Beto Furquim

Beto Furquim
Beto Furquim in June 2010.
Background information
Birth name	Roberto Silva Furquim Marinho Homem de Mello
Born	(1964-08-21) 21 August 1964 (age 52) São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Genres	MPB, samba, pop
Occupation(s)	Composer, songwriter, musician, journalist, book editor
Instruments	Singing, acoustic guitar
Years active	1986–present

Beto Furquim is a Brazilian songwriter and singer, born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 1964.

Beto Furquim started his musical career in 1986, playing acoustic and electric guitar in singer Suzana Salles' band.

In 1993, he won the Editora Abril/USP (Nascente Project) prize on the category Popular Music – Songwriter.

In 1995, his samba "À beira-mar" was included in the CD "Metamorfosicamente", by singer/songwriter Marcelo Quintanilha (Azul Records).

In 2000, his song "Estrela da manhã", sung by Monica Salmaso, has been finalist of main Brazilian TV broadcaster Rede Globo Festival da Música Brasileira (Brazilian Music Festival). The performance was recorded in the CD with the 12 finalists, by the label Som Livre.

In 2007, he won the Prêmio Estímulo de Música, a São Paulo (State) governmental prize, supporting his debut album "Muito Prazer" (2008, unsigned, distributed by label Fonomatic/Tratore). The CD is produced by Mario Manga and Leandro Bomfim, with Monica Salmaso and Mauricio Pereira as guest appearances and, design by Alex Cerveny and Vanderlei Lopes.

Besides his own songs, the album "Muito Prazer" includes an ancient Chinese poem, "Jing Ye Si", by Li Bai, set to music.

This is not the only relation between music and literature in his works. His song "Margem" is inspired by João Guimarães Rosa's short story "The Third Edge of the River". Son of the Brazilian writer João Carlos Marinho, Furquim also participated as a songwriter in the book "A Coruja, o Gato e os Filhotes", a Brazilian literary and musical version of Edward Lear's "The Owl and the Pussy Cat", translated by his sister Cecilia Furquim and published by Editora Melhoramentos in 2014.