{{Infobox song | name = Pagode Russo | type = song | artist = Luiz Gonzaga | album = Danado de Bom | released = 1984 | genre = Forró | length = {{Duration|m=2|s=00}} | label = RCA | writer = Luiz Gonzaga<br>João Silva | misc = {{External music video | type = song | header = Music video | 1 = {{YouTube|IAWkTqqTZOw|"Pagode Russo"}} }} }}
"'''Pagode Russo'''" is a forró song composed in 1946 by Luiz Gonzaga and João Silva, and released on the album ''Danado de Bom'' in 1984. It is a song that pays homage to the Cossacks and plays with the East Slavic trepak rhythm within the time signature of a Brazilian baião.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Heilborn |first=Renata |date=2018-02-20 |title=Invasão brasileira ao ''pagode russo'' |url=https://blogs.oglobo.globo.com/to-russa/post/invasao-brasileira-ao-pagode-russo.html |access-date=2026-04-11 |website=Tô russa! - O Globo |language=pt-br}}</ref>
== Composition and reception == In an interview for the 2012 documentary ''Hoje É Dia de Luiz'', João Silva said that he and Luiz Gonzaga came up with the idea for the song when they saw two "Europeans" wearing "little skirts and bagpipes" on a beach.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Leste |first=Rodrigo |date=2025-02-07 |title=Crônica Pagode Russo |url=https://caleidoscopio.art.br/cronica-pagode-russo/ |access-date=2026-04-11 |website=Portal Cultural Caleidoscópio |language=pt-BR}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Cristina |first=Ane |date=2024-06-20 |title=Juliette fez releitura de Luiz Gonzaga: saiba a história de 'Pagode Russo' |url=https://www.uol.com.br/splash/noticias/2024/06/20/pagode-russo.htm |access-date=2026-04-11 |website=UOL |language=pt-br}}</ref> Some theorize that Silva and Gonzaga mistook them for Cossacks, a people from Eastern Europe, as it is more likely that the two individuals were wearing traditional Scottish attire.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Florenzano |first=Gabriella |date=2024-08-08 |title=A origem do "Pagode Russo" |url=https://uruatapera.com/a-origem-do-pagode-russo/ |access-date=2026-04-11 |website=Uruá Tapera |language=pt-BR}}</ref> In the song, the singer says that he dreamed he was at the fictional nightclub Cossacou in Moscow, where he started dancing a 'Russian pagode' (the trepak) and compares the dance to Pernambuco's frevo.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pagode Russo - Luiz Gonzaga |url=https://www.letras.mus.br/luiz-gonzaga/47094/ |access-date=2026-04-11 |website=Letras.mus.br |language=pt-br}}</ref>
The song was originally released in 1947 as an instrumental, however, it only became a hit in Brazil in 1984, when it was rerecorded with lyrics by Luiz Gonzaga and João Silva on the album ''Danado de Bom''.<ref name=":0" /> According to a survey by the Central Collection and Distribution Office of Paraíba, published in 2010, the song 'Pagode Russo' is one of the most played songs at Festas Juninas in Brazil.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |title=Luiz Gonzaga é o artista mais tocado nas festas juninas |url=https://www3.ecad.org.br/em-pauta/Paginas/Luiz-Gonzaga-e-o-artista-mais-tocado-nas-festas-juninas.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210208162337/https://www3.ecad.org.br/em-pauta/Paginas/Luiz-Gonzaga-e-o-artista-mais-tocado-nas-festas-juninas.aspx |archive-date=2021-02-08 |access-date=2026-04-11 |website=ECAD |language=pt-BR}}</ref>
== Other versions == The song was rerecorded by several Brazilian artists, such as Zeca Baleiro on his album ''Vô Imbolá'' (1999),<ref>{{Cite web |title=VÔ IMBOLÁ |url=https://immub.org/album/vo-embola |access-date=2026-04-11 |website=IMMuB |language=pt-BR}}</ref> and Lenine and Frejat on the live album ''Casa do Forró'' (1998).<ref>{{Cite web |title=CASA DO FORRÓ - AO VIVO |url=https://immub.org/album/casa-do-forro-ao-vivo |access-date=2026-04-11 |website=IMMuB |language=pt-BR}}</ref> These artists mixed the baião rhythm with Brazilian rock. The electronic forró band Mastruz com Leite also recorded a version of this song in 1996 on their album ''No Forró do Gonzagão''.<ref>{{Citation |title=Mastruz Com Leite - No Forró Do Gonzagão |date=1996 |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/8655741-Mastruz-Com-Leite-No-Forr%C3%B3-Do-Gonzag%C3%A3o |access-date=2026-04-11 |language=pt-BR}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}} Category:1946 songs Category:Forró songs Category:Songs in Portuguese Category:Brazilian songs Category:Songs about Moscow Category:Luiz Gonzaga songs