A singer from Amazonas wins the “Best Brazilian in the World” award.

More than a decade’s work abroad, which has helped elevate Nordic music alongside jazz, earned Amazonian singer Karen Aguiar the title of Best Brazilian Singer at the “Best of Brazil in the World” award held in London, England. The award is considered the “Brazilian Oscar” around the world for professionals living in other countries.

The award ceremony, organized by the British magazine High Profile Magazine, was held on September 16 in one of the postcards of the English capital, the Palace of Westminster. Karen Aguiar competed in the final stage with four other Brazilian artists residing in Portugal, Italy and the United States, to be the only Amazonian artist on the list of 19 categories at this event.

Karen, who lives in Italy, says her nomination was submitted by businessman Antonio Cansado, known as Mr. Pau de Quejo, who has lived in France for nearly 40 years. After the name was approved, the Amazonian woman advanced to the online popular vote and reached the final stage, where she is evaluated by an artistic jury.

The sound that won the world through the voice and talent of Karen Aguiar is a true blend of the language of jazz, a musical style from African American communities, with rhythms from the Amazon. According to Karen, the song “Jungle Jazz” has previously won other awards outside Brazil, such as “Best MPB Album in Paris.”

In 2019, the Amazon native collaborated with Italian composer Antonio Giacometti to create the popular “Jungle Jazz: an Amazonian Symphony,” which was recorded live at Teatro Amazonas. “It has a whole history of international cooperation, and that spread across northern Brazil is no longer the case,” the award winner said.

According to the singer, the award opened doors for communication with artists from different fields, including new collaborations. This year, a new recording in partnership with another Amazonas artist will be released by the end of the year.

It expects to launch two international partnerships in 2024: one in the field of music and the other in the audiovisual field. He also mentions recording a new album and book resulting from his doctoral research on Maui opossums and ecomusicology in the lower Amazon.