Zé Ramalho had the song 'Admirável gado novo' amplified in the soundtrack of the soap opera 'O rei do gado' (1996) in the original recording from 1979 Leo Aversa / Disclosure ? MEMORY ? It is difficult to dissociate the scenes of the landless group from the soap opera “O rei do gado” (1996) from the song “Admirável gado novo”. Zé Ramalho's composition sounded the plot of this nucleus in the original recording made by the artist from Paraíba in 1979, enhancing the emotion of the novel by Benedito Ruy Barbosa (April 17, 1931 – July 7, 2026), a writer from São Paulo who died today, aged 95, in the city of São Paulo (SP). “My music traveled to several countries and is still remembered today for the emotional scenes with the group of landless people portrayed in the soap opera”, reports Zé Ramalho when sharing the novelist's death on social media. In fact, the soundtracks of Benedito Ruy Barbosa's soap operas – especially those of epic sagas such as “O rei do gado”, shown 30 years ago – still echo in popular memory for having been as memorable as the novelist's plots. Pulling at the thread of memory, the recording of “Mágoas de caboclo” (J. Cascata and Leonel Azevedo, 1936) by singer Nelson Gonçalves (1919 – 1998) comes to mind, amplified in the opening of the soap opera “Cabocla” (1979), a success from the period when Benedito was still writing, for Globo's 6pm slot, soap operas adapted from Brazilian novels. Released 90 years ago in the voice of Orlando Silva (1915 – 1978), “Mágoas de caboclo” remains more associated with the deep voice of Nelson Gonçalves than with Orlando Silva due to the 1979 soap opera. Still on the soundtrack of “Cabocla”, the song “Amora” (1979), heard in the voice of author Renato Teixeira, marked the beginning of the partnership between the composer from São Paulo – a fine stylist of Brazilian folk music – with the plots in which Benedito Ruy Barbosa put rural Brazil on the television screen. Another song by Renato Teixeira, “Tocando emfront” played in the voice of Maria Bethânia in the original version of “Pantanal” (1990), a soap opera that received an anthological soundtrack, with songs of intoxicating beauty such as “Estrela Natureza” (by the duo Sá & Guarabyra) and with equally beautiful songs created by the composer and guitarist from Minas Gerais, Marcus Viana. Both written by Viana, the song “Amor selva” and the opening theme entitled “Pantanal” – recorded by the group Sagrado Coração da Terra – contributed to the magic of the 1990 Pantanal plot, remade in 2022 with the same opening theme, only now heard in the recurring voice of Maria Bethânia. By the way, one of the most breathtaking recordings of Bethânia's career, “Mortal madness” (José Miguel Wisnik with verses by the poet Gregório de Matos, 2005), was produced ten years ago by Marcio Arantes for the soundtrack of “Velho Chico” (2016), the last unpublished novel of the immortal work of Benedito Ruy Barbosa. The soundtrack for “Renascer” – both the original 1993 version and the 2024 remake – was illuminated by the song “Lua soberana”, composed by Ivan Lins, also author of the opening theme of the original version of the soap opera, “Confins”. In general, the soundtracks of Benedito Ruy Barbosa's novels often reflected the writer's passionate soul, as exemplified by the Italian musical selection of “Terra nostra” (1999). That's why many songs from these tracks sound unforgettable and still reverberate like the novels of this writer who radiated with passion and precision the deep bowels of rural Brazil. Maria Bethânia recorded the song 'Mortal madness' for the soundtrack of the soap opera 'Velho Chico' (2016) Guilherme Nabhan / Disclosure