Olhos Coloridos

Macau, of the band Paulo Bagunça e a Tropa Maldita, wrote it in 1973 after a violent police stop he attributed to racism, starting the lyrics while looking at the sea and finishing on guitar. He taped it but it was never released. In 1981 he sent a tape to the producer Durval Ferreira, who presented it to Sandra de Sá; she recorded it as track one of her 1982 album, with Macau on guitar and Serginho Trombone arranging, and per Portuguese Wikipedia it was issued as an RGE single in 1982 with "Se Grile Não" on the B-side, which we could not independently confirm. During promotion Messie Lima suggested retitling it "Sarará Crioulo".

The subject is Black identity, the value of Black physical features and racism; Jornal do Brasil at the time described it as about rejection behavior toward Black people. It was widely played on Brazilian radio and television and is described as an anthem of Black pride. A 2021 Rolling Stone Brasil piece says it began in the bailes black and was a major hit of Brazilian soul. She re-recorded it in 1986 and in 1995 for the album Olhos Coloridos on Som Livre. We do not know which version our upload is.

Jim Capaldi made an English adaptation, "Don't Let Them Control You", on Fierce Heart (1983). Funk'n'Lata covered it in 1996, and DJ Diego Fragoso released an electronic version on April 26, 2019 with vocals by Mayson Wisdon. Chiara Civello made an Italian adaptation, "Sono Come Sono", released on 12-inch by Four Flies on October 21, 2022, and Curol and Mehen remixed it on July 8, 2022. It was the theme for the character Diego in the 2019 telenovela Verão 90, and The Vinyl Factory listed it among 12 Brazilian boogie tracks in 2015. Macau's 2021 project Olhos Coloridos, Um Hino? Uma Pergunta Aberta included a mini-documentary on March 10 and a YouTube live on March 14, 2021. Setlist.fm shows 18 plays, her most played song.