Los Indios Tabajaras

February 21st in 1958, in New York City, a guitar-playing duo from Brazil, Los Indios Tabajaras, recorded "Maria Elena," which did well in its initial release in Mexico. It became a Top 10 hit in North America and the UK on its release as a single there, more than five years later. Los Indios Tabajaras was a guitar duo of two brothers from Ceará, in the Northeast of Brazil. Their beginnings are not clear, though most stories have them becoming accomplished guitar players after finding a guitar near Ceará, Brazil. Playing in Rio de Janeiro, they found success as Natalicio and Antenor Lima - 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. Probably as early as 1943, RCA's Latin American arm signed them to a recording contract. In the early 1950s, they took a break from performing and went back to study the guitar. After returning to the stage later that same decade, they released an album in the United States on an RCA-owned label named Vox. More Wikipedia


available recordings