Marcia Sedaka visits friends in São Paulo, September 2025

I met Marcia Espindola circa 2005, at a vynil record fair in a parking lot that used to be posh Cine Rio Branco, on Avenida Rio Branco. We started a conversation by chance while she was handling a box filled with long-plays and stopped at a Sylvia Telles recording. She said something about it and I agreed with her for both of us were secret Miss Telles' fans. Since then, we met countless times in both São Paulo or Rio. 

Marcia was born and have always lived in Rio de Janeiro, but her maternal grandmoher lived in São Paulo, so many a time, while still a girl, she had the chance to spend her holidays here. So Marcia ended up creating a bond with this ugly city. Now, since the Covid 19 pandemic Marcia hasn't turned up in Sampa, so it was high time she'd come. 

She panned a visit to São Paulo in mid-September and asked me if I would come along with her on some of the visits she had planned. She wanted to meet singer Denise Duran, who's the baby sister of 1950s sensation Dolores Duran and have been living in São Paulo since 1962. We arranged a date with Denise in an eating place in Pompéia and here are some of the photos we took on the afternoon of 19 September 2025. 

Beto Abrantes, a cultural agent who specializes in recorded music and restoration of art of all sorts was kind enought to join the party and make the day really special. 

Marcia Espíndola aka Marcia Sedaka, Beto Abrantes & Denise Duran at Padaria Trigo & Company, on Avenida Pompéia, 655, on the afternoon of Friday, 19 September 2025.

Beto Abrantes, Luiz Amorim aka Carlus Maximus, Marcia Sedaka & Denise Duran.

Beto photographs Denise Duran while she autographs the long-play she recorded with Marisa in 1961. See Dave Gordon's singles on the table... 

Beto is hell-bent in getting his best footage of Denise Duran signing her LP for him... 

Marcia looking at the camera & Denise checking out her cell-phone. 

Beto tells something funny to Denise & Marcia while Luiz is making faces for the selfie.

Marcia wanted to visit Centro Cultural São Paulo aka Centro Cultural Vergueiro to see how the Oneyda Alvarenga Night Club works. She had sent them a letter (read it below) and someone called Edson Marçal de Assis promptly answered her. 

Dear sirs

My name is Márcia Espíndola, pop music researcher and small-time vinyl collector. I found out about Oneyda Alvarenga Nightclub through Otavio Mesquita's TV show.

I'd like to schedule a visit with you when I'll be in São Paulo from  17 to 26 September 2025. I was really flabbergasted when I saw the amount of records and magazines you have in your department. What should I do? I'd love to see your collection and be able to listen some of your records. 

Do you have anything by the singer Marisa Barroso? She has a song one can't find anywhere called "Piano a Quatro Mãos". That would probably be it.

Yours sincerely, Marcia Espindola

Edson Marçal & Luiz Amorim at the CCSP

I was impressed with the lecture Edson Marçal gave us, Marcia Sedaka & Carlus Maximus on the afternoon of 24 September 2025. It's hard to imagine that there are still people like him in 2025. It felt like we were back in the 1950s. Seeing is believing. If someone had told me, I wouldn't have believed it.

Marçal told us the story why the CCSP record collection is named after Oneyda Alvarenga (1911-1984), who was a student at the São Paulo Conservatory of Drama and Music under Mário de Andrade (1893-1945). Andrade started a gathering of recording material since the early 1920s in order to make up a Public Collection where people could use. Due to political intervention, Mario had to quit his project and before he left the interprise he called upon Oneyda to go on with it.