paulo Machado de Carvalho, also founder of Rádio Record. Currently it is owned by businessman Edir Macedo, founder and bishop of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God. Since 2007 it is Brazil's second largest...
in 2006 after being invited by his fellow comedian and personal friend Tom Cavalcante to take part in his "Show do Tom
Show do Tom
Show do Tom is a Brazilian comedy and talk show aired by Rede Record and launched on September 27, 2004. Two years ago, the program was on Sunday at 5pm, but now is Sunday 11pm. The program has also changed; before it was recommended free for all, but now is not recommended for children under 10...
" comedy show. Tiririca again met national success with his character 008 of the Bofe de Elite (meaning "Elite Fag", a parody of The Elite Squad movies) segment of "Show do Tom".
2010 elections
In 2010, Tiririca hit the headlines again when he announced he would run for congressNational Congress of Brazil
The National Congress of Brazil is the legislative body of Brazil's federal government.Unlike regional legislative bodies – Legislative Assemblies and City Councils -, the Congress is bicameral, composed of the Federal Senate and the Chamber of Deputies .The Senate represents the 26 states and...
after being invited by the Partido da República
Republic Party
The Republic Party is a centrist Brazilian political party.It was founded on December 21, 2006 by the merge of the Liberal Party and the Party of the Reconstruction of the National Order .It is likely that in the future two other parties, the Social Christian Party The Republic Party (Partido da...
. He appeared on TV ads in his "Tiririca" persona and used slogans like "What does a federal congressman do? I really don't know - but if you vote for me, I'll tell ya" ("O que é que faz um deputado federal? Na realidade, eu não sei. Mas vote em mim que eu te conto") or "It can't get any worse - vote Tiririca" ("Pior que está não fica, Vote Tiririca") and even "If elected I promise I will help all Brazilian families... especially mine" ("Se eleito prometo ajudar todas as famílias brasileiras...especialmente a minha").
Such slogans moved a group of state congressional candidates to complain with the electoral attorney's office that Tiririca was insulting the National Congress and all public offices because of his lack of political projects and also his satirical approach to the traditionally corrupt Brazilian political system. The complaint, however, was filed away.
Tiririca was denounced as illiterate by Época
Época
Época is a Brazilian weekly news and analysis magazine. Since its inception in 1998, it has become one of the country's most widely read magazines...
magazine in its September 24, 2010 edition. This statement, if true, would invalidate his candidacy. Soon after the Época edition that claimed about Tiririca illiteracy was released, prosecutor
Prosecutor
The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...
Maurício Lopes sued Tiririca for forging his signature in his candidacy forms. Despite the trial having not yet taken place and all the negative propaganda about his alleged illiteracy, on October 3, 2010, Tiririca became the most voted-for Congressman in the 2010 Brazilian general elections
Brazilian general election, 2010
The first round of the Brazilian general election of 2010 was held on Sunday, October 3, 2010. The Presidency of the Republic, all 513 Chamber of Deputies seats and 54 out of 81 Federal Senate seats were contested in this election, along with governorships and state legislatures of all 26 states...
(and the second most voted-for in Brazilian history, after Enéas Carneiro
Enéas Carneiro
Enéas Ferreira Carneiro was a Brazilian politician. He represented the state of São Paulo in the National Chamber of Deputies and ran for the presidency three times as a perennial candidate...
), winning his seat for São Paulo state with 1,348,295 votes (6,35%).
On October 30, 2010, Tiririca's defense team alleged that he suffered from dysgraphia
Dysgraphia
Dysgraphia is a deficiency in the ability to write primarily in terms of handwriting, but also in terms of coherence. It occurs regardless of the ability to read and is not due to intellectual impairment...
, which prevented him from holding a pen firmly. They further alleged that Tiririca's wife helped him write the literacy statement in his own hand, as demanded by Brazilian electoral law. She is said to have placed her hand over his to help him hold the pen firmly as he was writing. Also because of this condition, the defense said, Silva could not take any writing tests.
The explanation, however, runs counter to a video recorded by Época in September that gave rise to the suspicions of illiteracy. The pictures show Tiririca giving his autograph to a fan. On foot, suddenly, Tiririca secures a notebook with his left hand and scribbles a circular signature with his right hand. He further writes the letters for his name. He shows no trouble whatsoever holding the pen.
After many discussions and judicial tribulations, Tiririca underwent a simple reading and writing test and on November 11, 2010 he finally proved that he was indeed literate. Although the prosecutor appealed against this decision, claiming that his 30% score in the test was too low to prove anything, the federal judge
Federal judge
Federal judges are judges appointed by a federal level of government as opposed to the state / provincial / local level.-Brazil:In Brazil, federal judges of first instance are chosen exclusively by public contest...
Walter de Almeida Guilherme rejected the appeal.
Thus, Tiririca received his federal congressman certificate under heavy applause by the people present in the ceremony on December 17, 2010. That same day Tiririca revealed his political project, focused primarily in helping circus artists, financing cultural projects, helping fight the prejudice against Northeastern people that is present in the southern regions of Brazil and increasing funds to primary education.
A curious fact is that two days before he received his certificate (December 15, 2010), during his first visit to the Brazilian Congress building, the Brazilian congressesmen had approved a salary raise of 60% for themselves. When asked about the fact by a news reporter, Tiririca said "I guess I'm lucky... on my first day I got a raise!!" ("Dei sorte...no meu primeiro dia ganhei um aumento!!")