José Arthur Machado
- Actor
While the full name goes unnoticed by the majority of people, it's his nickname and a song inspired by him that made him a known figure in the 1980's in an almost mythical way. José Arthur Machado, best known as Petit, was a famous surfer who regularly attended the beach of Ipanema in Rio de Janeiro ever since his teen years. He was born around 1956-57 and almost nothing is known about his early days.
In the early 1970's he was already a known figure in Ipanema due to his long blonde hair, a well-built muscular body and great looks. A rare and silent appearance of his was in the short documentary O Sereno Desespero (1973) where he becomes the model to fit the description of a poem written by the great Cecília Meireles.
His rose to fame and attract a wider audience and some fans came after becoming friends with singer/composer Caetano Veloso, who had a deep admiration for the young man. When singer Baby Consuelo asked Caetano for a new song he immediately got inspired by Petit and his wild spirit and dominant presence at the beach - by that time he was known for having a dragon tattoo on his shoulder, a rare feat at the time since tattoos weren't popular. That's how the hit single "Menino do Rio" was born, which later became the theme song of a soap opera and inspired the 1982 film of same name - though it talks about a popular surf it wasn't Petit story that was brought to the screen.
Sadly, his life took a tragic turn of events after August 1987 when he suffered a motorcycle accident that later on, when he recovered from a comatose state, had the left side of his body paralyzed. Despite many rehabilitation sessions he was never the same man, and suffering his constant pain and depression, he committed suicide in 1989, hanging himself with a kimono. A wife and a kid survived him.
Yet he lives on immortalized on a popular song which excites the imagination of listeners but for a brief time the boy from Rio was indeed real.
In the early 1970's he was already a known figure in Ipanema due to his long blonde hair, a well-built muscular body and great looks. A rare and silent appearance of his was in the short documentary O Sereno Desespero (1973) where he becomes the model to fit the description of a poem written by the great Cecília Meireles.
His rose to fame and attract a wider audience and some fans came after becoming friends with singer/composer Caetano Veloso, who had a deep admiration for the young man. When singer Baby Consuelo asked Caetano for a new song he immediately got inspired by Petit and his wild spirit and dominant presence at the beach - by that time he was known for having a dragon tattoo on his shoulder, a rare feat at the time since tattoos weren't popular. That's how the hit single "Menino do Rio" was born, which later became the theme song of a soap opera and inspired the 1982 film of same name - though it talks about a popular surf it wasn't Petit story that was brought to the screen.
Sadly, his life took a tragic turn of events after August 1987 when he suffered a motorcycle accident that later on, when he recovered from a comatose state, had the left side of his body paralyzed. Despite many rehabilitation sessions he was never the same man, and suffering his constant pain and depression, he committed suicide in 1989, hanging himself with a kimono. A wife and a kid survived him.
Yet he lives on immortalized on a popular song which excites the imagination of listeners but for a brief time the boy from Rio was indeed real.