2006

Rio de Janeiro-born guitarist, he took up playing the guitar as influenced by his dad, an amateur musician, and his brothers, who played the cavaquinho and percussion. During the 1930s, he began performing at circus tents and theaters, accompanying artists like Eugenio Martins and Augusto Calheiros. In 1937, Dino was invited to substitute guitarist Nei Orestes, from Regional de Benedito Lacerda, the most prestigious group at the time. What was supposed to be a short-term replacement eventually became definitive due to Orestes' death. Shortly after, guitarist Meira (Jayme Florence) joined Regional, and together, the two musicians lined-up one of the longest lasting instrumental duo in MPB. In 1950, Benedito leaves the group, and Canhoto becomes the new leader - the name of the group also changed to Regional do Canhoto. Between 1952 and 1953, Dino has a luthier build his first 7-string guitar, inspired by recently deceased guitarist Tuta's instrument (Tuta was a member of Pixinhguinha's group). From then on, Dino never let go of the 7 strings, incorporating it to his stage name (7 cordas) and becoming the greatest reference for the instrument, even creating a specific language with it. With Benedito's and Canhoto's groups, Dino accompanied all of the biggest artists on the radio days, such as Carmen Miranda, Francisco Alves, Orlando Silva and many others. In the 1960s, he received an invitation from Jacob do Bandolim to join the group Época de Ouro, with whom he performs to this day. dino has appeared in countless samba and choro recording sessions. There was less activity during the Jovem Guarda (rock wave) uprise in the 60s, but by the mid1970s, Dino returned to the studios, recording samba albums. He wrote the arrangements for the two historic Cartola albums released on the label Marcus Pereira, in 1974 and 1976. 7 Cordas recorded his only solo album in 1991, with pupil Raphael Rabello. "Raphael Rabello & Dino 7 Cordas" features a classic choro repertoire, with cuts like "Um a Zero" and "Segura Ele" (Benedito and Pixinguinha), "Odeon" (Nazareth) and sambas like "Conversa de Botequim" (Noel Rosa/ Vadico), besides pieces written by João Pernambuco and Garoto. Prior to that, in 1987, Época de Ouro recorded "Dino 50 Anos" (Dino 50 Years), an homage to his 50-year career. As a songwriter, he uses his real name, Horondino Silva, and his songs have been recorded by Silvio Caldas ("Pastora dos Olhos Castanhos", written with Alberto Ribeiro), Elizeth Cardoso ("Aperto de Mão", written with Jayme Florence and Augusto Mesquita and also recorded by Nana Caymmi and Isaura Garcia) and others.