José Gomes de Abreu, known as Zequinha de Abreu (Santa Rita do Passa Quatro, September 19, 1880 – São Paulo, January 22, 1935), was a Brazilian musician, composer, and instrumentalist. He played the flute, clarinet, and requinto. He was one of the greatest composers of choros and wrote the famous choro „Tico-Tico no Fubá,“ which gained international recognition in the 1940s through Carmen Miranda. Abreu was an organizer and conductor of orchestras and bands in the São Paulo region.
Zequinha de Abreu was the eldest of eight children of pharmacist José Alacrino Ramiro de Abreu and Justina Gomes Leitão. His mother wanted him to become a priest, and his father wanted him to study medicine. But even at the age of six, he showed his vocation for music by playing melodies on the flute. While still in elementary school, he organized a school band, which he conducted himself. By the age of 10, he was already playing the requinto, flute, and clarinet in the band and rehearsing his first compositions.
Zequinha studied in Santa Rita do Passa Quatro and at the Colégio São Luís in Itu. In 1894, he attended the Episcopal Seminary in São Paulo, where he studied harmony. At 17, he returned to his hometown and founded his own orchestra, which performed at soirées, balls, birthdays, weddings, serenades, and in cinemas to accompany silent films. It was during this time that he composed his first well-known waltzes, such as „Flor da Estrada.“
At the age of 18, he married Durvalina Brasil, who was only 14 at the time. The couple lived for several months in the Santa Cruz da Estrela district, near Santa Rita. There, they ran a pharmacy and an elementary school. Back in Santa Rita, Zequinha coordinated the orchestra’s work with the offices of the city council secretary and the secretary at the State Collection Agency, and was already composing choros, tangos, marchinhas, and foxtrotes.
Coming from humble beginnings, Zequinha de Abreu became a pivotal figure in Brazilian popular music at the beginning of the 20th century. Thanks to Carmem Miranda, he gained international recognition.
His most famous piece, the choro „Tico-tico no fubá,“ dates back to 1917. It was later released in the United States by Carmem Miranda and became one of the most frequently played songs in the world.
In 1918, Zequinha de Abreu composed his most famous waltz, „Branca.“ The following year, after his father’s death, he moved to São Paulo and began playing piano at dances, in cabarets, and in the homes of wealthy families, where he often sold his sheet music. In 1933, he founded the band Zequinha de Abreu, which had 25 members. The composer died on January 22, 1935, in São Paulo.
His life inspired the film „Tico-tico no fubá“ (1952), directed by Adolfo Celi and Fernando de Barros.