Video refutes Chico's criticism of his biographer.
In an article, the composer stated that he never spoke with Paulo Cesar Araújo about the unauthorized biography of Roberto Carlos; the writer refuted the accusation with an article and image: "The artist certainly forgot, but he received me at his home in Gávea on the afternoon of March 30, 1992."
247 – The biographer of musician Roberto Carlos, Paulo César de Araújo, countered the article published by Chico Buarque in Globo against the publication of unauthorized biographies by releasing a video.
In the text, the composer stated that the author of "Roberto Carlos em detalhes" (a book that was withdrawn from bookstores) cites a conversation that never happened: "I feel sorry for the author, who claims to have dedicated 15 years of his life to research and interviews with I don't know how many people, including me. But he never interviewed me."
The biographer responded to the accusation in an article also published in Globo: "It was with great astonishment that I read, on Wednesday, Chico Buarque's statement here in GLOBO, claiming that he never gave me an interview. In other words, he alleges that I lied by including him among the sources listed in the biography 'Roberto Carlos in Detail'. The fact is that Chico Buarque was, indeed, one of the 175 people I interviewed for the research that resulted in that book. The artist certainly forgot, but he received me at his home in Gávea on the afternoon of March 30, 1992." He also shared a video showing the excerpt from the interview in which Chico talks about Roberto Carlos (watch here).
Biographer Araújo expressed surprise at the musicians' support for Roberto Carlos's cause: "What led the Procure Saber group [of which Chico, Caetano, and Gil are part] to support Roberto regarding authorized biographies? Perhaps it's a quid pro quo for the support Roberto gave to the oversight of Ecad [an entity that collects copyright royalties]."
In his article, Chico also said he found it "fair" that Garrincha's heirs had received a "high compensation" from Companhia das Letras for the biography "Estrela Solitária," written by Ruy Castro.
The editor of Companhia das Letras, Schwarcz, countered on the publisher's blog that there was no compensation paid to Garrincha's family (1933-1983), but rather a "voluminous settlement, without any conviction."