About the Prize

Francisco Mário was one of the pioneers of independent recording in Brazil, alongside Antonio Adolfo, and possibly the first to use crowdfunding in the country, in 1980, to produce his second album “Revolta dos Palhaços”. A respected guitarist from Minas Gerais, he left almost 90 compositions, 8 records and 3 books in his short life. Brother of cartoonist Henfil and sociologist Betinho, Chico Mário, as he was affectionately called, died on March 14, 1988, at the age of 39. To promote his important guitar work, foster Brazilian culture, encourage independent creation, and value Brazil’s most popular instrument, the guitar, the Francisco Mário Modern Guitar Prize will award cash prizes and trophies, designed by artist Mauricio Manzo, through the Chico Mário Cultural Institute in partnership with the Guimarães Rosa Institute, the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Brazilian Embassy in The Hague, and Teatro Munganga.

Regulation

The I Francisco Mario International Prize for Modern Guitar will select up to 10 musicians, from 16 years of age and of any nationality, residing in the countries of Europe, who will compete for cash prizes and, delivered in the Final Stage, disputed at the Official Ceremony of the Award.

The inscriptions for the Award are free, and when registering the candidates agree with all the items of these Regulations.
All items in this Regulation must be strictly followed, under penalty of disqualification.

For the Selection, musicians must register in the online form available on this page, between April 10, 2023 and June 23, 2023, filling in their personal data and, in addition, sending all the items described below, according to the guidelines indicated:

1) A personal presentation video, which can be recorded on your cell phone, describing who you are and a brief account of how Francisco Mário’s work arrived. This video must contain a minimum of 30 seconds and a maximum of 2 minutes. The video must be published in Public Mode on Youtube. In the description of the video, on Youtube, you must include our website: www.institutochicomario.org.br. The video URL must be indicated on the registration form, in the corresponding field;

2) A video interpreting a song (of free choice) by Francisco Mário in its entirety. Each contestant must be playing the guitar. Francisco Mário’s songs and scores can be consulted freely here on the Institute’s website, in the Menu “About Chico Mário” (https://www.institutochicomario.org.br/). The video of the performance must be published in Public Mode on Youtube and must contain, in the title, only “Francisco Mário” and the name of the song chosen (filled in on Youtube). In the description of the video, on Youtube, the website of the Institute must be included: www.institutochicomario.org.br. The video URL must be indicated on the registration form, in the corresponding field;

3) Authorization to use a completed, signed and scanned image and voice (or photographed, as long as it is legible and in good quality), which must be attached to the registration form on this page, along with the other items and data (CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE TEMPLATE).

Videos and audio may be recorded on a cell phone, as long as it is in a silent environment, to better capture the audio of the interpretation, and with audible and understandable sound.

Musicians may submit only one entry, as long as they submit an interpretation of a work by the composer Francisco Mário.

By submitting the application, candidates agree that the videos sent in the application may be used by Instituto Cultural Chico Mário and by the production company Atelier Cultural for any purpose, promotional, commercial or otherwise, for an indefinite period and by any means, free of charge and without charge. legal or financial matters to the Institute.

Candidates under the age of 18 (and only these) must attach an express authorization to participate, signed by their parents or legal guardians, duly notarized. You can download authorization template AT THIS LINK HERE.

Applicants with disability or who need specific attention must register and detail this condition at the time of application, in the appropriate field of the form.

All submissions will go through a first selection, to choose the musicians who will compete for the final stage, at the Official Ceremony of the Award.

The jury of this pre-selection will be formed by the musician and producer, creator of the award and son of Francisco Mário, the composer and pianist Marcos Souza; by the singer and daughter of Francisco Mário Karina Souza; by the widow and president of the Chico Mário Cultural Institute, Nivia Souza and the guitarist Nelson Latif.

It will be up to the jury to decide on cases not covered by these Regulations. In all cases, and at all stages, the decision of the jury and/or jury will be sovereign and there will be no appeal under any circumstances.

The result of this first stage will be communicated to those selected through the e-mail registered in the application for the Award and, also, published on the Institute’s website – https://www.institutochicomario.org.br.

Those selected must confirm their presence in the final stage of the Award, at the Official Ceremony, which will be held on August 22, 2023 (birthday of Francisco Mário, who would have turned 75), at Teatro Munganga Schinkelhavenstraat 27hs, 1075 VP Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Those selected for the final stage – up to 10 candidates (those who cannot attend in person will be disqualified and the subsequent candidate will take over, in relocation) – will be arranged in an order of presentation, on the day, by prior drawing.
For this final stage, at the Official Ceremony, each candidate must present live, on the guitar, a song composed by Francisco Mário, with a maximum of 6 minutes of presentation. Playback is not allowed.

Air tickets, internal transfers, accommodation and meals will not be granted by the Award and are the sole and exclusive responsibility of the candidate. The presentation may be recorded and the candidates agree to assign the use of image and sound for the use of Instituto Cultural Chico Mário and the production company Atelier Cultural for any purpose, promotional, commercial or otherwise, for an indefinite period and by any means, free of charge and without legal or financial burden to the Institute.

The jury of this stage will be chaired by the musician Marcos Souza and will have the participation of guitarists Nelson Latif and Jan Dumée (subject to changes).

The show can be recorded and then made available on the award website. Candidates who do not meet the pre-selection requirements or who fail to attend the Official Ceremony will be automatically disqualified from the Award.

Award

1st Prize – 7.000,00 € + Trophy by Artist Mauricio Manzo
2nd Prize – 400.00 € + Trophy by Artist Mauricio Manzo
3rd Prize – 110,00 €
4th Prize – 110,00 €
5th Prize – 110,00 €
6th Prize – 110,00 €
7th Prize – 110,00 €
8th Prize – 110,00 €
9th Prize – 110,00 €
10th Prize – 110,00 €

The Award, which has the support of Instituto Guimarães Rosa, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil and Teatro Munganga, will be delivered by the Instituto Cultural Chico Mário, the production company Atelier Cultural and the Embassy of Brazil in The Hague, following their normal procedures.

If the winner of the I Francisco Mario International Prize for Modern Guitar is a minor, the deposit will be made in the account of his legal representative (father or mother, for example), as indicated in the candidate’s registration form, or paid after the concert.

Registration

Co-realization