Ernesto J�lio Nazareth was born in Rio de Janeiro on the 20^th of March 1863, in the Morro do Nheco, currently Cidade Nova. From his boyhood days he was familiar with music. The polkas, waltzes and modinhas were frequent in his mother’s piano, or in the family soir�es. D. Carolina taught him the first chords of Chopin, Mozart and Beethoven, besides the polkas, which were then a great fashion.

After his mother’s death in 1873, he was educated by his father, Vasco Louren�o da Silva Nazareth, a humble Customs official, who left little Ernesto locked at home for the whole day long, while he was at work.

Vasco Nazareth, his father

A young amateur pianist named Eduardo Madeira was hired to carry on with Ernesto’s musical education, as he showe signs of great talent and seemed to be making progress on his own. At 14 he composed his first piece of music, a polka titled Voc� bem sabe, dedicated to his father and published in the same year by Casa Arthur Napole�o.

When he was 17, he took part in a recital, alongside with various musicians, like the flautist Viriato Figueira da Silva. He composed Gentes, O imposto pegou? and Gracieta. In 1878, he composed the waltz O nome dela and the tango Cruz, Perigo! By this time, Ernesto felt the urge of joining the choro circles and, as a replica to one of Viriato’s polkas, he composed N�o Caio Noutra.