Cleo de Verberena, with music by Chiquinha Gonzaga

Primeira mulher cineasta do Brasil
That is who I was, am and will always be
I was overtly driven by my strong will

I debuted behind the camera with glee
My film O Mistério do Dominó Preto
Was a silent picture and not a talkie

A sound-movie had been done here, I do know
Acabaram-se os Otários was it
A couple of years prior to my film-show

First I was a small-town girl, not a misfit
Born Jacyra Martins da Silveira
I left Amparo for São Paulo, with grit

My aspirations were not at all bourgeois
I was charmed by the progressive Capital
Bookshops, theatres, ateliers, the cinema

The elite encouraged the industrial
Like Greta Garbo I wanted to perform
Erich von Stroheim’s style was so natural

Fred Niblo too, inspired my creative storm
I found a man who fully shared my vision
Cesar Melani was truly multiform

My love was the son of a fazendeiro
He studied medicine, but film was his path
I shared this calling with my cavaleiro

Our wedding gift was a tool to videograph
Our son, Cesar Augusto overjoyed us
His exuberance would always make us laugh

Épica Films was our cinematic compass
My husband and I chose stage names for our craft
Cleo de Verberena was my alias

Laes Mac Reni was his anagram at last
An inheritance morphed in our company
For some time our style of living was a blast

With ViaLáctea I worked on stage merrily
Our family moved to Rio for business
I met Carmen Santos, who was so lovely

But my cinema projects made no progress
Melodia da Saudade was never made
I was planning to film with audio to impress

I truly thought investors I could persuade
But I was confined to my silent picture
United States movies were preferred for trade

Something worse happened in my own life Scripture
Our boy’s tenth birthday turned into a tragedy
My consort died, the pain I could not endure

Filmmaking ended for me eternally
It took some years for me to marry again
I changed all of my objectives purposely

I left the past behind me, by being zen
Francisco Landestoy Saint Jean was consul
In Liverpool, I often made roast chicken

In Santiago, my chorrillana would rule
Widowhood would strike again mercilessly
But my son and daughter-in-law were my fuel

Three more men involved me sentimentally
They were Rodolfo, Ricardo, Roberto
My grandchildren engaged me vivaciously

They ignored I once was a film esperto
First female Portuguese-speaking director
The future should grant my kind a concerto.