Starting as a professional in the '80s, Humberto Araújo worked as an arranger and instrumentalist for João Donato, Tim Maia, Jorge Ben Jor, Ivan Lins, Paralamas do Sucesso, Elza Soares, Leny Andrade, Zé Ramalho, Carlos Lyra, Leila Pinheiro, Nelson Gonçalves, and Noca da Portela, among others. As a composer, he wrote soundtracks for theater (Fedra, directed by Augusto Boal; Pipoka and Corda Bamba, by the Dutch group Munganga), cinema (having been awarded with the Iracema trophy for the best music at the Cinema Festival of Fortaleza with the soundtrack for the film A Última Canção do Beco, by João Velho, 1985), and TV (the 1982 documentary Pantanal Matogrossense, by Paula Saldanha/Roberto Werneck). Araújo also wrote the arrangements for the show Lupicínio Às Pampas (directed by Zuza Homem de Mello, presented at the Sesc in São Paulo). As a member of Matti Caspi's orchestra, Araújo toured Israel, and in 1993 he was the arranger and musical director of Luís Melodia's show Pintando o Sete, awarded by the newspaper Jornal do Brasil as the best of the year. As a solo artist, he presented his work in the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and Belgium. Araújo was nominated for the Sharp Awards in 1996 in the Best Producer category, for his work on the CD Só Gafieira (by Zé Dal Velha/Silvério Pontes), and he was the arranger of the award-winning best song, Luís Melodia's "Relíquias." In 1997, Araújo was the musical director of another Luís Melodia show, 14 Quilates, considered by the O Globo newspaper the second best of the year. ~ Alvaro Neder