Arlindo Cruz

Arlindo Cruz – born Arlindo Domingos da Cruz on September 14, 1958, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – is a musician and songwriter best known for his work in the samba and pagode (Brazilian country folk music) genres. He began his musical journey at the age of 7 when he was gifted a cavaquinho (a Portuguese four-stringed instrument). Learning to play by ear for the first five years, he began studying classical guitar at the age of 12. He began his career as a professional musician shortly afterwards and began playing with a variety of musicians including samba legend Candeia. In 1980, Arlindo Cruz joined Grupo Fundo de Quintal, one of Brazil’s most influential samba bands. After 12 years as the group’s banjo cavaquinho player and one of their lead singers and songwriters, he left the band in 1992 to pursue other musical projects which began with his 1993 solo album Arlindinho. He also joined forces with his former Grupo Fundo de Quintal bandmate Sombrinha (cavaquinho and guitar) and collaborated on several projects over the next few years including Da Mùsica (1996), Samba É A Nossa Cara (1997) and Hoje Tem Samba (2002). As one of Brazil’s best known and most prolific banjo players and composers, he’s had over 450 of his songs covered by various artists over the course of his career. His own hit albums include Sambista Perfeito (2007), Convida (2011), and the Latin Grammy-nominated Herança Popular (2015). Arlinda Cruz also released a pair of MTV Ao Vivo releases that found him revisiting some of his best-loved material including “Born Aprendiz” and “Meu Lugar”. On March 17, 2017, he suffered a stroke, which left him partially paralyzed and unable to continue his music career. He passed away on August 8, 2025, in Rio de Janeiro due to multiple organ failure as a result of his previous stroke.