Tiririca

Francisco Everardo Oliveira Silva (born 1 May 1965), best known by his stage name Tiririca, is a Brazilian actor, clown, comedian, humorist, politician and singer-songwriter. He currently represents the state of São Paulo as a representative in the Chamber of Deputies of the National Congress of Brazil.

Tiririca first met national prominence as a singer-songwriter, when his first album Florentina (1997) topped charts. Proving to be a one-hit wonder, he abandoned his musical career after recording two more albums and started work as an actor and comedian in television. Later, again received attention in Brazilian media in 2010, during his run for representative for São Paulo in the lower house Congress. As a protest, many people voted him, a clown, for a congressman.

Early life and career

Born in Itapipoca, Ceará, to an extremely poor family, Silva began working at the age of six. When he was eight years old, after seeing a circus performing in his home town, Tiririca joined them and started working as a clown. His stage name "Tiririca" (meaning "coco-grass") dates from this period; his mother coined it in idiomatic reference to his very strong, bitter, ill-tempered personality as a child.

Following the success of his comedy singing performances in local circuses, his circus-owner employer – along with local businessmen – sponsored the production of his first album and distribution of its first 1,000 copies. Soon his album met regional success in Brazil's Northeast, selling 1.5 million certified copies; this aroused the attention of larger record companies, such as Sony Music, who bought the record and launched it nationally in 1997. Just a few weeks following the national launch, Florentina broke charts sales records previous established by Mamonas Assassinas. Tiririca also broke television-audience records whenever he appeared.