Oswaldo Montenegro has had success as a composer, interpreter, and also as playwright. He has recorded more than 25 solo albums and written several plays. His biggest hits are "Bandolins," "Agonia" (Mongol), "Aos Filhos dos Hippies," "Leo e Bia," "Estrelas," "Lua e Flor," "Intuição," "O Chato," "Vida de Artista," and "Celeiro." In 1972 his song "Automóvel" was classified in the last Festival Internacional da Canção (TV Globo). Two years later he wrote his first musical, João Sem Nome (with Mongol), which opened in 1975 in Brasília DF. In that year he signed with Som Livre, releasing his first single, Sem Mandamentos. In 1976, together with Marlui Miranda and Vital Lima, performed in the first Seis e Meia project in Rio de Janeiro. In the next year he released his first solo album, the independent Trilhas. In 1979 he had one of his biggest hits with "Bandolins," which, being presented at the Festival of TV Tupi, won third place. In 1980 he won first place in TV Globo's MPB-80 Festival, with "Agonia" (Mongol). In the same year, his third album, Oswaldo Montenegro (WEA) won a gold record. In his musical Veja Você, Brasília (Brasília DF, 1982), still-unknown artists like Cássia Eller and Zélia Duncan made their career debuts. But his first hit in the theater was the musical A Dança dos Signos, which was performed for three consecutive years and for a total of ten years overall. Léo e Bia (1984) was another play written and directed by him. In the same year he wrote the soundtrack and directed the music of the monologue Brincando em Cima Daquilo (with Marília Pera). He also wrote the soundtrack of the play Casal Aberto, Ma Non Troppo. A Aldeia dos Ventos (1987) had in the cast novice artists such as Déborah Blando, Milton Guedes, Vanessa Barum, and Adriana Maciel. In the same year the soundtrack album was recorded by Ney Matogrosso, Gonzaguinha, Sivuca, Zizi Possi, Glória Pires, and Lucinha Lins. His top-selling album was Ao Vivo (Som Livre, 1989). Oswaldo Montenegro (Som Livre, 1990) had its track "Travessuras" included in the soundtrack of the TV Globo soap opera Gente Fina. Vida de Artista (1991) was also successful, with the show of the same name having over 200 performances. In 1994 he performed internationally for the first time, in Boston, New Jersey, Mount Vernon, Connecticut, and Miami. Montenegro's music was the theme of the samba school Mocidade Independente do Gama in the Carnival 2000. ~ Alvaro Neder