Festival Internacional da Canção

The Festival Internacional da Canção was held at the Maracanãzinho in Rio de Janeiro between 1966 and 1972, created by Augusto Marzagão to rival the popular music festival of São Paulo and draw international attention to the city. It launched songs that became MPB classics, such as Chico Buarque and Tom Jobim's Sabiá and Milton Nascimento's Travessia, performed by artists like Geraldo Vandré, Nara Leão and Elis Regina. Broadcast on television, it left its mark on Brazilian song history against the tense backdrop of the military dictatorship.