Famous Carmen Miranda Quotes on Life, Joy, and Stardom

“I will do everything I can to ensure that Brazilian popular music conquers North America, which would be a path to its acclaim throughout the world.” (Interview given to Diário de Notícias five days before leaving for the USA – 1939)

“I add Brazilian seasoning to the taste of those good people (Americans)…. My numbers are full of everything: cinnamon, pepper, palm oil, cumin…”

“Sometimes I fear the responsibility, but when the time comes, when I ask the audience ‘what is it about the Bahian woman?’, I feel that the warmth of the support of my friends who are listening to me now will give me the courage to respond with that ‘it’ that you know.”

“I discredit the artists who say that you don’t need to win an award to have your talent recognized. If I were a real actress (I’m just a performer) I would give my all to win an Oscar, especially knowing that the Academy is an institution formed by people who really understand the subject.”

“I chose my wedding ring to be heavy and thick so that it would last forever. But precisely because of this, every time Dave and I have an argument, it feels like a handcuff, and in a moment of anger I throw it in the trash. Poor Dave, he has already bought me three wedding rings!”

“I have never followed what is said to be ‘in fashion’. I believe that a woman should wear what suits her. That is why I created a style that is appropriate to my type and my artistic genre.”

“I really enjoy the applause of an audience, no matter who it is. I like everyone and I love festive gatherings. I live for joy.”

“They say my hands “talk”. I don’t know. But I try to convey as much as possible through them, in rhythmic movements and expressions. And, contrary to what people say, I didn’t start this style so that Americans would understand me. Back in Brazil, when I sang O Que é Que a Baiana Tem? in the film Banana da Terra, I used my hands as choreography. Later, I perfected my gestures for American cinema.”

“I was born in Portugal, but I grew up in Brazil, and therefore I consider myself Brazilian. The place of birth doesn’t matter, not even the blood. What matters is what Americans call “environment”, the influence of the country and the customs in which we live, although there is always a degree of gratitude and loyalty to the parents who gave birth to us. For my part, I am more carioca, more of a samba dancer from the favela, more of a carnival singer than a fado singer. Blood has a certain importance, but only in temperament, not in the way I feel things.”

“I would never have another abortion. I regretted the one I had for the rest of my life. I think God punished me later by not letting me carry the pregnancy to term in 1948. For years I dreamed about the unborn baby and I was never able to have another child.” (Carmem Mirando on the abortion she had while still in Brazil).

“There is no sound more spectacular than that of a samba school drum band during Carnival. It has always moved me and makes my blood run faster and hotter through my veins. The drums of jazz groups don’t move me in the slightest.”