Marinês, the stage name of Inês Caetano de Oliveira, was a Brazilian singer, actress, presenter and law graduate.
Born on a Sunday, Inês was registered on a Monday, November 16, 1934. Raised in the city of Campina Grande, Paraíba, she lived in a very humble house in the Liberdade neighborhood, where she helped her father Manoel Caetano make weapons and ammunition for the army and later for the cangaço as a child.
Marinês sang for the first time in a rookie contest in the city, where she heard the announcement on the neighborhood's loudspeaker service. Years later, in the midst of poverty, she discovered another rookie contest held by the city's Rádio Difusora, where the first prize would win one hundred thousand reais in cash and a job at Rádio Difusora. Marinês signed up for a musical contest. She won first place, tied with Genival Lacerda and also took over the position as the official singer of the Regional Radio Borborema, singing chorinho, serenades and romantic songs, where she began her career as a singer and helped her family. Years later, she was invited by Gonzaga to join his performances, moving to Rio de Janeiro and being crowned by him as the Queen of Xaxado (a typical dance of Lampião's bandits). In 1957, after much prominence in her performances, she was invited to record her first long play for the SINTER label, where she had the unprecedented feat of releasing two works on a single album, Pisa na Fulô and Peba na Pimenta by João do Vale (a previously unknown author, released by Marinês).
She participated in Atlântida films, followed by more than 45 albums, all of them with great success. Being an inspiring muse for several artists such as: Nara Leão, Gal Costa, Maria Bethânia, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Lulu Santos, Amelinha and Elba Ramalho, and the latter with partnerships on albums, shows throughout Brazil and Canecão in Rio de Janeiro. Marinês is studied to this day by artists of all musical styles, for her strong and extremely tuneful voice. As Gilberto Gil said, Marinês is the great Mother of Northeastern Music.
Marinês died on May 14, 2007, at the age of 71, after seven days in a coma in the ICU of the Real Hospital Português de Beneficência, in Recife, due to complications from an ischemic stroke. The singer's body was buried on May 15, 2007, at the Campo Santo Parque da Paz Cemetery, in Campina Grande, Paraíba.
