Herbert Vianna’s own “Sucesso”

Letter to the Editor

I have enjoyed songs by Os Paralamas do Sucesso for a while now, but I had never known about the lead singer and guitarrist’s tragic past. Always subconsciously wondering why Herbert Vianna was in a wheelchair, I was amazed when I came across the article in The Rio Times about the band.

While reading it, I could almost feel the poor man’s pain hit me full on like a slap in the face. How could he possibly still have the strength to perform in front of huge crowds after losing his wife and becoming brain-damaged and comatose?

Surviving Vianna’s terrible ordeal is already an amazing act of what could only be God, but to survive it and also manage to recover almost entirely is, without a doubt, a miracle and a true “sucesso” for this Paralamas performer.

Empathy has never been much of a talent for me. The fact that I was completely moved by this article means that it was very well written. Kudos to The Rio Times for producing such fine work. I hope to read more articles like this one – about specific bands and/or people. Well done!