Haroldo Costa, actor, director and judge of the Estandarte de Ouro, died at the age of 95

With an easy smile and sweet speech, Haroldo turned 95 on May 13. On the occasion, he published a message on social networks commenting on the date:

“Look, I’m 95 years old. It seems like it’s a burden, right? I can guarantee it’s not,” he said at the time.

The president of the Estandarte de Ouro jury, Marcelo de Mello, highlighted Haroldo’s importance for the award.

— The credibility and prestige of the Estandarte de Ouro are due, in large part, to the presence of personalities like Haroldo Costa on the jury. When the award was created in 1972, it was already a reference in Brazilian carnival and culture. He knew the history of samba schools like few others and contributed to its construction by writing books, commenting on parades on television and promoting carnival events. There are more than seven decades of history that fully warrants the respect and respect of all those who have called him and will continue to call him a master, he said.

According to Memória Globo, Haroldo Costa was part of the official jury of the parades organized by the Independent League of Samba Schools (Liesa). He abandoned his role in 1963, as he declared, after a parade of the Acadêmicos do Salgueiro association, of which he became a fan.

Until then a mangueirense, he fell in love with Salgueiro in 1963, the year the association presented Chica da Silva in his plot, on Avenida Presidente Vargas. His passion for Salgueiro lasted until the end of his life.

The samba of Chica da Silva, which made Salgueiro the champion, was one of those that brought black themes to the carnival of Rio’s samba schools. Until then, the plots focused a lot on European culture.

On social media, Salgueiro paid tribute to Haroldo, saying he was one of his “greatest pillars”:

“It is a moment of deep dismay, respect and reflection. We say goodbye to Haroldo Costa, one of the living pillars of the history of Salgueiro, a native of Salgueiro with a whole soul, one of those who not only passed through our school, but helped to build it, record it and immortalize it. Haroldo was much more than an intellectual. He was a living memory, he was the guardian of our history, he was a voice firm in the defense of samba, Carnival and Afro-Brazilian culture, a man who understood very early that samba could not simply be experienced, it had to be preserved, studied, told and respected,” the school emphasized.

And the association continues by highlighting some of its work:

“In his fundamental works, such as Fala, Crioulo, Na Cadencia do Samba, 100 Anos de Carnaval no Rio de Janeiro and, above all, Salgueiro: Academia de Samba e Salgueiro – 50 years of glory, Haroldo wrote what many felt, but few knew how to transform into an eternal record. He gave words, context and dignity to our history. A tireless researcher, essential writer, Haroldo was also actor, director, journalist, producer, speaker. A black intellectual who crossed the theater, television, radio and literature without ever abandoning his roots, his identity and his mission: to defend the culture of the Brazilian people.

The Independent League of Samba Schools (Liesa) said it “received with great regret the news of the death of Haroldo Costa” and that he “was a professional of enormous talent, having dedicated his entire life to samba and carnival”.

The son of a tailor and a housewife, at the age of 2 Haroldo moved with his family to Maceió, where he lived until he was 10 years old. In the capital of Alagoas he had contact with local culture, festivities, reisados ​​and Cheganças. Back in Rio, he studied at Colégio Pedro II, where he participated in the student movement.

According to the Memório Globo project, his first experiences on television date back to the 1950s, in the teletheaters of the former TV Tupi. However, it was on TV Excelsior where he began his notable presence in the coverage of the Rio Carnival. He started working at Globo in 1965, as music director. As an actor, remember the project, he participated in the soap opera ‘A Moreninha’.

He was also the director of humorous musicals such as “Só o Amor Constrói”, considered one of the precursors of “Fantástico”.

Years later, with Chacrinha, he was a judge in the programs “Buzina do Chacrinha” and “Discoteca do Chacrinha”.

Haroldo Costa is the author of several books on the Rio Carnival, such as “Salgueiro: Academia de Samba” (1984) and “Ernesto Nazareth – Pianeiro do Brasil” (2005).

In 2024, at the age of 94, he completed his book “Stories of Brazil in the Mouths of the People”. “These are things about Brazil that have never been revealed by official historiography,” he said at the time about the work.

At the time, on Ancelmo Góis’ blog, he stated:

— I am part of a group of “immortal” friends. I come from a creative generation, who likes to work.

Haroldo met the Brazilian poet Vinícius de Moraes in 1954 in Paris, where he was invited to perform in the play “Orfeu da Conceição”. The show premiered on September 25, 1956.