Бразильский гитарный дуэт "Los Indios Tabajaras"

Brazilian guitar duo
Los Indios Tabajaras (The Tabajara Indians) was a guitar duo of two brothers, Antenor Lima and Natalicio (Nato) Lima, from Tianguá, Ceará in the Northeast of Brazil. The group name refers to the Tabajara, indigenous people who lived on the easternmost portion of the Atlantic coast of northeast Brazil in the period before and during Portuguese colonization, in the 16th century.

Their beginnings are not clear, though most stories have them becoming accomplished guitar players after finding a guitar near Ceará, in spite of the improbability of the story. They found success in Rio de Janeiro, performing as Natalicio and Antenor Lima and dressing in ceremonial Indian costumes. Using classical guitars and playing transcriptions of classical violin and piano works, they were soon playing all over South America. Los Indios Tabajaras continued touring throughout the Americas and Europe, and in 1964 they had another two releases, "Always in My Heart" and "Marta." Although "Always in My Heart" made the Billboard Hot 100, neither of these were nearly as successful as "Maria Elena." Their fluent guitar playing caught the ear of American guitarist Chet Atkins and, along with pianist Floyd Cramer, they recorded an instrumental album in Nashville, Tennessee. They also recorded and released material with singer Don Gibson, including a re recording of Gibson's 1958 hit "Oh Lonesome Me".

RCA released albums by Los Indios Tabajaras into the 1980s. They were produced by Herman Diaz, Jr. until his retirement in 1975. They then worked with RCA producer Ethel Gabriel. Antenor retired from performing in 1979, and died in 1997. Natalicio continued to perform into the 1990s with his wife, Michiko. He died in November 2009.