Péricles

Péricles Aparecido Fonseca de Faria was born in Santo André, in São Paulo state, in 1969. Before pursuing music full time he worked as a class inspector in state schools and for a car manufacturer in São Bernardo do Campo. He is the father of singer Lucas Morato and is married to Lidiane Santos.

He spent much of his career fronting the pagode group Exaltasamba, one of the most commercially successful acts in the genre, joining at its formation in 1982 and staying until he left in February 2012 to work under his own name. His voice, light, high and unforced, became a large part of that group's identity and carried directly into his solo records.

His solo material stays close to traditional pagode instrumentation, with cavaquinho, pandeiro and tantã supporting mostly romantic lyrics. Songs such as 'Até Que Durou' and 'Melhor Eu Ir' are among the best known from that period, and live performance remains built around a full percussion section.

After leaving Exaltasamba, Péricles set up his own office, Farias Produções, to manage his career, and in 2018 launched 'Canal do Periclão' on YouTube to speak directly with fans. That year he also made his debut as a samba-enredo interpreter, sharing the microphone with Ciganerey for Mangueira, and released the album Em Sua Direção, which was nominated for a Latin Grammy for Best Samba/Pagode Album, its tour overseen by actor and musician Lázaro Ramos.