Barros, son of composer Theophilo de Barros Filho, began to study music at ten. Moving to São Paulo at 11, he took the violão (acoustic guitar) and started to play balls and amateur shows at 13. His first composition was written two years later, Saudade Pequenina. His professional debut was at the Lancaster nightclub, playing bass with César Camargo Mariano (piano), Flavinho (trumpet), and Escalante (drums). In 1962, he formed a trio with Renato Mendes (organ) and José Luis Shiavo (drums). In the next year, he joined the Sabá Quarteto, together with Mariano, Sabá, and Hamilton Pitorre. In the same year, his Sexteto Brasileiro de Bossa opened at the João Sebastião Bar. In 1964, he won the Índio de Prata trophy (granted by TV Tupi) for Maria e Mar. Also in that year Walter Wanderley recorded his Menino das Laranjas on his LP O Toque Inconfundível de Walter Wanderley. The song was also recorded by Elis Regina in the next year, when he wrote Disparada (with Geraldo Vandré) and Espanto. Among the important plays he directed and composed songs for, the most remarkable was +Arena Conta Tiradentes (Augusto Boal/Gianfrancesco Guarnieri). With Heraldo do Monte and Airto Moreira, he formed the Trio Novo that became the influential Quarteto Novo with the admission of Hermeto Pascoal. His Desafio won first place (tied with two others) at TV Tupi's Festival da Viola. Barros continues to perform and record his solo albums and also is active in the advertising market as a composer, arranger, and producer of jingles. ~ Alvaro Neder, Rovi