Ciro Pessoa

Ciro Pessoa
Pessoa performing at the Ibirapuera Auditorium in 2010
Background information
Birth name	Ciro Pessoa Mendes Corrêa
Also known as	Tenzin Chöpel
Born	(1957-06-12) June 12, 1957 (age 59) São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Genres	Pop rock, post-punk, psychedelic rock
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, guitarist, screenwriter, journalist, activist, poet
Instruments	Vocals, classical guitar, electric guitar
Years active	1981–present
Labels	Voiceprint Records, Rosa Celeste
Associated acts	Titãs, Os Jetsons, Ricotas do Harlem, Cabine C, Ira!, CPSP, Ciro Pessoa & Ventilador, Nu Descendo a Escada, Flying Chair
Website	http://calebav.com/ciro/

Ciro Pessoa Mendes Corrêa (born June 12, 1957), also known by his Dharma name Tenzin Chöpel, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, screenwriter, journalist, writer, activist and poet, famous for being one of the founding members of the influential rock band Titãs and for his later work with pioneering post-punk/gothic rock band Cabine C. He also formed numerous other short-lived and lesser known projects in the mid-1980s/1990s before beginning a solo career in 2003.

Ciro Pessoa was born in São Paulo in 1957. When he was 7 years old he learned how to play the classical guitar, and with 12 he began to perform in music festivals around the city. As a teenager he studied at the Colégio Equipe, where he would meet Arnaldo Antunes, Paulo Miklos, Nando Reis, Marcelo Fromer, Branco Mello, Tony Bellotto and Sérgio Britto – being united by their similar musical tastes, in 1981 they would form, alongside André Jung, the rock band Titãs do Iê-Iê, whose name would be shortened to only Titãs later on. Pessoa never recorded anything with Titãs during his stay with them, but co-wrote some of the band's most famous hits, such as "Sonífera Ilha", "Toda Cor", "Homem Primata" and "Babi Índio", among others. He left Titãs in 1983 due to creative divergences which culminated with a falling-out between him and André Jung. Shortly afterwards, Pessoa formed two concomitant new bands: Os Jetsons, with Branco Mello and Charles Gavin, and Ricotas do Harlem, a soul duo with Fernando Salem. Both bands were very short-lived however, and wouldn't record any albums or even perform any shows.