Vinicius de Moraes opens his heart to his daughter, torn between Paris and home

It begins with a joke about math, as if to soften the distance. In Paris, on November 25, 1954, Vinicius de Moraes writes to his daughter Susana, who stayed behind in Brazil. The letter, intimate and filled with tenderness, reveals the man behind the diplomat, the poet, and the future co-founder of Bossa Nova. He mentions his struggles with numbers, his daughter’s growing height, and above all, the ache of being apart.

I think it’s so funny that you tell me you're struggling with math. Just like your father, who would stare at a complicated equation like a cow looking at a cathedral.

We are looking at a rare document, both in form - a single handwritten sheet in excellent condition - and in substance, rich with personal depth. At this point in his life, Vinicius stands at a crossroads. His diplomatic work in Paris does not stifle his creativity: his Cinco Elegias are well received, he is preparing a new collection in French, and he begins to spend time with a young Tom Jobim.

Soon I’ll be publishing a new book of my poems, translated into French, because the ‘Five Elegies’ did quite well.

What strikes us most in this letter is Vinicius’s raw sincerity, his regrets, his ambitions, his solitude. Far from the public figure, this is a worried, loving father writing to his daughter.

What really surprised me was your height. Don’t grow too much and go over 1.70m, which is how tall your ‘old man’ is. Otherwise, when you start going out to nightclubs with your dad, I’ll have to wear those ridiculous lifts that Jorginho Guiné uses when he goes out with his wife.

The signature “Darling,” Susana’s nickname for him, closes this suspended moment. More than a piece of correspondence, it is a window into the soul of an artist in exile, on the cusp of a cultural turning point in Brazilian history.